Dr. Chris Koo
Chris Koo is a family physician in Edmonton who decided that a normal career wasn't for him. After 5 years of clinic-based and hospital work, he went on sabbatical to fulfill his lifelong dream of going to culinary school. After obtaining professional culinary diplomas in both Cuisine and Pâtisserie from Le Cordon Bleu, he returned to family medicine with an ambitious vision to blend both career paths. He oversees the Culinary Medicine Elective, in which he empowers medical students with nutritional knowledge and culinary skills to help patients as well as their own well-being. He also serves as the Director of Wellness at the UofA Department of Family Medicine, where he supports people's ability to thrive while tackling burnout and unhappiness. Most of all, he hopes to spread health and happiness to everyone through food. After all, he knows the way to a person's heart is through the stomach... although he recommends forgetting that during anatomy exams.
Dr. Riabowol née Tallen
Dr. Riabowol née Tallen graduated from the University of Hamburg, Germany, as an MD, PhD with magna cum laude (“great distinction”) in 1994. Her two residencies were in Neurosurgery and Pediatrics at the Charité-University
Hospital, Berlin, Germany, one of the highest ranked and the largest teaching hospital(s) in Europe. Supported by a scholarship from the National German Cancer Foundation, she pursued a CPSA-certified subspecialty clinical and research fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology with the Pediatric Oncology Program at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and the Cancer Biology Research Group at the University of Calgary. Since 2015, Dr. Riabowol née Tallen is a professor of Pediatrics and Oncology with the Dpts. of Pediatrics at the University of Calgary and, as an adjunct and guest scientist, also still with the Charité in Berlin. As a member of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI), her research focuses on pediatric cancer, pharmacogenomics, knowledge translation, quality improvement and child welfare. She currently serves as the Clinical Surveillor for the Canadian Pharmacogenomic Network for Drug Safety (CPNDS), site Alberta Children’s Hospital. She has published multiple research articles in medium- to high-ranked scientific journals. For the past decade, she has been an award-winning educator at UME, and, as of 2025, is also teaching in the Physician Assistants Program at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary.
Dr. Sharron Spicer
Dr. Sharron Spicer is a pediatrician in Calgary. She has practiced at the Alberta Children’s Hospital for over 25 years, caring for children and families with complex and chronic conditions. She is a champion of patient and family centred care and is a co-chair of AHS’ Patient and Family Advisory Council. She brings experience in medical ethics, having taught ethics at the University of Calgary School of Medicine and served on the Canadian Medical Association’s Committee on Ethics. Dr. Spicer has a medical leadership role in AHS as an Associate Chief Medical Officer with responsibilities in wellness, diversity, and leadership development.
