I am a Canadian researcher, educator and learning scientist specializing in translational research, student agency, and learning technology. I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia and Director of the Assessment for Learning in Immersive and Virtual Environments (ALIVE) Research Lab.
I was born in October 1976 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and earned a Bachelor of Education in secondary education and Master of Education in educational psychology from the University of Alberta. I completed a PhD in educational psychology from Simon Fraser University with my thesis on Assessing Agency for Learning and the validation of the Agency for Learning Questionnaire (AFLQ). Nearing the completion of my graduate program, I was simultaneously offered a faculty position at the University of Victoria and a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University. I went on to complete a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Chris Dede at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in assessment and learning technologies before becoming an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria. In 2017, I was promoted to Associate Professor and granted tenure. Later that same year, I joined the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia as Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy.
Academic Scholarship
My research focus is on the area of translational research across education, health, medicine, and STEM; student agency (philosophy), learning technology, and educational assessment. I specialize in mixed methods research and use autoethnography to educate others about the lived experience of heart failure and heart transplant. I have authored or co-authored, numerous journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings, and have won several outstanding paper awards for my research. My publications include, “Agency for learning: Intention, motivation, self-efficacy and self-regulation” in the Frontiers of Education. My latest research, “Pandemic designs for the future: Perspectives of technology education teachers during COVID-19”, appears in a special issue of the journal Information and Learning Science, and explores the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on public school teachers.
To read more about my research, please review my research statement.
Heart Failure Scholarship and Advocacy
In addition to my academic scholarship, I became a public health advocate following my diagnosis of heart failure in 2005 and subsequent surgeries for an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in 2010 and left ventricular assist device in 2014. I have received two heart transplants (2014, 2018) and my journey is documented on my blog, Heart Failure to Harvard, in “I am the Clinical Trial” for the JACC:HF Journal, and in the documentary feature “My Broken Heart“
I have actively published in major cardiology journals such as the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure (JACC HF) and the Canadian Journal of Cardiology (CJC) providing patient perspectives on the latest treatments, research, and innovative clinical trials. Code has been a keynote speaker, panellist, and invited speaker at a number of high-profile cardiology events and conferences such as the Cardiovascular Clinical Trialist Forum (CVCT), Heart Failure Society of America, American College of Cardiology and the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress.
I am a member on the Medical Services Commission of British Columbia[10], member of the Heart & Stroke women’s heart and brain health research steering committee and heart failure council[11], and sits as the only patient group representative on Health Canada’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Medical Devices Used in the Cardiovascular System (SAC-MDUCS).
HeartLife Foundation
In 2016, at the national meeting of the Canadian Heart Failure Society in Montreal, Canada, I collaborated with Marc Bains and Dr. Sean Virani to create a patient-led advocacy organization for Canadians living with heart failure. The HeartLife Foundation of Canada is the first and only heart failure advocacy group in Canada run by patients for patients whose mission is to transform the quality of life for people living with heart failure. The HeartLife Foundation has patient members all across Canada, and is actively engaged with the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, Canadian Heart Failure Society, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and is a member of the Global Heart Hub, The Alliance of Heart Patient Organizations.
I along with HeartLife Foundation founders Marc Bains and Dr. Sean Virani, received the Dr. Harold N. Segall Award of Merit from the Canadian Cardiovascular Society in 2019 in recognition of our significant contribution to the prevention of cardiovascular disease and promotion of cardiovascular health in Canadians.
