Our Team

Dr. Ahmed Siah, PhD

Managing Director

Ahmed joined the team at BC CAHS in November 2011. His duties include managing research projects, developing new technologies in the field of aquatic health diagnostics and implementing and validating molecular biology technologies for diagnostics. Dr. Siah pursued his Postdoctoral studies in Molecular Ecotoxicology at the University of Le Havre in France after earning his PhD in Oceanography at the Institute of Marine Sciences in Rimouski, Quebec. As a Research Associate at Prince Edward Island’s Atlantic Veterinary College, he led and managed several projects on mollusk health management and the development of molecular diagnostic tools. Ahmed’s research focused primarily on identifying molecular biomarkers related to shellfish diseases and on developing new technologies to detect micro-organisms affecting fish and shellfish health. While at the Atlantic Veterinary College, Ahmed worked on hemic neoplasia in soft shell clams and developed diagnostic assays for rapid and high-throughput detection of tunicate invasive species which are heavily affecting the mussel industry in PEI.

Ahmed and his wife live in Campbell River with their young family. He’s an avid soccer player.

Danielle New, Dip Enviro Tech, BSc

Laboratory Technician

Danielle was born and raised on Vancouver Island. She attended Camosun College where she received a Diploma in Environmental Technology.

After working with the Salmonid Enhancement Program on the west coast of Vancouver Island, her love of pacific salmon led her to the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) where she earned a BSc in Fisheries and Wildlife Management in 2016. The Aquaculture Industry brought her to Campbell River in 2017 where she coordinated sampling programs and research projects in Fish Health.

When she is not working you can find her gardening, biking or playing with her dog, Hugo.

Debbie Collins, Cert. Card. Tech., Cert. Lead.

Laboratory Technician

Debbie worked at a health research facility for twenty-four years before moving to Campbell River in 2004. Debbie has moved her focus from human to aquatic fish health. She joined the Centre in 2005 and her main role is lab services such as ATPase and Cortisols. She also purchases all new equipment and lab consumables.

She enjoys being a great mom and interior decorating.

Elan Downey, BSc

Outreach and Education Coordinator

Elan received her Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from the Univ. of Victoria (BC) in 1986. Previous to joining BC-CAHS, she worked for Fisheries and Oceans Canada in Nanaimo, BC where she participated in Shellfish research. She then joined the finfish aquaculture industry in the late 80’s and worked in Fish Health and Environmental Monitoring. Elan also taught the Salmon Farm Technician Course at North Island College in the early 2000’s. In 2006, Elan joined the BC-CAHS team as a research assistant and workshop instructor. Her areas of focus at BC CAHS include plankton productivity, sea lice, teaching workshops to industry and doing outreach activities in Campbell River, BC.

Elan now lives in Campbell River after living on Quadra Island for almost 28 years. She enjoys all there is to enjoy living on the west coast.

Kiran Nair, BSc, MBiotech

Virologist

Kiran has a Bachelor’s in Microbiology and a Master’s in Biotechnology from India and was working as a a Senior Microbiologist in a Poultry vaccine company in India before moving to Canada. He did a diploma in Industrial Microbiology from Toronto, Ontario after which he moved to BC and worked as a Food Safety/Quality Control technician in a major food processing conglomerate, before joining the BC Ministry of Agriculture. At BCMAL, he worked in disease diagnosis of various veterinary species including fish using classical virology and molecular biology techniques. In addition to his technical experience, he brings past working experience in a fully ISO/AAVLD accredited laboratory.

Kiran recently moved to Campbell River with his small family (his wife and a 2 year old daughter) and he is looking forward to exploring more of the Island life with his family. He has great interest in sports like cricket and badminton and as a family they love to travel and explore different places and foods.

Shelby Reimer

Research Assistant

Shelby was born and raised on Vancouver Island, and holds a BSc with majors in Biology and Psychology from Vancouver Island University. After graduating, she moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba to pursue a MSc in Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases from the University of Manitoba. There, she studied the mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance in pathogens using molecular techniques, Illumina sequencing, electron microscopy and nanoparticle tracking analysis. After she completed her degree in 2021, Shelby moved back to the island and joined the CAHS team in December 2021 as a Research Assistant. Her area of focus includes performing diagnostic molecular biology assays and sequencing/bioinformatics for research projects.

Shelby currently lives in Cumberland and loves everything to do with the outdoors, including hiking, camping, kayaking, and mountain biking.

Serena Hadley

Office Administrator

 

Serena comes from a gaming background where her love for analyzing numbers and reconciling accounts grew. After a lengthy career as a Gaming Manager, she decided to go back to school to study Business Administration to pursue a career as a bookkeeper / administrator. She started at CAHS in January 2018 as a part time Office Administrator.

Born and raised in Campbell River, Serena moved to the mainland for a short period of time but missed the beauty of the island and returned. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her dogs and enjoys going camping.

Contact

Address

871A Island Hwy
Campbell River, BC
V9W 2C2

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