Congratulations to Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Reza Rafizadeh, who has received a 2025 Health Professional-Investigator (HP-I) Award from Michael Smith Health Research BC!
Dr. Rafizadeh is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the UBC Department of Psychiatry and serves as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Psychiatry at both the Red Fish Healing Centre and the BC Psychosis Program. His project, Addressing the Crisis: Developing Evidence-Based Treatment for Individuals with Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorders and Psychosis in BC, in partnership with the BC Schizophrenia Society Foundation, looks at indicators of harmful use of non-prescribed addictive substances—reflected in healthcare visits, hospitalizations, and deaths.
Dr. Rafizadeh’s research focuses on schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders, with a particular emphasis on substance use disorder comorbidity. His work involves observational research design, therapeutic drug monitoring, electronic medical record (EMR)-based studies, regression analysis, meta-research, personalized pharmacotherapy, and biomarker evaluation. Dr. Rafizadeh’s research aims to bridge the gap between real-world prescribing practices and meaningful clinical outcomes, supporting translational insights that directly inform patient care.
View the full list of 2025 HP-I awards recipients here…