Jeremy Seamans

Dr. Anthony Phillips received his PhD in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario, under the mentorship of Gordon Mogenson and subsequently spent time in the laboratories of Elliot Valenstein and James Olds at the Fels Research Institute and Division of Biology at the California Institute of Technology, respectively.

He joined the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia in 1970, was appointed full professor in 1980. He then served as head of the department from 1994-99. He subsequently joined the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, UBC in 2000 and became the Founding Director of the UBC Institute of Mental Health in 2005. Dr. Phillips served for two terms (2001-07) as the inaugural Chair of the Advisory Board for the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction.
Dr. Phillips also played an important role in the evolution of the biotechnology industry in Canada, having been a Founding Director of QLT and serving as Secretary/Treasurer to its Board from 1982-92, and currently as a Founder and Member of the Board of Allon Therapeutics Inc. He has been elected as President (2012-14) of the Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum (CINP).

Dr. Phillips’ research interests are broadly based within the field of pre-clinical neuropsychopharmacology and systems neuroscience. He has published over 300 peer- reviewed articles and book chapters. His pioneering research, with H.C. Fibiger, laid the foundation for the role of dopamine in the neural control of motivation and memory, with its clinical implications for understanding biological correlates of addiction. He has a long-standing interest in applying knowledge concerning normal brain-behavior function to understanding the neural bases of mental illness and addiction.

Peer-reviewed publications

Dr. Phillips’ distinguished awards include: Canada Council Killam Senior Research Scholar (1978-80) and E.W.R. Steacie Fellow, NSERC (1980-82). In 1986, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and was also the recipient of an inaugural UBC Killam Research Prize. The Canadian Psychological Association honoured him in 1995 with the Donald O. Hebb Award for `Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Science.’ In 1996, the Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology awarded him with the inaugural prize for `Innovations in Neuropsychopharmacoloty’ (with H.C. Fibiger) and in 2009, with the Heinz Lehmann Award. In 2010, Dr. Phillips was elected a Fellow in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Dr. Panenka is a dually certified psychiatrist and neurologist and assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at UBC. He is the research lead of the BC Provincial Neuropsychiatry program and a researcher with the BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services Institute and the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health. He is the medical lead at the Neuropsychiatry Concussion Clinic and Neurology consultant to the Fraser health concussion clinic.

Dr. Panenka’s laboratory has been very productive thanks to a number of excellent graduate students and fellows. The laboratory encourages career growth along any trajectory and has been successful in placing learners into academia, medicine, industry and a number of allied health disciplines. We welcome applications year round from dedicated, self-motivated, and personable candidates.
Degrees / Credentials: MD, MSc, FRCPC (Neurology and Psychiatry)

As a clinical researcher my main goals over the next five years are to continue my work with the homelessness in Vancouver’s downtown east side, and set up a mild traumatic brain injury research program at the University of British Columbia.

Vancouver’s downtown east side is home to our most vulnerable population, characterized by a mixture of primary psychiatric illness and refractory addictions. As part of a large team led by Dr. Bill Honer (Head of Psychiatry) we recruit individuals housed in single room occupancy hotels who then undergo detailed medical and psychiatric testing, including brain MRI. This is a longitudinal study that follows approximately 500 individuals for up to 5 years. The data generated is important to policy makers and to science. There are a multitude of opportunities to explore psychiatric and neurological illness from many angels within this study.

My lab is concurrently engaged in the study of traumatic brain injury. We are building a strong team that includes multiple researchers from multiple disciplines here at UBC and abroad. Under the umbrella of the BC Neuropsychiatry program we have recently started the “Neuropsychiatry Concussion Clinic” for those individuals with symptoms that do are not resolving following head trauma. This clinic and others serve as recruitment sites for research studies that focus on the development of bio-markers in concussion, which simply put means finding cognitive, imaging, and blood markers that may predict outcome and response to treatment in those with brain injuries.

Peer-reviewed publications

Dr. Nicholls is Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UBC and Distinguished Scientist at the Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission, BCMHSUS. She holds cross-appointments at UBC including the SPPH and an Adjunct appointment in the Department of Psychology, SFU.

Her research examines the intersections of law and mental health related to the provision of services to persons in conflict with the law and diverse marginalized populations focusing on assessment and treatment of violence, criminality and the development and implementation of EBP. She has published manuals to support the translation of research into practice and has engaged in large-scale implementations and evaluations; these include violence risk assessments and mental health screening in correctional settings, mental health assessments and treatment planning (see manuals).

Her scholarly work has earned her and her teams multiple grants and awards totalling over $15 million. Recently she received a CIHR Foundation award (> $2 million; 2015-2022) to fund her research.

Source

Topics at the intersections of law and mental health. Including risk assessment and management (suicide, violence, self-harm); measure development and psychometrics; mentally ill individuals who come into conflict with the law; psychopathy; domestic violence; resiliency, recovery, victimization and homelessness; de-institutionalization and trans-institutionalization.

Peer-reviewed publications

2017 Significant Contribution Award, Canadian Psychological Association, Criminal Justice Section

2016  Canadian Institutes of Health Research -Foundation Award

2016  New Zealand Chad Buckle Visiting Fellowship, Mental Health, Addictions, & Intellectual Disability Directorate, Wellington, NZ 

2012 Quality Award – Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability Program, BC Patient Safety & Quality Council

2011  Accreditation Canada Leading Practice – Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability  

2004  President’s New Researcher Award, Canadian Psychological Association 2004  Distinguished Professional Contribution, American Psychological Association/APAGS

@ToniaLNicholls

Dr. Tim Murphy is a foundational scientist who studies how the mouse cortex adapts after stroke by remapping of brain function from damaged to surviving areas. The Murphy Lab develops new imaging and optogenetic methods that have parallels to human brain imaging and stimulation tools. He leads UBC’s Dynamic Brain Circuits in Health and Disease Cluster and participates in the Canadian Neurophotonics Platform.

Dr. Murphy uses high-resolution imaging of individual synapses and sensorimotor circuits in live mice to provide insight into mechanisms of initial stroke damage and stroke recovery. The lab has developed models of neurological and psychiatric diseases through internet-enabled mouse homecages used to manipulate and assess brain activity. More recent work has focused on developing a synthetic human form as a means of quantifying changes in neurological disease.

Peer-reviewed publications

2010 UBC Killam Research Prize Science, Applied Science, Medicine Category