About the Researchers

Tal Jarus

Dr. Tal Jarus

Dr. Tal Jarus a Professor of the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at UBC. She has a doctoral degree in occupational therapy from New York University. Tal’s two primary areas of research and graduate supervision are (1) motor learning with an emphasis on skill acquisition, retention and generalization, and (2) occupational performance, participation, health and well-being. More precisely Tal has developed few participation measures, both for adults (ASAP) and children (CPQ PSQ, & ERQ), and currently investigates environmental effects on participation in everyday activities. Current projects include the effect of the built environment and obesity on participation of children with disabilities; participation of people with brain injuries; the use of virtual platforms for rehabilitation, and the effect of attentional focus and type of activity on the motor learning of people with brain injury.


Dr. Armansa Glodjo

Dr. Armansa Glodjo

Dr. Armansa Glodjo is a Developmental Pediatrician in the Division of Developmental Pediatrics at Sunny Hill Health Centre at BC Children’s Hospital. She is Clinical Associate Professor at UBC. She provides clinical expertise as a senior clinician within the Complex Developmental Behavioural Conditions and BC Autism Assessment Network, and was the Medical Director of BCAAN between 2018 and 2021. She provides consultative expertise with the Children’s Services Team, seeing children with complex developmental and medical needs in the Burnaby School District. She was part of the BC Patient Safety and Quality Council’s Clinician Quality Academy in 2017. Dr. Glodjo is regularly involved in UBC medical education and supporting continuing professional development for pediatricians, family physicians, and allied health professionals. She is passionate about delivering quality care and supporting children based on their functional needs, as well as building interprofessional relationships in healthcare and in the community.


Dr. Parisa Ghanouni

Dr. Parisa Ghanouni

Dr. Parisa Ghanouni is an assistant professor at the Occupational Therapy department at Dalhousie university. She obtained her PhD in rehabilitation sciences program from the University of British Columbia. A substantial portion of her work has been done in the pediatric population and in the domains of mental, physical, cognitive, and affective aspects. Her recent project involved a community-based participatory research and knowledge brokering model to develop a video-game program for children with autism and to disseminate evidence-based information among stakeholders. Her research interests include the design and development of programs using a client-centered approach for marginalized and vulnerable populations.


Dr. Yael Mayer

Dr. Yael Mayer

Dr. Yael Mayer is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science at the University of British Columbia. Yael has a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from Tel-Aviv University; she is a registered clinical psychologist in Israel and a registered clinical counselor in Canada. Yael’s focus in research is finding innovating ways to implement evidenced-based knowledge to benefit the community and to promote mental health and social justice. Yael is an expert in Knowledge-Translation (KT) models and techniques. She studies knowledge translation in these areas 1) Resilience-based interventions for inner-city youth, refugee, and migrant children 2) Promoting equity and social justice for people with disabilities 3) Arts-based knowledge translation 4) Creating “healthy screen-time nutrition” for children with Autism. Yael owns a private practice in Vancouver, BC, where she provides therapy for individuals and families.


Dr. Mor Cohen-Eilig

Dr. Mor Cohen-Eilig

Dr. Mor Cohen-Eilig is a senior clinical fellow at the Division of Developmental Pediatrics at Sunny Hill Health Center, BC Children’s Hospital. Mor completed medical school at Tel-Aviv University and Pediatric Residency in Shamir Medical Center, and she is a certified pediatrician in Israel. Her main interests are research in Autism Spectrum Disorder and other neurodevelopmental disorders, especially children with underlying motor deficits and social-environmental barriers. Mor is working with the leadership team on establishing a new clinic for early diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy at BC Children’s Hospital.

Mor believes in multidisciplinary work around the functional needs of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Her clinical work focuses on autism assessments and children and youth who have autism and other co-morbidities. Mor acknowledges the importance of early diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders, and she is passionate about supporting the creation of accessible environments for children, families and clinicians.


Dr. Jill Zwicker

Dr. Jill Zwicker

Dr. Jill Zwicker is an Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of British Columbia. She also holds appointments as Associate Member in the Department of Pediatrics (Division of Developmental Pediatrics), Investigator at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Clinician Scientist at Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, and Associate Member at CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research. She completed her undergraduate training in psychology and clinical training in occupational therapy at Queen’s University, a Master of Arts in Educational Psychology (Learning & Development) at the University of Victoria, a PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences from the University of British Columbia, and Post-Doctoral training in Pediatrics (Developmental Neuroscience) at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Zwicker has established the first research-integrated diagnostic clinic for DCD in Canada to facilitate diagnosis of this under-recognized disorder. She uses advanced neuroimaging techniques to better understand how the brain differs in children with and without developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and whether brain structure and function can change with rehabilitation intervention. Dr. Zwicker is also interested in examining the co-occurrence of autism spectrum disorder and DCD and the effectiveness of motor interventions for these children.


Ally Malinowski

Ally Malinowski

Ally is a research coordinator at UBC with a Master of Public Health and an Honours Bachelor of Science specialized in Kinesiology. She has been working in occupational therapy research since 2017, and has a background in autism research, disability research, public health research, and community health initiatives. She is very interested in preventative health initiatives that focus on physical activity, mental health, and chronic disease prevention to promote general health and well-being for all.


Fouziah Khairati

Fouziah Khairati

Fouziah received her BA with a Major in Psychology and with a Minor in Health and Society in 2018. She has just begun the occupational therapy program at UBC. She has worked with children with ASD as a behavioural interventionist using Applied Behaviour Analysis as well as a full-time support worker over the past few years. She is also greatly interested in creating inclusive environments to support successful occupational performance.


Elisabeth Gross

Elisabeth Gross

Elisabeth Gross is a third-year Bachelor of Arts student at the University of British Columbia. She is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Education: Interpersonal Development. She plans to pursue a master’s in occupational therapy once she graduates. Elisabeth is passionate about supporting individuals with diverse abilities and needs. After working with children and young adults with Autism at summer camp, she is interested in learning more about the intervention and therapy side of supporting individuals with Autism. She is also interested in promoting inclusive environments and empowering individuals with disabilities to pursue their educational and occupational goals.


Jennifer Chen

Jennifer Chen

Jennifer is a fourth year Bachelor of Science student at UBC doing a combined major in Computer Science and Microbiology. She has done various volunteer work with adults with disabilities and is passionate about supporting those with varying abilities and needs to help them reach their goals. She has a strong interest in healthcare and technology, and is especially interested in the integration of technology with treatments and interventions.


Kimberly Nguyen

Kimberly Nguyen

Kimberly Nguyen is a first-year student completing her master’s in occupational therapy at the University of British Columbia. She has previously worked with youth and adults with ASD in coaching and program organization at the Special Olympics. In this role, she was part of a team that worked to support and create an environment in which health and wellness were facilitated through physical activity and socialization. As such, she is interested in the ongoing work and research that further allows for occupational engagement and inclusion in activities that increase wellness and personal meaning in the lives of those with ASD.



Ryan Octosa

Ryan Octosa has experience working as a Mathematics Instructor at a learning centre in Vancouver, BC alongside other instructors to teach over 50 children, including several with ASD. He completed his degree in Speech Sciences at The University of British Columbia, and part of his coursework involved studies in autism from the lens of speech-language pathology. He also has a keen interest in applying his website development and graphic design skills into Knowledge Translation projects.


Janice Chan

Janice Chan

Janice received her BKIN with a Minor in Food Nutrition and Health and Co-op standing from the University of British Columbia in 2017. She also completed the Master of Occupational Therapy program at the University of British Columbia in 2021. She has been involved with the sport of figure skating for over 10 years, first as an athlete and now as a coach. She is currently a Foundational Coach at the Connaught Skating Club in Richmond where she works with athletes from the age of 3 to the age of 12 from the level of Learn to Skate to early competitive figure skating. She has also worked with individuals with ASD as a Behavioural Interventionist. Janice is passionate about supporting individuals with diverse abilities and needs and is very interested in creating inclusive environments to support successful occupational performance.


Emma Lei

Emma Lei

Emma received her Bachelor of Kinesiology with a Minor in Psychology in 2019. She is a current Master of Occupational Therapy student at UBC. Emma has abundant experience working with children of diverse abilities, including children with ASD, as an Adaptive Instructor in both recreational and academic settings. She has worked with children and youth at local community centres, neighbourhood houses, and within the Vancouver public school system. Emma is passionate about increasing accessibility to inclusive resources so that all children have the opportunity to engage in meaningful occupations.


Natasha Kuzyk

Natasha Kuzyk

Prior to completing the Master of Occupational Therapy program at the University of British Columbia in 2021, Natasha received her Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation from Douglas College in 2018. Over the past number of years, she has had the opportunity to support individuals in the areas of mental health, gerontology, pediatrics, and physical rehabilitation. She had worked as a yoga instructor, life skills facilitator as well as recreational therapist prior to becoming an occupational therapist. Natasha is passionate about supporting individuals to participate in occupations that are meaningful to them and is driven to advocate for inclusivity and accessibility for all.


Additional Students:

Tessa Goldberger

Nicole DiSpirito