OUR DOCTORS & TEAM
OUR VISION STATEMENT
To provide the most comprehensive patient centered care with preventative health measures as the key element of healthy living.
Dr. Maryam Zeineddin
BSc, MD, CCFP, FCFP
Dr. Maryam Zeineddin was born in Tehran/ Iran and has lived in Athens, London and Stockholm prior to moving to Vancouver to attend university. She attended UBC and completed her B.Sc. in honors physiology. Her passion for medicine led to volunteering in Honduras with the Canadian Development Agency at a children's hospital. This experience became one of the deciding factors for Dr Zeineddin to become a physician. During her medical school years at UBC, she took advantage of traveling, volunteering and playing intramural sports such as ice hockey . Dr Zeineddin completed two years of family practice residency at the St. Paul's UBC program and started her family practice office the day after the completion of her residency program. Together with her friend and classmate Dr Nicole Barre, they built and currently manage Ambleside Medical Centre.
We both had a vision to create a warm and welcoming family practice clinic, which would be convenient in location for residents of all ages and a place where the staff is extremely friendly, professional and service oriented” explained Dr Zeineddin. Dr Zeineddin has a full practice with interest in all facets of family practice including preventative health and lifestyle counselling. She is the founder of a not for profit preventative health platform ZiliCARE. She is an avid teacher and clinical instructor for UBC family practice residency programs continues to present and teach to medical students and residents of UBC. She has been involved in medical leadership, including negotiations for Doctors of BC and the creation of the new payment model for longitudinal family doctors in BC. She is hte President-Elect for BC Family Doctors and she continues to advocate the importance of viable primary care in our health care system
She is married to a local West Vancouver dentist and together with their two children love spending time with friends and family and are so grateful for their community. Dr Zeineddin is an avid skier, tennis player and biker and loves to roam around the woods with her dog Charlie.
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Dr. Farah Ramji
BSc, MD, MHSc, CCFP
Dr. Farah Ramji completed her Bachelor of Science degree at McMaster University. Her interest in community health and disease prevention lead her to obtain her Masters in Health Sciences in Community Health and Epidemiology from the University of Toronto. Dr. Ramji moved to Vancouver where she obtained her medical degree at the University of British Columbia and completed a Family Medicine Residency.
She has a special interest in women’s health, chronic diseases and the care of the elderly. In addition to her family practice, Dr. Ramji also works at a residential care facility in Vancouver. Dr. Ramji is passionate about comprehensive family medicine including preventative care.
Originally from Toronto, Ontario, Dr. Ramji enjoys outdoor activities and exploring the many scenic areas in Vancouver. When she is not in the office, she looks forward to spending time with her family and friends.
Dr Genevieve Lauzon
MD
Dr. Genevieve Lauzon was born in Montreal, Quebec but grew up mostly in the Ottawa area of Ontario in the small farming community of Embrun. She attended Medical School in Ottawa and moved west to North Vancouver to do her internship at Lions Gate Hospital. She fell in love with the beauty of BC and its people and eventually made North Vancouver her home.
She did locum work for a decade including a memorable six months in various communities in rural Queensland, Australia. She joined a West Vancouver practice as a long-term locum after the birth of her first son in 2002. When the doctor she worked with retired, she kept half the practice, and has been in West Vancouver ever since. The practice grew over the years, and moved a few times. The most recent move has happily brought her to the Ambleside Medical Centre family.
When not working, she is mother to two mostly-grown young men which now leaves her time to enjoy her garden, walk the local trails, do yoga and attend the wonderful artistic events Vancouver has to offer.
Dr Pedro Gonzalez
MD
Meet Dr. Pedro Parada Gonzalez, a Family Medicine practitioner who was born and raised in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Fluent in both Spanish and English, he has travelled to over four countries to practice medicine. Dr. Gonzalez graduated from the University of Guadalajara in Mexico and practiced private medicine before immigrating to Europe. He worked in Spain before moving to the UK to specialize in Family Medicine. Since 2019, he has been a fully qualified family practitioner, providing a full scope of general practice.
Alongside his medical practice, Dr. Gonzalez has been a Senior Honorary Lecturer at UEA (University of East Anglia) medical school in Norwich, where he teached and trained residents who rotated at his practice. He has a special interest in dermatology and integrates skin recognition with a dermatoscope in his practice. Additionally, he has been recognized for minor surgery and joint injections by the UK Primary Care Society.
Newly arrived in the BC area, Dr. Gonzalez is excited to share his knowledge and worldwide perspective of medicine with his patients and we are so excited to welcome him to our AMC team.
Dawn
Office Manager
Dawn was born and raised in Red Deer, Alberta. She moved to Vancouver Island at the young age of 10 years old. She lived in Perth, Ontario for a few months at age 14 years old. Then back to Alberta for several years. She finally settled in West Vancouver in 2006.
She started working as a manager at Subway. She then decided that she would like to take the Medical Administrative Assistant Diploma at MTI Community College. She took her practicum at Ambleside Medical Centre and then became employed full time in June 2010.
She enjoys her time off by hiking Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver or walking along the seawall near her home in West Vancouver. She also enjoys shopping, watching movies and working out at the gym. She loves children and hopes to start a family sooner or later.
Michelle
Office Manager
Michelle was born in Dawson Creek, BC, a small town in the cold, far north. Her family made their way down to the lower mainland and lived in too many cities to mention but eventually settled on the North Shore when she was thirteen.
She graduated from Carson Graham and had her first job at sixteen doing clerical filing at a travel insurance company. Passing through other odd jobs, she eventually became a licensed insurance agent. Although selling car insurance was enjoyable; she always had a longing to be in healthcare. She landed herself a job working for Dr. Anderson in 2005. Dr. Anderson moved into the Carestation Clinic on Esplanade, and this is where she met Dr. Zeineddin. It was here Dr. Zeineddin said to Michelle, “One day I want you to come and work for me.” As fate would have it, she started working with Dr. Zeineddin and Dr. Barre in April 2009.
In her spare time you'll find her going for walks with her boyfriend and dog, hanging out with her friends and family, and watching the Canucks.
Her patients are like family, and they keep her coming back to work every day with a smile.
Szu
Medical Office Assistant
Szu was born in Vernon, BC, and moved to West Vancouver in 2000, where she attended West Vancouver Secondary School. She was an Air Cadet with 525 Pathfinder Squadron, obtaining her gliders license at age 16, and returned as a volunteer and civilian instructor for a few years after that. She was fortunate to be well-traveled by her early 20's.
In 2010, Szu graduated with a diploma of Interior Design at the Art Institute. She prefers working with a team, however, so she switched gears to administrative and customer service/sales roles, where she has been able to utilize her creativity and training.
Now living in Duncan, BC, with her family, she works for Ambleside Medical remotely, helping patients book appointments by phone and doing administrative work behind the scenes.
In her time off, Szu enjoys spending time with her family, gaming, and is an avid reader. She hopes to do more travelling with her family in the future and has plans for many more renovations to their condo.
Dr. Nicole Barre
BSc, MSc, MD, CCFP
Dr. Nicole Barre was born and raised on the North Shore. She attended Westcot Elementary and did her high school at Sentinel. She then went on to study Life Sciences at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. She graduated with a BSc (Honors) in 1998. Next for Dr. Barre was a trip across the pond, and she studied Medical Microbiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London, England. She earned a MSc in 1999. Immediately after completing her Masters Degree, Nicole enrolled at UBC Medical School.
It was during medical school that Dr. Barre developed a passion for family medicine, and after receiving her MD from UBC in 2003, she moved back to Kingston to start a 2 year family medicine residency program. This was a fantastic experience for Dr. Barre, and she had the opportunity to do most of her residency in smaller, rural communities. She even got to spend 2 months in Moose Factory which is on James Bay in Northern Ontario (in January and February- very, very cold)! After graduating with her family medicine certification in 2005, she decided to stay in Ontario and practice for a short time. She worked around much of South Eastern Ontario doing locums in small communities, and then worked for 2 years at Queen's University at the University Health Service.
In spring 2007, she drove her belongings across the country and began her journey back to BC. She took over Dr. Zeineddin's practice for a short time during Dr. Z's maternity leave, and then in August 2007 she decided to open her own practice with Dr. Zeineddin. She also worked part time at UBC Student Health Service. In 2009, Dr. Zeineddin and Dr. Barre opened Ambleside Medical Centre.
When she is not practicing medicine, Dr. Barre spends time with her husband, and 2 young children. She has always been active in sports, and continues to play recreational soccer and ice hockey, as well as golf. She continues to be an avid Canucks fan, and now that she is back from Ontario, she is happy to be watching games at a reasonable hour.
Dr Heather Sherwin
MD, CCFP
Dr Sherwin studied commerce at Queen’s University where she was a varsity level athlete and Academic All-Canadian. She graduated with honours and worked as a management consultant before returning to school to study medicine at the University of Sydney in Australia. She subsequently completed her post-graduate training in family medicine at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre site of the University of Toronto. She moved to West Vancouver with her husband and four children, and started locuming at Ambleside Medical Centre for Dr Zeineddin's patients. After about two years of being part of the Ambleside Team, she decided to join our team indefinitely and we are feeling so grateful for this phenomenal physician and athlete joining our community.
Dr. Anne Marie Thomsen
MD
Dr. Thomsen grew up in a small town in Alberta. She was inspired to become a family doctor by a childhood friend’s father who was an amazing individual and dedicated physician. Dr. Thomsen completed her Medical Degree at the University of Alberta in 1990. A highlight of medical school was to receive federal funding for a research project in Papua New Guinea. She completed her first year of family practice residency in Edmonton and then transferred to Dalhousie University in Halifax to pursue a residency in internal medicine.
She met her husband, who was born and raised on the North Shore, while training in Halifax. After one year of internal medicine residency, Dr. Thomsen left to start practicing in rural Nova Scotia and then in the interior of BC before working for a time in rural Oklahoma. In 1996, she returned to the North Shore with her partner to raise their family and practice medicine.
The local mountains have provided a superb setting for Dr. Thomsen to enjoy her love of the outdoors and you may have run in to her hiking, biking or running on the trails. Dr. Thomsen has been practicing on the North Shore for over twenty years and is excited to join the Ambleside Medical Group. Her wish is to continue to provide comprehensive care for her patients in a welcoming environment.
Dr Celia Ling-Hu
MD
Dr Ling-Hu was born in Taipei, Taiwan and moved to South Africa when she was 12 due to her father’s job post. She graduated from medical school from the University of Pretoria and subsequently completed her internship in Cape Town, where she worked in the emergency department for 2 years and a few months in a busy maternity hospital after graduation. She has a passion for traveling and transitioned to working as a physician on international cruise lines, tending to approximately 5000 people on board. While she worked at sea, she met her husband who is from Ireland. It took many years to complete the plans of moving to Vancouver but she is happy to finally settle and call Ambleside her home.
Dr Joanne Larsen
MD
Joanne graduated from UBC medical school in 1989 and completed a rotating internship at Lions Gate Hospital in 1990. She started a family practice in West Vancouver in the fall of 1993, and has practiced in the same area since then. She recently joined the Ambleside Medical Clinic, and looks forward to caring for her patients there.
Joanne is active in the North Shore division of family practice, chairing a committee supporting family physicians.
When not looking after her patients, Joanne can be found doting on her family and many pets.
Joanne Larsen has officially retired but she still continues to cover for our patients at our clinic. Her replacement Dr. Celia Ling-Hu has taken over her practice as is available to book appointments for Dr. Larsen's current patients.
Gayla
Head Nurse
Gayla was born in Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. She also lived in Saudi Arabia from 2004 to 2008. She was working as a registered nurse in the Philippines and Saudi Arabia. Her speciality is in the medical surgical unit.
She married her husband, Jeffrey, in 2000. They gave birth to their beautiful daughter Finkle Doreen on March 30th, 2002. Finkle has achieved honour roll every year in school. She has also been named Validictorian every year.
Gayla moved to Canada in 2008 to work as a care giver. She had the fortune of becoming a nanny for Dr. Zeineddins family. Gayla being the loving mother she already is, bonded well with the family as they grew.
To Ambleside Medical Centre's luck, Gayla wanted to work in the health care field again. She happily joined the team in July 2013.
Kira
Senior Medical Office Assistant
Kira was born and raised in Europe, moved to the states for her education with her family and then started her life in Vancouver, BC in 2017.
In college she studied early childhood education, and truly enjoyed it. However, she really enjoyed seeing what her sister was accomplishing in the health care field and that’s when her interest to work in the health care blossomed.
Kira knew she always wanted to work with people and after she graduated as a Medical Office Assistant she knew this was her calling. Now she feels she works in an amazing and hard working environment where her love to help people in need shines through. And she hopes to keep making people feel more comfortable in their most vulnerable selves.
Nazi
Medical Office Assistant
