MEDTalks: Think Well, Live Well – Brain Health for Life

Laura Lynch is an award-winning journalist and host. In the course of her career, she has reported from around the world. From Washington D.C. during and after the attacks of September 11, 2001, from London during 9 tumultuous years that featured political turmoil and violent attacks blamed on terrorism; From Pakistan where Benazir Bhutto was attacked and then assassinated; from Israel during the war with Lebanon and its ongoing dispute with the Palestinians; from Saudi Arabia where she was detained; from Africa, where she reported undercover from Zimbabwe when western journalists were barred.

The list goes on but a consistent feature of Laura’s reporting is her effort to connect with and report on those who are typically voiceless. She tries to give them a voice by listening.

After many years abroad, Laura is back where she started in Vancouver using her years of experience to carry forward stories that are both important and interesting to CBC readers, listeners and viewers. Over the years, Laura has won the prestigious Nieman fellowship from Harvard University, awards from the British Bar Association, the Canadian Bar Association, RTNDA (Canada and U.S. ), Overseas Press Club of America, Amnesty International, RNAO and the Gabriel awards.

Dr. Anuja Doshi is a board-certified periodontist and dental implant surgeon. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. She serves as an Assistant Professor of Teaching and Director of DMD Periodontics at UBC. Her commitment to advancing periodontal education has been recognized nationally and internationally by the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP). Notably, she received the prestigious Dr. Walter Cohen Teaching Award in 2019, the Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring in Periodontics Award in 2024, and the UBC Student-Nominated Teaching Award in both 2024 and 2025.

Dr. Haakon Nygaard is a physician-scientist and Associate Professor in the Division of Neurology at UBC. He is board-certified in Neurology and Behavioral Neurology and is the Director of the UBC Hospital Clinic for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (UBCH-CARD). His research spans clinical trials, dementia prevention, and novel target discovery in Alzheimer’s and Frontotemporal dementia. His work also uses 3D human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) models. He is the co-principal investigator of CAN-THUMBS UP (CTU), a Canada-wide CCNA initiative focused on preventing dementia through online educational approaches.

Over the past 20 years, Dr. Alison Phinney’s research has advanced understanding of the lived experience of dementia—including the impact of cognitive impairment on everyday life, the importance of meaningful activities, and the role of families and communities in supporting people with dementia. Her most recent work highlights the importance of building community capacity to promote social inclusion and reduce stigma. Using strengths-based participatory approaches, her research has had impact across BC, Canada, and internationally, showing how people with dementia and community leaders can work together to create meaningful opportunities for social connection.

Dr. Noah Silverberg completed his PhD in Clinical Psychology (Clinical Neuropsychology) at the University of Windsor and a clinical internship with the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. Before joining UBC’s Department of Psychology in 2020, he worked for over a decade as a staff psychologist at the GF Strong Rehab Centre, where he led an interdisciplinary brain injury research program. His research focuses on psychosocial determinants of health in neurological disorders, particularly concussion and traumatic brain injury. He examines psychological mechanisms that sustain symptoms and develops evidence-based treatments. His broader interests include cognitive rehabilitation, metacognition, and neuropsychological assessment.

Dr. Barbara Stefanska is an Associate Professor of Nutriepigenomics at UBC. Her area of expertise is epigenetic pharmacology, with a particular focus on nutritional epigenomics. She studies how dietary bioactive compounds—especially polyphenols—affect the mechanisms that add, read, and erase epigenetic marks. Her goal is to understand how diet affects cell biology and to develop new ways to target abnormal epigenetic processes. Her recent research examines how physical activity influences muscle-brain communication in response under both healthy and high-fat diet conditions. She aims to clarify how multiple organs work together to support the formation of new brain cells in adulthood, a process known as adult neurogenesis.