Dr. Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen

Sarah Horn│Postdoctoral fellow

Sarah Horn (she/her) is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education at UBC. She completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Oregon and her Clinical Residency in Pediatric Psychology at the Children's Hospital of Michigan. Sarah's primary research explores how early life stress impacts children's developing immune systems and the downstream influence on physical and mental health well-being. Her graduate research focused especially on the mechanistic role of oxidative stress and inflammation in the stress-health relationship in children. Her postdoctoral work in the Healthy Families Lab centers on investigating the impact of distinct prenatal stressors on early immune disruptions in children. 

Bailin Xie│Doctoral Candidate, PH.D. CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Bailin Xie received her B.A. (Hons.) in psychology with a minor in biology in 2018 and her M.A. in psychology in 2020 from Carleton University. She is currently a PhD student in the clinical psychology program at the University of Calgary under the supervision of Dr. Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen. Her doctoral work is supported by an SSHRC doctoral fellowship and Alberta Innovates.

Bailin’s research interests focus on interpersonal relationships, and social and psychological factors that help to protect against adverse health outcomes. Her doctoral research will explore how healthy relationships can help families to be resilient and thrive during the transition to parenthood. More specifically, her research will examine how relational factors such as partner support and relationship quality can help to promote better mental health and physiological outcomes for parents and infants.

Katherine Silang│Doctoral STUDENT, Ph.d. CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Katherine Silang received her B.Sc (Hons) in psychology from McMaster University in 2019, and recently received her MSc for Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary in 2022. She is currently a PhD student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary where she is a part of the Healthy Families Lab under the supervision of Dr. Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen and co-supervision of Dr. Andrew Szeto. Katherine’s current research is currently funded by SSHRC and AGRI. 

To date, Katherine’s research interests focus on maternal mental health, mental health stigma, and health inequities/access. Specifically she is interested in learning more about the associated risk and resiliency factors within these domains, as well as how maternal mental health can impact infant health and development.

James WonKyu Jung│Doctoral Student, Ph.D. CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

James WonKyu Jung completed his Honours Bachelor of Science in psychology at the University of Toronto in 2018, and recently received his MSc in Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary in 2023. He is currently a PhD student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary where he is a part of the Healthy Families Lab under the supervision of Dr. Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen and Dr. Deinera Exner-Cortens. James’ current research is funded by SSHRC and AGRI.

James’ research interests focus on scaling up access to evidence-based maternal mental health supports via web- and mobile-based platforms. Specifically, he is interested in how to enhance the level of engagement with programs delivered via digital platforms and identifying facilitators and barriers for utilizing digital resources to enhance adherence and subsequent mental health outcomes. James also has worked in numerous projects with efforts to increase mental health human resource through training of nurses and peers in manualized psychotherapy.

Natalie Sweeney│Doctoral Student, PH.D. Counselling PSYCHOLOGY

Natalie Sweeney completed her BA in Psychology from McGill University in 2017 and her MA in Counselling Psychology at the University of British Columbia in 2022. She is currently a PhD student in Counselling Psychology at the University of British Columbia under the supervision of Dr. Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen. 

Natalies' research interests focus on maternal mental health and how app-based interventions can provide low-barrier access to mental health support. Her doctoral research will explore the lived experience of mothers utilizing app-based mental health interventions and the factors that helped and hindered their experience. 

Jennifer Doyle│Masters Student, masters Counselling PSYCHOLOGY

Jennifer Doyle (she/her) received her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of British Columbia in 2019. She is currently an MA student (still at UBC!) in counselling psychology under Dr. Tomfohr- Madsen’s supervision.

Drawing from her own Indigenous heritage and academic background, Jennifer seeks to bridge the gap between Indigenous ways of knowing and western academia through her research. Grounded in an Indigenous storywork methodology, Jennifer’s primary research focus is centred on witnessing Indigenous post-secondary students' experiences accessing and engaging with recovery resources and supports. Jennifer hopes this research will culminate in a set of culturally responsive recommendations for programs tailored to the unique needs of Indigenous post-secondary students navigating recovery.

Makayla Freeman│Doctoral Student, PH.D. Counselling PSYCHOLOGY

Makayla Freeman (she/her) received her BA (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Calgary in 2020, and her MA in Counselling Psychology at the University of British Columbia in 2024 under the supervision of Dr. Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen. She is currently a PhD student at the University of British Columbia in Counselling Psychology under Dr. Tomfohr-Madsen’s supervision. She is interested in the experiences of LGBTQ+ pregnant individuals, specifically in accessing health care and mental health supports, as well as the intersections of sexual orientation, gender identity, race-ethnicity and various sociodemographic factors.

Makayla’s research thus far has focused on improving the health of parents and their children. Her research focuses on the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and discrimination on perinatal and child health outcomes, as well as practices for conducting gender-inclusive pregnancy research. She is interested in interventions, resiliency factors, and best practices that support the mental health of parents and their children in the early years of child development.

Esra Yarar│Lab coordinator

Esra Yarar (she/her) joined the Healthy Families Lab as its Lab Coordinator in early 2023. She received a BA in International Relations from Wellesley College in 2012 and worked in global human rights, grant making, and operations for close to a decade before transitioning to a career in clinical psychology research. Esra is deeply interested in the transmission of intergenerational stress and trauma in utero and early childhood and mental health in the transition to parenthood. Outside of work, Esra enjoys crossword puzzles, cooking, knitting, and crabbing with her husband, son, and spunky standard poodle.

Lisa Yang│Study coordinator

Lisa Yang (she/her) received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science at the University of British Columbia in 2018. She is currently the study coordinator at the Healthy Families Lab for the Pregnancy During the Pandemic study and the Sleep Health Equity study. Her research interests include the intergenerational transmission of risk and resilience on mental health. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, coding, and learning new languages. 

ari martinez│Study coordinator

Ariana (Ari) Martinez (she/her) received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at the University of British Columbia in 2024. She is currently the study coordinator for the BEAM project at the Healthy Families Lab. Her research interests include trauma experiences in children with nonverbal Autism Disorder and Pathological demand avoidance disorder and the effects of these experiences on children’s and parent’s mental health. Outside work, Ari enjoys baking, going to the gym, running with her partner, crocheting, and spending time with her new baby (cat).

CURRENT RESEARCH ASSISTANTS

• Valerie Teng

• Claire Thomas

• Hayal Muslu

• Taima Gheriani

  past RESEARCH ASSISTANTS

• Martina Min

Present and Past POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS AFFILIATED WITH THE LAB

• Dr. Anna Mackinnon (Assistant Professor, McGill University)

• Dr. Charlie Rioux (Assistant Professor, University of Oklahoma)

• Dr. Lauren Drogos

• Dr. Hamideh Braymanpour (Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia)

• Dr. Vickie Plourde (Assistant Professor, University of Alberta)

• Dr. Emily Cameron (Assistant Professor, Simon Fraser University)

  FORMER MASTERS STUDENTS

• Dana Watts

FORMER PHD STUDENTS

• Briana Cassetta

• Ivan Sedov

• Emily Cameron

• Matt Shay

• Brooke Russell

PRESENT AND PAST HONORS STUDENTS

• Claire Thomas

• Valerie Teng

• Jasleen Kaur

• Mark Jin

• Queenie Li

• Makayla Freeman

• Roxana Fodor

• Ashley Dhillon

• Dominique Bonneville

• Janelle Morhun

• Camila Sofia Maturana Palacios

• Soeun Lee

• Zahra Clayborne

• Delaine Ammaturona

Past study coordinators

• Harleen Gill