Dr. Dzung Vo

Director, BC Children’s Centre for Mindfulness

Head, Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine, Department of Pediatrics

 

Dzung X. Vo, MD, (pronouns: he/him; how to pronounce) is a pediatrician specializing in adolescent medicine, the founding director of the BC Children’s Hospital Centre for Mindfulness, and a clinical associate professor and division head for the Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, at BC Children’s Hospital and the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

In partnership with Dr. Jake Locke, Dr. Vo co-developed MARS-A (Mindful Awareness and Resilience Skills for Adolescents), an eight-week mindfulness training program for adolescents with depressive symptoms, with or without other co-occurring chronic illness or chronic pain. Dr. Vo also developed a mindful healing course for health care providers, adapted from Dr. Ron Epstein and Dr. Michael Krasner’s Mindful Practice, and other sources.

Dr. Joanna McDermid

Associate Director, BC Children’s Centre for Mindfulness

Joanna McDermid, MD, is a psychiatrist, with a subspecialty in child and adolescent psychiatry and is a clinical instructor with Department of Psychiatry, at BC Children’s Hospital and at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine in Vancouver, British Columbia.

In addition to her psychiatry training, Dr McDermid has trained in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and Mindful Self Compassion. She has done an extended mentorship with Dr. Ron Epstein and his team in the Mindful Practice program for physicians and health providers through the University of Rochester.  Dr McDermid has developed a mindfulness program to supplement standard care for individuals with eating disorders in residential treatment, and is currently developing a global parent mindfulness informed resource. 

Charlene Black

Senior Project Manager, BC Children’s Centre for Mindfulness

Char obtained her Masters of Public Health from the University of Alberta, and from there went on to become a Senior Project Manager in Health Promotion. Currently, Char works at BC Children's Hospital as part of the Mental Health Literacy Team.  She is most passionate about using participatory approaches in promoting health and achieving health equity. 

When she's not challenging the many myths, stereotypes, and stigmas that surround mental health, you can find Char playing with her energetic young children and trying to squeeze in many moments of self-care that allow her to show up as her best self, every day.

Dr. Katarina Tabi

Research Fellow, BC Children’s Centre for Mindfulness; Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia.

Katarina Tabi, Phd, (pronouns: she/her) is a researcher and mindfulness practitioner. Dr. Tabi has worked in the research of brain and mind most of her professional career. She was involved in projects and has published in the fields of mental health, neuropsychopharmacology, e-mental health, addiction, mindfulness and resilience.

Dr. Tabi is a qualified MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) teacher, trained by the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts, Medical School. As a mindfulness teacher, she has experience teaching internationally different communities including students, health-care providers, and working professionals. Dr. Tabi is interested in a variety of interventions that lead to the cultivation of awareness. She seeks to understand these techniques through the perspective of both eastern traditions and neuroscience.