Dr. Barbara Stefanska is an Associate Professor of Food, Nutrition and Health in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at The University of British Columbia. She completed a Master in Public Health and a PhD in Nutrional Epigenopmics at Medical University of Lodz in Poland followed by a postdoctoral training in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at McGill University in Montreal.

Dr. Stefanska’s current research interest is to study dietary bioactive compounds, specifically polyphenols from the phytoestrogen group, as epigenetics-targeted agents. She investigates mechanisms and downstream effects of phytoestrogens in targeting the writers, readers and erasers of epigenetic marks. Her goal is to understand how phytoestrogens exert their effects on cell biology and to develop new ways to target aberrant epigenetic processes. 

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​Dr. Stefanska teaches the following courses at UBC:

•    FNH 350: Fundamentals of Nutrition
•    FNH 477: Nutrition and Disease Prevention
•    HUNU 531/631 Graduate Seminar Course

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Apart from research and teaching, Dr. Stefanska acts as Senior Editor of Cancer Pharmacology in the British Journal of Pharmacology.

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In her free time, Dr. Stefanska enjoys spending time with family and friends. She likes playing tennis, jogging, hiking, travelling to exotic places, and tasting new culinary delights.