UBC experts on COVID-19

The provincial government is expected to announce plans for the gradual easing of COVID-19-related restrictions in B.C. at a 1 p.m. news conference today.

UBC experts are available to comment on related topics. Interviews will be conducted by phone or virtually in order to practice effective physical distancing.

For the latest updated information on UBC’s response, please visit ubc.ca. Information on the latest confirmed cases in B.C. and globally is available here.

To visit the UBC COVID-19 research website, click here.

Business and economics

Dr. David Clough
Assistant Professor, UBC Sauder School of Business
Email: david.clough@sauder.ubc.ca

  • How businesses can adapt to COVID-19
  • How the business landscape could change

Dr. Thomas Davidoff
Associate Professor, UBC Sauder School of Business
Email: thomas.davidoff@sauder.ubc.ca

  • Impact of COVID-19 on housing, mortgage and cities

Dr. Harish Krishnan
Professor, UBC Sauder School of Business
Email: harish.krishnan@sauder.ubc.ca

  • supply chain management, supply chain coordination

*unavailable Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to noon

Dr. Mahesh Nagarajan
Professor, UBC Sauder School of Business
Cell: 213-479-3498
Email: mahesh.nagarajan@sauder.ubc.ca

  • Vaccine supply chain and distribution

Mathematics and disease modelling

Dr. Daniel Coombs
Professor, Department of Mathematics and Institute of Applied Mathematics
Email: coombs@math.ubc.ca

  • Mathematical models of pandemic growth and control

Dr. Sarah (Sally) Otto
Professor, Department of Zoology
Email: otto@zoology.ubc.ca

  • Mathematical models of pandemic growth, evolution, and the efficacy of public health measures

Medical and public health

Dr. Anna Blakney
Assistant Professor, Michael Smith Laboratories and School of Biomedical Engineering
Email: anna.blakney@msl.ubc.ca

  • mRNA vaccines and treatments; debunking misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines

Dr. Michael Brauer
Professor, UBC School of Population and Public Health
Email: michael.brauer@ubc.ca

  • Masks/mask effectiveness, ventilation and air filtration to reduce transmission, COVID-19 forecasting

Dr. Christopher Carlsten
Physician; Professor and Head of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine
Email: christopher.carlsten@ubc.ca

  • Effects of COVID-19 on lung health and patient-reported outcomes
  • COVID-19 clinical follow-up, including long haulers

Dr. Michael Curry
Emergency Room Physician; Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine
Email: michael.curry@ubc.ca

  • Emergency medicine; coronavirus

Dr. Ken Denike
Assistant Professor Emeritus, Department of Geography
Tel: 604-899-0564
Email: ubcken@gmail.com

  • vectors of disease transmission in epidemiology, forecasting COVID-19 cases for local areas

Dr. Mahyar Etminan
Associate Professor, Departments of Ophthalmology and Medicine
Email: etminanm@mail.ubc.ca

  • Drug safety scientist; COVID-19 and ibuprofen (Advil) drug safety
  • Vaccine efficacy and safety; vaccine clinical trials

Dr. Guy Faulkner
Professor, School of Kinesiology
Email: guy.faulkner@ubc.ca

  • Impact of COVID-19 on movement behaviours (physical activity; sedentary behaviour) across the lifespan

Dr. Ran Goldman
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Email: rgoldman@cw.bc.ca

Dr. Farinaz Havaei
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
Email: farinaz.havaeu@ubc.ca

  • Nursing workplace conditions (including in long-term care), staffing shortages, workplace mental health and safety

*unavailable Friday morning through 2:30 p.m.

Dr. Stephen Hoption Cann
Clinical Professor, School of Population and Public Health
Email: hoption.cann@ubc.ca

  • Infectious disease prevention and vaccination; pathophysiology of fever in infectious diseases

Dr. Judy Illes
Professor of Neurology and Canada Research Chair in Neuroethics, Division of Neurology
Email: jilles@mail.ubc.ca

  • Balancing the benefits and risks of reaching out to help people in need, such as people who are vulnerable (older people, exhausted and isolated people, and children)
  • Triage and resource allocation of medical supplies and instruments, such as ventilators
  • Ethics of vaccine rollout and access

Dr. Emily Jenkins
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
Email: emily.jenkins@ubc.ca
Tel: 604-315-6810

Dr. Tom Koch
Adjunct Professor, Department of Geography
Email: tomkoch@kochworks.com

  • Factors that promote or inhibit the spread of disease
  • Preparing for pandemics (Globe op-ed)

Dr. Mieke Koehoorn
Professor, UBC School of Population and Public Health
Email: mieke.koehoorn@ubc.ca

  • Occupational health, unemployment and health
  • Workers’ compensation

Dr. Teresa Tsang
Professor, Department of Medicine
Tel: 604-875-5067
Email: t.tsang@ubc.ca

  • COVID detection and prognostication through imaging and AI

Psychology and mental health

Dr. Anne Gadermann
Assistant Professor, School of Population and Public Health
Scientist, Centre for Health Evaluation & Outcome Sciences
Email: anne.gadermann@ubc.ca

  • Impact of the pandemic on parent and child mental health and well-being

Dr. Azim Shariff
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
Email: shariff@psych.ubc.ca
Tel: 604-616-9354

  • Social psychology
  • Moral decision-making
  • Individual vs. collective interests

Dr. Steven Taylor
Professor and Clinical Psychologist, Department of Psychiatry
Email: steven.taylor@ubc.ca

  • Health anxiety (hypochondriasis); author of “The Psychology of Pandemics: Preparing for the next global outbreak of infectious disease”

Dr. Lakshmi Yatham
Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry
Director, Institute of Mental Health
Email: l.yatham@ubc.ca

  • Psychological impacts of COVID-19