On Wednesday, July 19th, Dr. Silke Appel-Cresswell and the BC Brain Wellness Program invite you to join our annual celebration of World Brain Day! The World Federation of Neurology has selected the theme "Brain Health and Disability: Leave No One Behind”, which aligns with our vision and mission at the Brain Wellness Program.
The World Brain Day is framed by five key aims - prevention, awareness, access, education, and advocacy. Please join us to learn from multiple speakers where each aim will be addressed through the lens of various perspectives.
Speakers
Dr. Silke Appel-Cresswell — Prevention
Dr. Silke Appel-Cresswell is a movement disorder neurologist, Associate Professor and Marg Meikle Professor in Parkinson’s disease at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health and the UBC Movement Disorder Clinic/Pacific Parkinson’s Research Centre at the University of British Columbia. She holds the Marg Meikle Professorship for Research in Parkinson’s disease. She is a Co-Founder and Director, of the BC Brain Wellness Program to foster wellbeing in chronic brain disease and aging through exercise, arts, nutrition, mind care, and education.
With a strong athletic background, her clinical and research work focuses on a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to the treatment and prevention of brain disorders. Complementary to typical medical treatments, interventions target physical and emotional wellbeing through active engagement in exercise, art, mindfulness, nutrition, enjoying nature and community building. With an extensive interdisciplinary research program, she is investigating the role of the gut microbiome with the goal of finding new approaches to neurodegenerative disorders. She has founded iCAPTURE PD, a movement disorder registry following nearly 2,000 participants. In addition to Parkinson’s disease, dystonia is a particular interest of her work, especially ultrasound guidance for injection treatment with botulinum toxin.
She also serves as President of the Canadian Movement Disorder Group, as the Director of the annual National Canadian Neurology Residents Course for Movement Disorders, as well as Co-Director of the Canadian Course for Ultrasound Guidance of injection therapy in dystonia. She serves on the Educational Committee of the Pan-American Section of the Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society and is a recipient of the UBC/Medicine Master Teacher Award.
Darius Darabi — Education
Darius Darabi joined the BC Brain Wellness Program in May 2022 as an Exercise Program Assistant. He will be entering his fourth year of undergraduate studies where he majors in Kinesiology with a specialization in Neuromechanical and Physiological Sciences. Darius’ passion for exercise and background in Kinesiology has motivated him to better understand the role that exercise can play in preventing and improving outcomes of disease, as well how different forms of exercise can synergistically contribute to a healthy lifestyle. Darius’ role in the BC Brain Wellness Program focuses on helping lead exercise classes, creating exercise programs, supporting participants, and assisting in research studies.
Hanna Turcotte — Education
Hanna Turcotte is a Kinesiology student at UBC majoring in Neuromechanical & Physiological Sciences. She is passionate about health and wellness as a whole, but is particularly drawn to sports/athletics, brain health, and rehabilitation sciences. In addition to her full-time studies and work with the Brain Wellness Program, she is an instructor for UBC BodyWorks and a trainer for the UBC Varsity Men's Basketball team. Hanna joined the program in May 2023 to assist with the progression of current research projects, educational programming, and exercise programming.
Dr. Julia Schmidt — Awareness
Dr. Julia Schmidt is interested in understanding life after brain injury. Her goal is to learn more about changes in the brain after injury and throughout life, changes in daily life and social roles after brain injury, and programs that support people with brain injury to lead lives that are personally meaningful. In her research, Dr. Schmidt collaborates with people with brain injury and community organizations as partners.
Dr. Schmidt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of British Columbia. She completed her BSc(OT) at the University of Alberta and spent over 10 years working clinically in brain injury rehabilitation. She earned her PhD at the University of Queensland, Australia, where she studied the effectiveness of video-based feedback interventions to improve self-awareness after traumatic brain injury. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of British Columbia exploring changes in the brain’s physiology after mild traumatic brain injury.
Rebecca Tsow — Awareness
Rebecca is a 2022 BKin graduate from UBC. In her time as a Research Assistant at the CEDAR Brain Injury lab, she participated in various projects exploring life after brain injury, with particular emphasis on the roles of self-awareness, self-identity, and meaning in rehabilitation. Rebecca is currently completing her Masters in Physical Therapy at the University of Alberta to continue pursuing her passion for patient-centred conversations and individualized care.
Sharareh Saremi — Access & Advocacy
Sharareh is the program manager of the Advocacy Access Program at Disability Alliance BC. In 1977, a group of committed activists with disabilities created the BC Coalition of the Disabled. It was run by people with disabilities for people with disabilities. Its founders wished to address systemic inequality and work towards ensuring that people with disabilities can live with dignity and independence. The organization began small, with limited staff and a very hands-on Board of Directors. That organization is now Disability Alliance BC. DABC’s mission is is to support people, with all disabilities, to live with dignity, independence and as equal and full participants in the community. We champion issues impacting the lives of people with disabilities through our direct services, community partnerships, advocacy, research and publications. Since 1989, DABC’s Advocacy Access Program has been a place of support, information and one-to-one assistance for people with all disabilities. Each year, our advocates assist hundreds of people in-house to apply for and appeal the denial of provincial and federal (Canada Pension Plan) disability benefits.