ANNUAL NEWSLETTER 2024 in Review
YEAR END MESSAGE FROM THE DEPARTMENT HEAD
Dear colleagues,
With 2024 drawing to a close, I wish to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to each of you for your many valuable contributions, and celebrate our remarkable achievements this year as a department.
The targets outlined in our 2020-2025 Strategic Plan guided us through half a decade of growth and served as reliable benchmarks to measure our successes. I am delighted to note that as we approach the end of this plan and begin preparing a refreshed 2025-2030 Strategic Plan, we can confidently say we have achieved most of the concrete goals that were set before us. This is a testament to our collective dedication, focus and hard work.
As we look forward, we remain committed to expanding our research capacity at UBC Vancouver and across our distributed sites, and have recruitments in progress in the areas of Concurrent Disorders, Data Science, as well as in the Northern Medical Program, Fraser Program and Vancouver Island. Building on our 2023 momentum, we launched a second successful round of our Stimulus Grant program and the seventh year of our IMH Marshall Fellows Program. On the educational front, we welcomed more Psychiatry postgraduate students for 2024/2025 into our programs than ever before, a trend we look forward to continuing into the future.
Additionally, the 2023 departmental internal review, conducted by a panel of FoM reviewers, presented a valuable opportunity for us to track our many milestones over the last several years, reflect upon the state of the Department, and take a closer look at the opportunities and challenges of our academic environment. In response, we have taken meaningful steps to address the recommendations, including the coalescing of the Resident and Faculty EDI Committees into a unified Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDIA) Committee, establishing an Indigenous Strategies Committee, gathering feedback on the new website to continue improving the visitor experience, and conducting a Faculty, Staff and Graduate Students Mistreatment Reporting Survey, with a Resident Wellness Survey expected in the new year. Additionally, as we continue building clinical faculty support and engagement, we announced the redesignation of the VCH-PHC Regional Rounds as the UBC Psychiatry Grand Rounds beginning in January 2025, extending access to faculty across the province, and our Awards and Recognition Committee have established terms of reference and begun developing processes to identify and proactively promote faculty for nomination.
As you review this year’s highlights in our newsletter, I hope you share a sense of pride in our collective accomplishments. As I embark on my second term as Department Head, I remain indebted to our four Associate Heads and Executive team, who have been indispensable to our leadership team and, of course, to all of our outstanding Department members without whom our achievements thus far would not have been possible. With your continued engagement and ongoing support, I look forward to our continued collaboration in the years ahead.
Once again, I wish to thank you all and wish you a safe, happy and well-deserved rest this holiday season!
Sincerely,
Dr. Lakshmi N. Yatham Professor and Head, UBC Department of Psychiatry Director, Institute of Mental Health, UBC Regional Head and Program Medical Director, VCH/PHC
Land Acknowledgement
The Department of Psychiatry and its distributed programs, sites are located on traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of Indigenous peoples around the province.
We acknowledge:
The Vancouver Fraser Medical Program and the Vancouver Academic Campus of the University of British Columbia are situated on the traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and TsleilWaututh peoples.
The Southern Medical Program and the Okanagan Academic Campus of the University of British Columbia are situated on the territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation.
The Northern Medical Program and the University of Northern BC are situated on the traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh, part of the Dakelh (Carrier) First Nations.
With respect, the Lekwungen peoples on whose traditional territory the Island Medical Program and the University of Victoria stand and the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.
Special Thanks to Our Associate Heads, Executive Committee and Educational Leadership
UBC Psychiatry would like to recognize our four Associate Heads, Dr. Irfan Khabhai, Dr. Sophia Frangou, Dr. Anson Koo, and Dr. Raymond Lam, all of whom have provided exceptional leadership and strategic oversight to their respective portfolios in 2024, and have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to supporting the overall mission and mandate of the Department.
Dr. Sophia Frangou
Associate Head, Research & International Affairs
Dr. Irfan Khanbhai
Interim Associate Head, Postgraduate Education & Continuing Professional Education Director, Post Graduate Education
Dr. Anson Koo
Associate Head, Clinical Affairs & Partnerships Program Medical Director, Fraser Health
Dr. Raymond Lam
Associate Head, Graduate & Undergraduate Education
We wish to also thank each of the members of our Executive Committee, which includes our Associate Heads, Health Authority leadership Dr. Vijay Seethapathy (BCMHSUS), Dr. Wei-Yi Song (VIHA), Dr. Barbara Kane (NHA), Dr. Michael Weitzner (IHA), and Dr. Nel Wieman (FNHA), Department Clinical Affairs Representative Dr. Joseph Tham, DMCBH Director Dr. Lynn Raymond, EDIA Committee Chair Dr. Andrea Tuka and Director of Administration, Ms. Margaret Koshi. Our Executive Committee has been instrumental in providing guidance to the Department Head, and in informing strategic planning processes that shape the direction of teaching, research and other key areas in the Department.
As well, we wish to recognize Dr. Kathryn Fung, Dr. Clare Beasley, Dr. Kulwant Riar, Dr. Ashley Miller, Dr. Barinder Singh, Dr. Ashok Krishnamoorthy, Dr. Kenneth Heng, Dr. Anyssa Shakeri, Dr. Alison Gregson, Dr. Michelle Waller, Dr. Ryan Knebel, Dr. Charles Ho, Dr. Andrew Howard, Dr. Diane Fredrikson, Dr. Erin Michalak, Dr. Verena Langheimer, Dr. Michelle van den Engh, Dr. Jaeyun Yoo, and all of our outstanding Site Leaders, Oversight Directors, DSSLs and other educational leadership for their support and dedication to our medical students and residents, and for ensuring the excellence and ongoing success of our Psychiatry Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education Programs.
Finally, we would like to acknowledge the hard work of our Division Heads Dr. Roberto Sassi (Child & Adolescent Psychiatry), Dr. Emlene Murphy (Forensic Psychiatry) Dr. Ashok Krishnamoorthy (Geriatric Psychiatry), Dr. Randall White (Adult Psychiatry & Mental Health Services), Dr. Christian Schütz (Substance Use & Concurrent Disorders), and Dr. Timothy Murphy (Neuroscience & Translational Psychiatry).
UBC PSYCHIATRY TODAY Facts & Figures
Annual Operating Budget 24/25: $10.8 million
Research Funding FY 24/25: $10.8 million to date (Dec 2024)
Clinical Faculty: 826 Members
Academic Faculty: 38 Members
Research Associates, Postdoctoral Fellows, and Clinical Fellows: 50 Members
Student, Administrative, and Research Staff: 434 Members
Residents in General Psychiatry
Specialty: 136 Residents
Residents in Psychiatry
Subspecialty: 18 Residents
STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION RESEARCH Pillar
Accomplished in 2024
Stimulus Grant Initiative: A second successful round of Stimulus Grants were awarded for the 2024/2025 cycle to three recipients across the Clinician, Junior Academic and Child & Youth Mental Health categories; the application cycle was launched for 2025/2026, with the awardees to be announced in the new year.
Academic Faculty Recruitments:
• New CRC Tier 2 Academic Faculty Position in Early Intervention: Dr. Kamyar Keramatian was appointed to this position in March
• New Academic Faculty Position in Youth Depression: Dr. Tamara Vanderwal appointed to this position in March
• New Academic Faculty Position in Concurrent Disorders: Appointment in progress for the successful candidate
• New Academic Faculty Position in Northern Medical Program: Appointment in progress for the successful candidate
• New Academic Faculty Position in Data Science: The Selection Committee has been appointed and a review of applications is underway
Expanding Research Capacity: Five new fellows are supported by the 2024/25 IMH Marshall Fellows Program to advance the training of emerging scholars and expand research capacity.
Current Focus
New Royal Columbian Hospital Professorship in Mental Health in Fraser Health: Position will be reposted at the Assistant/ Associate Professor rank in January.
New Academic Faculty Position in Vancouver Island Health: Position will be posted in the new year.
EDUCATION Pillar
Accomplished in 2024
CPD Director: Dr. Diane Fredrikson was appointed to the position in October
Departmental Grand Rounds: Beginning in January 2025, VCH-PHC Regional Rounds have been redesignated as the UBC Psychiatry Grand Rounds, extending access to faculty across the province.
CaRMS Residency Track in Interior Health: The CaRMS residency track in the Interior, which welcomed its first two residents in 2023, welcomed its third resident in 2024.
Re-Entry Residency Positions: One re-entry position was allocated to Interior Health for 2024/2025, and one re-entry position has been allocated to Fraser Health for 2025/2026.
Psychiatry Summer Immersion Program (PSIP): Our 2024 PSIP was a fantastic opportunity for twenty Year 1 UBC medical students to get an inside look at a career in psychiatry through interactive sessions and clinical shadowing experiences over two days in early June. We wish to sincerely thank Dr. Cameron Anderson, Dr. Andrea Chapman, Dr. Danielle Chin, Dr. James Chin, Dr. Kaveh Darabian, Dr. Amanda Degenhardt, Dr. Nataliya Grishin, Dr. Ashley Jewett, Dr. Sara Junaid, Dr. Kawai Leong, Dr. Hasnin Moosa, Dr. Colleen Northcott, Dr. Carina Perel-Panar, Dr. Eric Paulsen, Dr. Julia Raudzus, Dr. Kelly Saran, Dr. Chris Schenk, Dr. Christian Schütz, Dr. Raman Srivastava, Dr. Loni Stevens, Dr. Joe Tham, Dr. Georgia Walton, Dr. Clara Westwell-Roper, Dr. Monique Wong, and Dr. Dmitri Zanozin for generously dedicating their time and energy to the Program.
Vancouver Summer Program (VSP): Our 2024 VSP was a huge success, with thirty-seven international undergraduates gaining exposure to key areas of interest in mental health, such as mood disorders, psychosis, and psychotherapy. We express our deep thanks to Dr. Clare Beasley, Dr. Trisha Chakrabarty, Dr. Daniel Eisenkraft-Klein, Dr. Stan Floresco, Dr. Connor Hawkins, Dr. Bill Honer, Dr. David Kealy, Dr. Kam Keramatian, Dr. Laura Labonté, Dr. Alexander Levit, Dr. Victor Li, Dr. Mahesh Menon, Dr. Harish Neelakant, Dr. Elton Ngan, Dr. John-Jose Nunez, Dr. Jay Padmanabhan, Dr. Ric Procyshyn, Dr. Ram Randhawa, Dr. Lynn Raymond, Dr. Christian Schütz, Dr. Jeremy Seamans, Dr. Joe Tham, and Dr. Jordan Williams-Yuen for their contributions to the Program.
Master of Health Science (MHSc) with a concentration in Translational Psychiatry: The program is jointly offered by UBC Psychiatry and SPPH, and the first student from Psychiatry, a fellow with the BCCH clinical program and funding from Children & Women’s Hospital, will begin the program in January 2025. Applications for the 2025 intake are currently open.
IMH PROGRESS Webinar Series: This monthly series focuses on a specific topic to help faculty and trainees achieve greater success and productivity in mental health. The inaugural webinar was in May.
Enhance Capacity in Data Science & Neuroscience: A new seminar on AI and its implications for psychiatric practice and clinical research now offered to PGY5s
Current Focus
Support of Residents: Two new sessions on QI/QA in psychiatric practice are now offered to PGY5s. We are continuing to explore ways to provide better guidance, support and mentorship to residents in the General and Research Tracks in their Research, QI/QA and Scholarly Activity projects.
STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION PEOPLE Pillar
Accomplished in 2024
Departmental Programs: Associate Head Dr. Lam is working with the six Division Heads to lead the development of criteria and accountabilities of all Programs. Proposals have been put forward for nine renewed Programs organized under the new divisional structure.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Anti-Racism (EDIA): The Department’s Resident and Faculty REDI Committees were coalesced into a unified EDIA Committee, which is developing an EDIA plan for the Department.
Indigenous Strategy Committee: Established to support the Department’s objectives to expand collaboration and cooperation with FNHA, Indigenous partners and communities, advance reconciliation, and promote equitable treatment and representation in Indigenous mental health research, education and clinical care.
Awards & Recognition Committee: Established to actively nominate deserving Department members for significant UBC and external awards and honours in adherence with principles of equity and diversity, and ensure that nominees from across our distributed sites are considered.
Current Focus
Standardize Clinical Fellowship Process: Dr. Andrew Howard, who was appointed director of the Fellowship Program in 2023, is providing oversight on the development and implementation of standard practices for the recruitment, admission, onboarding, supervision and evaluations of both Clinical Fellows and Clinical Postdoctoral Fellows. The program will be focusing on promoting the competitiveness of our current clinical faculty fellowship program, developing new fellowship positions, and investigating funding sources for prospective UBC Psychiatry clinical fellows.
Mistreatment Reporting: Results from the Mistreatment Reporting Survey which was anonymously distributed to Faculty, Staff and Graduate students will be handled confidentially and will be used to inform and foster respectful work and learning spaces and enhance accessible reporting processes.
Addressing Burnout: The Department is working with UBC leadership to characterize the challenge of burnout and propose evidence-based actions to reduce the burden on clinical faculty.
PARTNERSHIPS Pillar
Accomplished in 2024
Partnerships with DMCBH, BC Children’s Research Institute, Other Centres and Heath Authorities: Leveraging funding and support from our partners, we created new academic faculty positions within the Department.
BC’s Chief Scientific Advisor to Premier Eby for Psychiatry, Toxic Drugs & Concurrent Disorders: Dr. Daniel Vigo was appointed to the position in June, enhancing collaboration with several health authorities, Indigenous partners and individuals with lived experiences. Through access to relevant data sources, Dr. Vigo provides ongoing evidence-based recommendations to enhance the health system’s response and provide input on provincial mental health and substance use policy.
Health Authorities Physician Recruitment Models: The Department is working closely with Regional Department Heads of Health Authorities in ongoing discussions to explore models of funding to support recruitment of physicians.
SFU Medical School: As SFU develops its new medical school focused on primary care specialties including psychiatry, Dr. Anson Koo serves on behalf of our department as psychiatry representative, exploring partnership opportunities while providing consultation on curriculum development and training approaches. Drawing from his experience with UBC Psychiatry’s residency and undergraduate programs, Dr. Koo is fostering ongoing collaboration between the two institutions to better serve the Lower Mainland and province’s medical needs. The new medical school has hired its founding dean, begun staff recruitment, and will welcome its first undergraduate entry class in 2026 and first residency cohort in 2027.
Current Focus
Indigenous Mental Health Initiatives: As we continue to foster cooperation and collaboration with Indigenous partners, we will focus on developing and expanding suicide prevention support for Indigenous children.
Supporting Partnerships: The Department will also support the FoM and DMCBH to explore the development of a Neuroscience Strategic Plan for 2025-2030.
Leveraging Our Partnerships: Throughout 2024, the Department has continued to actively pursue opportunities to engage with Health Authorities, the Ministries, the BC and Royal Colleges, Doctors of BC, the BC Psychiatric Association, as well as Indigenous partners and philanthropic organizations. Our Program medical directors convene senior health authority representatives from across the province and advise on a broad range of issues, including licensure, policy, and provincial programs, in order to garner support and investment in initiatives to advance our common goals and to drive innovation and transform care in mental health. Many of the accomplishments achieved this year have been the result of these discussions and negotiations, and looking forward, we will continue to build cooperative and mutually beneficial relationships with all of our strategic partners.
Faculty Highlights
New Clinical Faculty Appointments
We currently have 800+ clinical faculty who are actively engaged in teaching, research and administrative leadership roles to support undergraduate and postgraduate Psychiatry education across the province.
Joining our Department this year are 51 new clinical faculty members:
Clinical Instructors:
Dr. Oluyemi Adekunte
Dr. Marya Aman
Dr. Mudasir Asif
Dr. Noor Beckwith
Dr. Mary Elizabeth Borkowski
Dr. Chantelle Bowden
Dr. Kim Browning
Dr. Jessica Chen
Dr. Jeeyoung Chin
Dr. Shannon Dames
Dr. Lucas Dellabough
Dr. Abdul Kader Domingo
Dr. Fariba Eghtedari-Namin
Dr. Jennifer Engle
Dr. Oluwakayode Fagbuyi
Dr. Emily Fraser
Dr. Tian Gee
Dr. Darcy Good
Dr. Stuart Hartsook
Dr. Connor Hawkins
Dr. Christopher Inegbedion
Dr. Zahraa Jalal
Dr. Rebecca Kummen
Dr. Emilie Langis
Dr. Oshin Maheshwari
Dr. Sonia Matwin
Dr. Connor McLean
Dr. Chandra Merry
Dr. Roxanne Mitchell
Dr. Suneina Mohan
Dr. Robert Nathan
Dr. Robert Nathan
Dr. Mohammadali Nikoo
Dr. John-Jose Nunez
Dr. Jesse Pare
Dr. Vu Pham
Dr. Rachelle Pullmer
Dr. Aida Raissi
Dr. Benjamin Richards
Dr. Emily Shelton
Dr. John Sherry
Dr. Ruth Stewart
Dr. John Strauss
Dr. Viktoria Thomas
Dr. Galilee Thompson
Dr. Jan van der Tempel
Dr. Mingyang Wang
Dr. Audrey Wexler
Dr. Denise Wynne
Dr. Linda Yang
Dr. Kelly Zerr
Academic Faculty Appointments & Promotions
Dr. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez
Promoted to Associate Professor, Tenure
Dr. Vila-Rodriguez has been a member of Department since 2012 and in 2024 founded the NINET laboratory with a research focus on novel therapeutic applications within noninvasive neurostimulation therapies (NINETs)
Dr. Kamyar Keramatian
New appointment as Canada Research Chair
Tier 2 & Assistant Professor, Tenure Track
Appointed to the Department’s clinical faculty in 2015, Dr. Keramatian serves as the comedical manager of the UBC Mood Disorders Center and the physician lead for the Coastal Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) Program
Dr. Daniel Vigo
Promoted to Associate Professor, Tenure
Dr. Vigo joined the Department in 2017 as a clinical fellow. In addition to advisory appointments with provincial bodies, he leads the Mental Health Systems and Services Laboratory (Vigo Lab).
Dr. Tamara Vanderwal
New appointment, Faculty Renewal Position in Youth Depression & Assistant Professor, Tenure Track
Dr. Vanderwal was appointed to the Department as an Assistant Professor (Partner) in 2018. She is also a child psychiatrist based at BC Children’s Hospital and clinician scientist leading the Naturalistic Neuroimaging Lab.
Clinical Faculty Promotions
The following 48 clinical faculty members were recommended by the Department to receive promotions, effective on July 1, 2024:
Dr. Adetokunbo Adeshina to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Chi Hung Au to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Alan Bates to Clinical Professor
Dr. Christopher Booth to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Aletta Bronkhorst to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Paul Carey to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Eduard Chachamovich to Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Tanya Crawford to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Hendri-Charl Eksteen to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Theo Elfers to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. James Fabian to Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Sean Flynn to Clinical Professor
Dr. Heather Fulton to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Gurinder Grewal to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Rachel Grimminck to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Andrew Howard to Clinical Professor
Dr. Au Ching Hung to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Martha Ignaszewski to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Muhammad Nadeem Khan to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Ashok Krishnamoorthy to Clinical Professor
Dr. Jennifer Laidlaw to Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Amanda LaMarre to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Harris Lari to Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Alexander Leung to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Cindy Liu to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Shao-Hua Lu to Clinical Professor
Dr. Nickie Mathew to Clinical Professor
Dr. Steven Mathias to Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Valentina Mendoza to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Paminder Narang to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Anthony Oshun to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Sanjeet Pakrasi to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Varinderjit Parmar to Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Carina Perel-Panar to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Julia Raudzus to Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Pouya Rezazadeh-Azar to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Anton Scamvougeras to Clinical Professor
Dr. Martina Scholtens to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Vijay Seethapathy to Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Rahul Soma to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Edwin Tam to Clinical Professor
Dr. Betty Tang to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Karl Torbicki to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Pravesh Vallabh to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Marius Welgemoed to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Bonnie Sue Wiese to Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Julia Wong to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Anthony Yeung to Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Amy Zwicker to Clinical Assistant Professor
Administrative Leadership Roles
NEW APPOINTMENTS
Dr. Diane Fredrikson appointed as Director, Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Dr. Irfan Khanbhai appointed as Interim Associate Head, PGE & CPD
Dr. Anyssa Shakeri appointed as Interim Associate Program Director, Fraser Track
Dr. Andrew Howard appointed as Director, Fellowship Program (Dec 2023)
REAPPOINTMENTS
Dr. Lakshmi Yatham reappointed as Head, UBC Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Lynn Raymond reappointed as Co-Director, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health (DMCBH)
Recognition
2024 Honours & Accolades
Congratulations to all our Department members who were recognized this year for their notable achievements, including the people below who were honoured by the Department, Faculty, University, or by provincial, national or international bodies for their significant contributions to teaching, research, clinical excellence and service. (*Please accept our sincere apologies if we missed anyone.)
Ms. Linda Chang
PGME PROGRAM
ADMINISTRATOR AWARD
Mr. Sahil Kanani
FOM APPLEGARTH STAFF SERVICE AWARD
Dr. Harry Karlinsky CPA PAUL PATTERSON INNOVATION IN EDUCATION LEADERSHIP AWARD
Dr. Clara Westwell-Roper
BCCH RESEARCH INSTITUTE OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT BY A SUB-SPECIALTY RESIDENT OR FELLOW AWARD
2024 Research Grants & Awards
NEW CIHR FUNDING (PIs listed)
Dr. Mahesh Menon
Dr. Lakshmi Yatham
Dr. Kyooseob Ha
Dr. Kamyar Keramatian
Dr. Lynn Raymond
Dr. Raymond Lam
Dr. Todd Woodward
Dr. Erin Michalak
Dr. Sophia Frangou
Dr. Janet Mah
MICHAEL SMITH HEALTH RESEARCH
Dr. Trisha Chakrabarty, Convening and Collaborating (C2) Award
Dr. Jennifer Coelho, Convening and Collaborating (C2) Award
Dr. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez, Reach Award
Laura Labonté, Research Trainee Award
Sharon Hou, Fellowship Award
CANADIAN FOUNDATION FOR INNOVATION
Dr. Tamara Vanderwal
BRAIN CANADA RISING STARS TRAINEE AWARD
Ms. Elizabeth Gregory
NSERC
Dr. Trisha Chakrabarty, Idea to Innovation Award
MITACS
Isabella Gallello, Accelerate Fellowship
Daniel Andrews, Elevate Fellowship
Jane Kim, Globalink Research Award
GENOME BRITISH COLUMBIA
Dr. Jehannine (J9) Austin
COPE SPECIAL FUND INITIATIVE
Dr. Alexander Levit
Dr. Steven Taylor CLARIVATE HIGHLY CITED RESEARCHER
Raymond Lam CLARIVATE HIGHLY CITED RESEARCHER
BCCHRI
Ahmad Samara, Graduate Studentship
UBC GRANTS FOR CATALYZING RESEARCH CLUSTERS
Dr. Anthony Phillips
Dr. Michael Krausz
DMCBH KICKSTART GRANT
Drs. Jeremy Seamans & Anthony Phillips
Drs. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez, Tamara Vanderwal & Roberto Sassi
UBC PSYCHIATRY STIMULUS GRANTS
Dr. Ivan Torres (23/24)
Dr. Clare Killikelly (23/24)
Dr. Shira Segal (23/24)
2024 UBC Psychiatry Faculty & Resident Awards
UBC PSYCHIATRY RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN POSTGRADUATE CLINICAL TEACHING
Dr. Fatima Allibhai
Dr. Cameron Anderson
Dr. Lindsay Bishop
Dr. Myles Blank
Dr. Claire Docherty
Dr. Andrew Howard
Dr. Ashley Jewett
Dr. Lingsa Jia
Dr. Arvind Kang
Dr. Christine Kennedy
Dr. Ashley Miller
Dr. Leah Rosetti
Dr. Rahul Soms
UBC PSYCHIATRY RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN CLINICAL TEACHING IN POSTGRADUATE SUBSPECIALTY EDUCATION
Dr. Brian Banno
Dr. Vincent Choong
Dr. Kulwant Riar
UBC PSYCHIATRY EXCELLENCE IN UNDERGRADUATE CLINICAL TEACHING AWARD
Dr. Lindsay Bishop
Dr. Nataliya Grishin
Dr. Grant Millar
Dr. Nicolas Ramperti
TRICEPS AWARD
Dr. Diane Fredrikson
Dr. Joseph Tham
RESIDENT & MD UNDERGRADUATE AWARD RECIPIENTS (UBC Psychiatry and Hospital Awards)
Dr. Marya Aman
Dr. Sabrina Campbell
Dr. Jessica Chin
Dr. Caroline Dance
Dr. Lucas Dellabough
Dr. Joseph Goody
Dr. Stuart Hartsook
Mr. Anthony Kenneth Hinde
Mr. Jake Johnston
Dr. Sara Kharsa
Dr. Jennifer LaBranche
Dr. Alexander Levit
Dr. Max Liu
Ms. Miriam Manna
Dr. Laura Matheson
Dr. Phoebe Ng
Dr. Triya Ramburn
Dr. Kaveh Rayani
Dr. Kirsten Roche
Dr. Christian Schlappner
Dr. Chin Vern Tan
Dr. Vivian Tsang
Dr. Emmanuel Tse
Dr. Tyler Warnock
Dr. Jordan Williams-Yuen
Dr. Wallace Yuen
Ms. Jenny Zhang
Dr. Sarah Zhang
Dr. Ellia Zhong
Department Year in Review
UBC Psychiatry 2024 RESEARCH DAY
Our annual UBC Psychiatry Research Day took place on June 13, 2024 as a hybrid event, and we were thrilled to welcome in-person attendees as well as those joining remotely from across of BC.
Special thanks to our Research Day Planning Committee; our presenters Dr. Patricia Conrod, Dr. Daniel Vigo and Dr. Ruiyang Ge; our Lightning Talk speakers Dr. Nicholas Ainsworth, Dr. Quinten Clarke, Ms. Elizabeth Gregory, Dr. Chithra Pream Raju, Dr. Nicole Sanford, Dr. Shawn Stochmanski, Dr. Tara Gaertner, Dr. Walter Sena, Ms. Karina Thiessen, Dr. Austin Lam, Ms. Daniah Zumrawi and Ms. Isabella Gallello; and our 66 Poster and ePoster presenters.
We also congratulate our People’s Choice Lightning Talk Award winners Ms. Elizabeth Gregory and Dr. Tara Gaertner, and our Poster winners Mr. Parsa Tadayon and Ms. Annika MacKenzie.
Thanks again to our dedicated organizers, engaging speakers and attendees for contributing to Research Day and making it a success!
Research Day 2025 has been confirmed for Thursday, June 5. A reminder that abstract submissions for next year’s event will open on Feb 15 and close on April 15, so stay tuned for more details in the New Year!
2024/2025 IMH Marshall Fellows Program
The review and selection process for the 2024/2025 IMH Marshall Fellows Program was completed in June 2024, and we announced five highly innovative proposals that were recommended for funding. As the Fellowship Program was originally developed to also support the training of clinician scientist psychiatrists, three of the five fellowships were awarded to MDs.
Nicholas Ainsworth, MD
Measuring response to L-DOPA challenge as a biomarker for outcomes in late-life depression: A pilot clinical trial
Abhijit Chinchani, PhD
Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) for improving information-gathering impairments using eye movements in schizophrenia
Laura Labonté, MD
Risk factors for cognitive impairment and substance-induced psychosis in people living in precarious housing or homelessness
Victor Li, MD
Clinical effects of methadone on depressive symptoms in patients with long-term opioid prescriptions
Kirsten Marchand, PhD
Investigating what matters to youth: A mixedmethods study of youth-centred opioid treatments and their outcomes Neuronal Gene Expression and Autism Behaviours Across Development
Administration Staffing Updates
In February 2024, we wished Ms. Vicky Yau a fond farewell as she departed her role as Director, Administration, and accepted a new administrative leadership position within the UBC Department of Family Practice. She graciously provided support as needed in the weeks that followed, and in April we announced the promotion of Ms. Margaret Koshi into the Director role.
With Ms. Koshi’s promotion, we welcomed Ms. Megan Rollerson as our new Manager of Communications and Partnerships.
On the Human Resources side, upon the departure of Ms. Eunice Yiu, we welcomed Ms. Gitika Bhowmik as a new HR Assistant. We also welcomed Ms. Rei Sakuma, as Administrative Assistant, primarily supporting our HR and Finance teams, as well as the day-to-day needs of our Administration Office.
In August, Ms. Kaitlin Vandewater joined the team as the new Executive Coordinator to the Department Head & IMH Director. We acknowledge and sincerely thank Ms. Terena Zhao for doing such an outstanding job
providing coverage in the role following the departure of Ms. Klara Labady
Within our Education Office, Ms. Michelle Plant joined as a new Administrative Assistant, providing support for the UGE, PGE and SSP programs.
We also welcomed Mr. Trevor Mah who joined the Faculty of Medicine as a Financial Analyst supporting the Department of Psychiatry. Trevor replaced Mr. Eric Toh who moved into a new analyst role in Administration Finance, FoM.
The UBC Department of Psychiatry would like to recognize and thank our hard-working Administration team for always going above and beyond to support all our Department members here at UBC Vancouver Campus and across our distributed sites.
IN MEMORIAM
In fond remembrance of the cherished friends and colleagues we mourned in 2024.
Dr. Earl D. Hardin
CLINICAL ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Dr. Leon Berzen CLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Dr. Abdulkarim Jiwa CLINICAL ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Dr. Karen Trueman
CLINICAL INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Raymond Au CLINICAL INSTRUCTOR
2024 Year End Festive Celebration
Photo Gallery
2024 Year End Festive Celebration
View all the photos from the event in our album on the UBC Psychiatry Flickr page!
