Our Team
Experienced leader with a demonstrated history of working in the health wellness and fitness industry. Her skills include Healthcare Consulting, Budgeting, Coaching, Team Building, and Healthcare Information Technology (HIT). Strong professional graduated from Simon Fraser University. Maida worked at Medisys for 8 years holding the positions of Senior Director and eventually Vice President. Currently, she is the Executive Director of SportsCardiologyBC.
Dr. Warburton’s research spans the spectrum of elite athletic performance, childhood health, quality of life in the elderly, and the treatment of patients with chronic disease and/or disability (including individuals with heart disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, and spinal cord injury). He has published extensively including over 150 peer-reviewed articles and chapters. For further information on Dr. Warburton and his research program please visit www.healthandphysicalactivity.com.
Dr. Laksman is a Cardiac Electrophysiologist at St. Paul’s and Vancouver General Hospital. Dr. Laksman is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, an Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University, and the Charles Kerr distinguished scholar in Cardiovascular Genetics. Dr. Laksman holds grant support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, and the Stem Cell Network for his work on the genetics of heart rhythm and heart muscle disturbances. Dr. Laksman has a clinical focus on arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation, sudden cardiac death, sports cardiology, implantable and wearable monitoring technology, and cardiac ablation and device procedures.
Clinical Assistant Professor practicing sports and rehab medicine in Vancouver with a major interest in preventive screening and exercise in medicine. He graduated at University of Witwatersrand in 1987, holds the CASM Diploma in Sports Medicine and an MBA, Queens University. He is the CMO for the Canadian Rowing team, a team physician for the Vancouver Canucks, Canadian and BC senior Rugby Teams, was a physician for the Canadian 2004 and 2008 Olympic teams and the Canadian CMO for the 2007 Canadian Pan Ams team. He was the Director of medical services for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic games, is a member of the international rowing medical commission (FISA) and serves as a member of the SMCBC and Own the Podium board of directors.
Dr Carolyn M Taylor, MD, MPH is a clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia and a member of the Divisions of Cardiology at St Paul’s Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital. With fellowship training in Preventative Cardiology (Harvard University) and Cardiac CT Angiography (Massachusett’s General Hospital), Dr Taylor is actively involved in clinical and research activities in these fields. Dr Taylor focuses her clinical time in the Healthy Heart cardiac rehabilitation program at St Paul’s and Vancouver General Hospitals and in the Prevention at St Paul’s Hospital. Additionally, Dr Taylor works in the advanced cardiac imaging department and cardiac intensive care unit at St Paul’s Hospital. Prior research training includes a Masters of Public Health (2008) from Harvard University and completion of the UBC Clinical Investigator’s Program (CIP 2009). Dr Taylor is currently involved as a co-investigator and primary investigator of numerous research studies in the areas of non-invasive imaging, cardiac prevention and exercise testing.
Completed his PhD in Cardiovascular Physiology at UBC where he was awarded the NSERC and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Doctoral Fellowships. He subsequently was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship from the Heart and Stroke Foundation for Research. He completed his MD at the University of Toronto, continuing his research interests in the field of Cardiac Physiology. Currently, he is an Internal Medicine Resident in the Faculty of Medicine at UBC.
Dr. Behzad S. Azimzadeh received an M.D. from Kerman Medical University in 1988 and a specialty in cardiology from the Shahid Rajaei Heart Center of Iran in 1993. He completed a fellowship of interventional cardiology at Shahid Rajaei Heart Center of Iran in 1999. He has worked as an associate professor of cardiology in Kerman Medical University of Iran for 25 years. He came to Canada in 2013 and completed a fellowship in Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention at University of British Colombia in 2019. He works at SportsCardiologyBC as a Research Assistant and Medical Consultant.
Barbara is completing her Ph.D. in Experimental Medicine at the University of British Columbia under the supervision of Dr. Warburton, Dr. McKinney, Dr. Isserow, and Dr. Taunton. Her thesis focuses on Cardiovascular Risk Management and Screening in Masters Athletes to prevent sudden cardiac death during sport. She is a Canadian Institute Health Research Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship award recipient. Barb received her Bachelor of Kinesiology in Exercise Science from UBC and has her American College Sports Medicine Clinical Exercise Physiologist Certification. She has worked at Vancouver General and St. Paul’s hospitals as a cardiac exercise physiologist, case manager, and personal trainer where she gained expertise working with patients who have various cardiovascular disorders. She has also trained athletes of varying levels across a wide range of sports. Her research interests also include determining optimal training intensities for the aging, highly active population. She is currently the exercise physiologist and senior research and project coordinator for SportsCardiologyBC.
Samantha completed her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Manitoba, and then went to the British Columbia Institute of Technology to become a registered Cardiology Technologist. She has always been very passionate about sports and is excited to be working for SportsCardiologyBC as a cardiology technologist and research coordinator.
Sabina is an Occupational Health and Safety Officer. She graduated from BCIT in 2003. For the past ten years Sabina worked in the private and public sector as a Manager and Wellness Coordinator. Sabina is extremely passionate about sports and athlete’s health as well as injury and illness prevention. She is an avid runner. Sabina joined the SportsCardiologyBC team in February 2020 as a Wellness Coordinator.
Mila is a foreign trained nurse who immigrated to Canada from Bosnia in 1995. Upon arriving to Canada, she continued to work as a Care Aid for 4 years in a long-term care home in Edmonton. After completing the Chemical Technology Engineering program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton, Alberta in 2002, she worked as a Research Technologist for over 10 years. For the past seven years, Mila coordinated various wellness programs for small and large corporations in the public and private sectors. She is very passionate about sports and has been teaching yoga for the past eight years. Mila joins the SCBC team as a Wellness Coordinator.