Our Team
Dr. Saul Isserow graduated from the University of Witwatersrand in 1986. He did General Practice and Specialty Training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Saskatchewan. FRCPC (Internal Med.) in 1994, followed by FRCPC (Cardiology) in 1996. He is the Director of the VGH Centre for Cardiovascular Health and the Director of Cardiology Services at UBC Hospital. Dr. Isserow is the Regional Lead for Cardiac Rehabilitation in the Vancouver Coastal Health region. He received the Master Teacher awards from the Department of Anaesthesia in 2003 and 2013 and from the Department of Medicine in 2010. He was the recipient of the People’s Choice Award VGH Medical Staff in 2000 and Vancouver Coastal Health Annual Award for Clinical Excellence in 2008. Most recently, Dr. Isserow was awarded a 2019-2020 UBC Killam Teaching Prize. He was also the Cardiology Lead for the Vancouver Olympic Games in 2010. Dr. Isserow is the Medical Director of SportsCardiologyBC.
Dr. Jimmy McKinney received an M.D. from the University of Toronto, M.Sc. in Biochemistry, and B.Sc. in genetics from the University of Western Ontario. He completed Internal Medicine and Cardiology fellowship at the University of British Columbia and subspecialty fellowship in Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention at the University of Toronto. He completed a sports cardiology fellowship at the University of British Columbia, and has done sports cardiology training in Rome and London, UK. His research interests include pre-participation screening of young and Masters athletes, the chronic effects of exercise, and medical education. Dr. McKinney is the Research Medical Director of SportsCardiologyBC.
Dr. Nate Moulson received a B.H.K. and M.D. from the University of British Columbia. He completed Internal Medicine at Queen’s University, and Cardiology Fellowship at the University of British Columbia. He completed a subspecialty fellowship in Sports Cardiology at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital. He is currently completing a Clinician Investigator Program, Master of Health Administration, and Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention Fellowship at the University of British Columbia. His research interests include the cardiovascular care of highly active persons and athletes with cardiac disease, the performance, and cardiac effects of COVID-19 on competitive athletes, the use of cardiopulmonary exercise testing in Sports Cardiology, and the virtual delivery of cardiac rehabilitation.
Maida Valkenier is an 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). Maida graduated from Simon Fraser University. She 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. 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.
Dr. Mike Wilkinson is a 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. Dr. Wilkinson 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. 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.
Rebecca received her Bachelor of Arts in Health Sciences from Simon Fraser University. Alongside of her major, she completed a minor in SFU’s School of Communication centering on methods in promoting health through the use of media outlets. Her experience in clinical research has led her to work at Fraser Health Authority, St. Paul’s Hospital, specialty medical clinics, and multiple non-profit sport organizations. She joins the SportsCardiology BC Team as a Project and Research Coordinator.
Mila is a foreign trained nurse who immigrated to Canada from Bosnia and Herzegovina 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.
Jeff is a BCAK registered Kinesiologist, and completed his Bachelor of Kinesiology degree from the University of British Columbia. He also has experience working as a first responder and is passionate about working with this population promoting Cardiovascular and Pulmonary health through physical activity. He is excited to be joining the SportsCardiologyBC team as a CPET Technologist and Research Coordinator.