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Naznin Virji-Babul

Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy
PT, PhD

Contact Information

Office location

212 Friedman Building, Room 225
2177 Wesbrook Mall
Vancouver, BC, V5Z 3P1

Lab location

Child and Family Research Institute
Developmental Neurosciences & Child Health
L412 - 4480 Oak Street

Phone

604-827-4966

Email

naznin.virji-babul@ubc.ca

More Info

- Current teaching interests include pediatric neuro-rehabilitation, child development, developmental disabilities and motor control.

- - Scientist Level 1, Child and Family Research Institute, Developmental Neurosciences & Child Health
  - Principal Investigator, Down Syndrome Research Foundation
  - Board member, Patient Care Quality Review Board for Vancouver Coastal, Fraser Health and Provincial Health Services
  - Member, Organization for Human Brain Mapping

- Dr. Virji-Babul is a physical therapist and a neuroscientist. Her Lab (Brain Development: Perception to Action) uses a combination of behavioural and brain imaging tools (i.e. MEG) to probe the brain and investigate the patterns of brain activation as they relate to perceptual-motor and social-emotional development in children and adults with developmental disabilities. Their research has shown that in adults with Down syndrome, there are distinct differences in the timing, pattern and location of brain activity during functional tasks. They are exploring how information based on brain dynamics can be effectively integrated into intervention for children and adults with developmental disabilities.

- Virji-Babul, N., Hovorka, R., Jobling, A. (2006). Playground dynamics: Perceptual-motor behaviour and peer interactions of young children with Down syndrome. Journal of Developmental Disabilities. 12(1) Supp 2
  
  Fawcett, S., and Virji-Babul, N. (2006). Integrated therapy for stuttering and expressive syntax in Down syndrome: A case report. International Journal on Disability and Human Development. 5(4) 391-396.
  
  Hovorka, R., and Virji-Babul, N. (2006). A preliminary investigation into the efficacy of virtual reality as a tool for rehabilitation for children with Down syndrome International Journal on Disability and Human Development. 5(4) 351-355.
  
  Mazzoni, ER, Southward JK, Temple, VA, Rhodes, RE., Virji-Babul, N., Purves, L. (2006). Effect of indoor rock climbing on self-efficacy and self-perceptions of children with special needs: A pilot project. ACHPER Healthy Lifestyles Journal. 53 (3-4) 10-16
  
  irji-Babul, N., Eichmann, A., Kisly, D., Down, J., Haslam, R. (2007). Use of Health Care Guidelines on Down syndrome by family physicians across Canada. Paediatrics and Child Health. 12( 3) 179-183
  
  Virji-Babul, N., Cheung, T., Weeks, D., Kerns, K., Shiffrar, M. (2007). Neural activity involved in the perception of human and meaningful object motion. Neuroreport 18 (11) 1125-1128
  Virji-Babul, N., Cheung, T., Weeks, D., Herdman, A.T., Cheyne, D. (2007). Magnetoencephalographic analysis of cortical activity in adults with and without Down syndrome. Journal Intellectual Disability Research Dec;51(Pt 12):982
  
  Matthews, Q., Jirasek A., Virji-Babul, N., Cheung, T., Babul A. (2008). Investigation of a two-point maximum entropy regularization method for signal enhancement applied to magnetoencephalography data. Biomedical Signal Processing and Control (3) 78–87
  
  Dalton, R., Virji-Babul, N. (2008). Expressions of Cultural Identity in the Drawings of Ismaili Muslim Children in Canada. Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education (26): 24-39.
  
  Virji-Babul, N. Moiseev, A., Cheung, T., Weeks, D., Cheyne, D., Ribary, U. (2008). Changes in mu rhythm during action observation and execution in adults with Down syndrome: Implications for action representation, Neurosci. Letters 9;436(2):177-80
  
  Galli, M., Rigoldi, C., Brunner, R.,Virji-Babul, N. Albertini, G. (2008) Joint stiffness and gait pattern evaluation in children with Down syndrome. Gait and Posture 28(3):502-6
  
  Cheung, T., Virji-Babul. (2008). MEG analysis of emotional face processing in children with Down syndrome: A pilot study. Down Syndrome Quarterly. 10, 2: 18-21
  
  Lam, M., Hodges, N., Virji-Babul, N., Latash, M. (2009). Evidence for Slowing as a Function of Index of Difficulty in Young Adults with Down syndrome. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. 114: 6, 411-426
  
  Beg, MF., Wong, S., Khan, AR., Cheung, T., Virji-Babul, N. Herdman, A. (2009). External Landmark and Head Shape based Functional Data Normalization. Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics. 33, Issue 7: 501-509
  
  Virji-Babul N and Weeks, D. (2009) Perception, Action, Cognition: New Perspectives on Down syndrome. International Review of Research on Mental Retardation. Vol 38: 147-170.
  
  Virji-Babul, N., Moiseev, A., Cheung, T., Weeks, D., Cheyne, D., Ribary, U. (2010). Spatial-temporal dynamics of cortical activity underlying reaching and grasping: Implications for understanding the mirror neuron system. Human Brain Mapping. 31, 1: 160-171.
  
  Virji-Babul, N., Moiseev, A., Cheung, T., Weeks, D.J., Cheyne, D., Ribary, (2010). U. Neural mechanisms underlying action observation in adults with Down syndrome. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. 115, 113-127
  
  Watt K, Johnson P and Virji-Babul. The perception of friendship in adults with Down syndrome. Accepted (August 2010): Journal of Intellectual Disability Research
  
  See publications by Naznin Virji-Babul on PubMed