Dr. Marina Ybarra is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Paediatrics and the School of Health Studies at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, and a Paediatric Endocrinologist at the Children's Hospital in London, Ontario. She is also an Associate Scientist at the Children's Health Research Institute and the London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute.

Dr. Ybarra received her medical education in São Paulo, Brazil, where she subsequently completed postgraduate training in Paediatrics and Paediatric Endocrinology, followed by a Master of Science examining polycystic ovary syndrome in adolescents with obesity. She later completed a Research Fellowship in childhood obesity at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, where she deepened her expertise in research methods and epidemiology under the mentorship of leading researchers in the field.

Her clinical and research interests are focused on the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity and its associated comorbidities. Prior to joining Western, Dr. Ybarra gained extensive experience at the University of São Paulo's Paediatric Weight Management Clinic and co-founded a pioneering joint Paediatric Endocrinology and Bariatric Surgery Clinic for adolescents.

At Western, Dr. Ybarra leads the Paediatric HEAL Program (Healthy Eating, Activity & Lifestyle) at the Children's Hospital — a multidisciplinary weight management clinic recognized as part of the Ontario Paediatric Bariatric Network and supported by the Ontario Ministry of Health. Her research portfolio includes clinical trials, systematic reviews, and collaborative studies spanning pediatric obesity treatment, mental health, physical activity, and health equity, with funding from AMOSO, the Children's Health Research Institute, and the Department of Paediatrics, among others.