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Tony Culos

B.Sc. Honours Mathematics and Computer Science, UBCO, 2017

Projects:

  • microsimulation model
  • risk assessment of false positive mammography screenings

Tony joined the Early Detection group in the Summer of 2015, after attending a career seminar where Dr. Rasika Rajapakshe was a key note speaker. After completing his degree he plans on obtaining a M.Sc. in computer science and potentially his Ph.D. Outside of work Tony enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, movies, books, dancing and experiencing the beautiful Okanagan.

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Yousif Murad

B.Sc. in Biochemistry, Minor in Chemistry, UBCO 2016

Projects (2015):

  • Wait Times for Lung Cancer Patients in BC

Yousif is joining the BCCA after receiving a summer research award (SSRP) from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. Yousif has completed the third year of his BSc. program at UBC Okanagan with a major in biochemistry and a minor in chemistry and is joining the BCCA to work on quantifying wait times in the thoracic surgical lung cancer pathway. The purpose of this project is to identify and compare the fastest and slowest wait times to determine the available areas for improvement. In his free time Yousif enjoys driving, reading automotive articles from around the web and discussing all that’s new with fellow car enthusiasts especially at UBCO.

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Zifang Jiang

B. Sci. Computer Science/Mathematics, UBCO 2018

Projects:

  • Mammography Quality Control
  • Validation of Volumetric Breast Density as a Risk Factor for Breast Cancer Screening

Zifang is an undergraduate student in UBC Okanagan; she has joined the Early Detection group in 2015. She became interested in imaging analysis since high school, as she was involved in a bio-imaging research project with the National University of Singapore. Outside of work, she plays the violin as a hobby. 

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Carson McKay

B.Sc. Chemistry (Honours), Minor in Computer Science, UBCO 2016

Projects:

  • Validation of Volumetric Breast Density as a Risk Factor for Breast Cancer Screening
  • DICOM De-Identifier Software

From the city of Surrey, Carson has settled in the Okanagan over the last 5 years. During his now completed Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry (Hon.) with a Minor in Computer Science, Carson was part of the team that began the DICOM De-Identification program. Carson had the opportunity to continue this work as a summer project in 2016. Since then, he has been working at the Agency as a student, continuing to work on a Breast Density Validation project, while often also producing other utility programs to help streamline clinical protocols. One such project he developed produces 3D Printed Electron Cut-Out blocks from both marked up patient images, as well as directly from the treatment planning system. In August 2017, Carson will begin the Bachelor of Education program at UBCO. He hopes keep his computer science foundations close at hand and possibly pass on knowledge to his future students.

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Rebecca Mlikotic

B.Sc Midwifery, UBC Class of 2019
B.Sc. Biochemistry (Honours), UBCO 2014

Projects:

  • Development of a Natural History Model for Breast Cancer using CADe/CADx
  • Development of Ultra-High Resolution CT for Differential Diagnosis of Lung Nodules Found Using Low Dose CT

Becca is excited to be returning for her third summer with the Early Detection Research Group. This year she will be working with Dr. Rasika Rajapakshe and fellow student, Ali Silver, in the preliminary development of a natural history model for breast cancer. She completed a BSc in Medical Biochemistry at UBC-Okanagan back in 2014, and is now entering her 2nd year of Midwifery studies at UBC Vancouver. She is very happy to be home in the Okanagan Valley for the summer, taking advantage of time with friends, family, the Enderby Drive-in, and spending time at the lake.

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Emily Kluftinger

B.Sc. Psychology (Honours), UBCO 2017

Projects:

  • Integration of a Web-Based Follow-Up Platform into the BC Cancer Agency for Improving Quality of Life Care and Research

Emily recently graduated from UBC Okanagan with a Bachelor of Science Honours degree in Psychology. Emily is thrilled to be joining the Early Detection team this summer and to be working alongside the inspiring individuals who make up this group. With a background in modern communication research, she is looking forward to working with patients to determine the feasibility of an online platform for the collection of patient reported outcomes (PROs). In her free time she enjoys cooking, reading, and adventuring around the Okanagan.

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Ethan Owusu

B.Sc. Candidate Computer Science, UBCO 2015

Projects (2014 – 2015):

  • Validation of Volumetric Breast Density as a Risk Factor for Breast Cancer Screening

In Ethan’s third year of his computer science degree at UBCO, he took the medical imaging course taught by Dr. Rasika Rajapakshe and Dr. Cynthia Araujo. He was then hired for the summer to work on image processing for the breast density project. In his spare time, Ethan has been successful in competing in mixed martial arts.

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Phil Shreeves

B.Sc. Mathematics (Honours), UBCO 2018 

Projects:

  • Wait Times for Lung Cancer Patients in BC

Born and raised in the city of Kelowna, Phil is a fourth year student majoring in mathematics and statistics at UBC Okanagan. He joined the Early Detection Group in June 2017, receiving student research funding to do data analysis on a project involving surgical wait times for lung cancer in BC. Outside of the cancer agency, Phil enjoys playing basketball, swimming, hiking with his dog, and also tutors high school students in math.

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Yingqi Wang

B.Sc. Statistics, Beijing Institute of Technology 2017
M.Sc. Statistics, University of Calgary 2019

Projects:

  • Wait Times for Lung Cancer Patients in BC
  • Integration of a Web-Based Follow-up Platform into the BC Cancer Agency for Improving Quality of Life Care and Research

Yingqi is a first-year master student in Statistics from the University of Calgary. She will be a research intern this summer in BCCA. There are two projects she will work on. One is survival analysis for the lung cancer research, the other is an analysis based on the Life Quality survey. Yingqi likes travelling and hiking in her spare time, and she enjoys the yummy fruits in Kelowna very much.

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Cara Alexander

B.Sc. Physics and Mathematics (Honours), UBCO 2017

Projects:

  • Impact of Coronary Artery Calcium on Radiation Induced Cardiac Toxicity in Breast Cancer Survivors

Cara grew up in Kelowna and recently graduated from UBC Okanagan with a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics. She joined the Early Detection Research Group in the summer of 2016 to work on the Radiation Induced Cardiac Toxicity study, completed an honors thesis in medical physics with Dr.Rajapakshe during her final year of study, and now also works on the Deep Learning for Breast Radiation Therapy project. She is passionate about using quantitative sciences to help people and plans to complete more study in the area of machine learning with a focus on healthcare applications. Her other interests include astrophysics, philosophy, and working with kids. In her free time, she loves to ski, swim, dance, and discuss science fiction.