Dear Faculty, Staff, Fellows and Residents,
As the Department recently completed the recruitment process for a full-time academic faculty position in Early Intervention in Psychosis/Bipolar Disorder, I am delighted to share that Dr. Kamyar Keramatian has been appointed at the rank of Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), effective January 1, 2024. As well, he has been appointed as a new Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Early Intervention in Psychosis/Bipolar Disorder.
Dr. Keramatian has held a clinical faculty appointment within the Department since 2015 and was promoted to Clinical Assistant Professor in 2019. Serving as the co-medical manager of the UBC Mood Disorders Center and the physician lead for the Coastal Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) Program, he is also a well-established researcher who has received numerous awards over the last few years, including the VCHRI Mentored Clinician Scientist Investigator Award, the Michael Smith Health Research BC Health Professional-Investigator (HP-I) Award, and the Michael Smith Health Research BC Convening & Collaborating (C2) Award. More recently, as a co-PI, he and his team obtained a large CIHR project grant for a randomized clinical trial to test psilocybin as a treatment for the depressive phases of bipolar II disorder.
Within his new academic faculty position, Dr. Keramatian will further develop his multidisciplinary research program, which aims to investigate neuroimaging and neurocognitive measures that hold promise in predicting clinical outcomes and response to various interventions in patients in the early stages of bipolar disorder and at-risk individuals. His appointment strongly aligns with the Department’s strategic priority to enhance research capacity in this crucial area, and improve early diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for vulnerable youth and adults.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Keramatian as he embarks on this exciting phase of his academic career, and warmly welcoming him to his new appointment in the Department. I am confident that, as an emerging leader in the area of early intervention in psychosis and bipolar disorder, he will continue to demonstrate a high level of productivity and make ongoing and impactful contributions to the field.
Sincerely,
Dr. Lakshmi N. Yatham, MBBS, FRCPC, MRCPsych (UK), MBA (Exec)
Professor and Head, UBC Department of Psychiatry
Director, Institute of Mental Health, UBC
Regional Head and Program Medical Director, VCH/PHC
The UBC Department of Psychiatry Administration Office respectfully acknowledges the land on which we live, work and play is the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-waututh).