CaRMS Structured Reference Letter

** Sent on behalf of Dr. Irfan Khanbhai, PGE Program Director, UBC Department of Psychiatry **

Dear Clinical Faculty,

Some of you may already be aware that nationally, Psychiatry has moved to a Structured Reference Letter for CaRMS applicants for this cycle. We had asked that there be a transition year where previous format reference letters as well as this structured letter be accepted. However, this was not possible. I am aware that for those of you completing these, there have been issues with downloading and uploading these letter files. If it is at all helpful, below is the link to a PDF of this form. 

ENGLISH: https://www.carms.ca/pdfs/2025-Psychiatry-Structured-Reference-Letter-EN.pdf

Next year, CaRMS assures us that the letter will be embedded on the platform and this PDF is only a transition step. 

Take good care,

Dr. Irfan Khanbhai MD, FRCPC
Clinical Associate Professor
Program Director
UBC Department of Psychiatry Postgraduate Education Program

Interim Associate Head
Postgraduate Education and Continuing Professional Development 
UBC Department of Psychiatry

We humbly acknowledge, with gratitude, that we live, work, and play as an uninvited guest on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil- Waututh) Nations. 

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the call for applications for the UBC Institute of Mental Health (IMH) Marshall Fellows Program in Mental Health for 2025-2026. The Marshall Fellows Program in Mental Health was established in 2019 by the IMH to support the training of young investigators in translational research in order to create research capacity in mental health.

The IMH, in partnership with the Department of Psychiatry, is now inviting applications from qualified candidates for Fellowship awards, which will be supported by the Marshall Fellows Program in Mental Health. Please see the Application Guidelines for more detailed information regarding the requirements and criteria for this award. This year, in accordance with the original award funding plan, the program will fund stipends of $75,000 for up to four Fellows. Since the Fellowship Program was originally developed to support the training of clinician scientist psychiatrists, at least half of the awards will be allocated to MDs. The duration of funding is for one year only, however Fellows may have an opportunity to apply for a one-year extension of funding in the following year. Current Fellows in their first year of funding in 2024-2025 may apply for an extension in 2025-2026 for a second and final year of funding.

We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, and I would like to ask that this information be circulated widely.

Applicants must submit their applications online at:
https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8xn6gFh9907dDNQ by Friday, January 31, 2025 (11:59pm PST).

If you have questions or require further information regarding these awards, please contact Margaret Koshi, Director, Administration, at margaret.koshi@ubc.ca.

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 

We 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) Nations.

As the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) announced the results of its spring 2024 project grant competition, we wish to congratulate our faculty members and principal investigators Dr. Sophia Frangou and Dr. Erin Michalak, along with their teams, who were awarded grant funding to support their respective projects below:

Network-Brain Age: Enhancing spatial precision of accelerated aging

• Principal Investigator: Sophia Frangou

• Co-investigators: Ruiyang Ge

While everyone ages chronologically at the same rate, some individuals experience accelerated age-related biological changes. The application of machine learning algorithms to brain imaging data enables the calculation of the biological age of the brain (brain-age); individuals with accelerated aging have a higher brain-age than their chronological age. This application pioneers the study of Network-Based Brain Age Gap Estimation (brainAGE) that examines the rate of age-related changes within defined brain networks. READ MORE

Evaluating the efficacy of the PolarUs app on quality of life outcomes in people with bipolar disorder

• Principal Investigators: Erin Michalak; Steven J Barnes

• Co-investigator: Colin A Depp; Carolyn S Dewa; Kendall Ho; Rachelle D Hole; Raymond W Lam; Denise (Denny) Meyer; Emma Morton; Jill Murphy; Gregory W Murray; Heather L O’Brien; Martin D Provencher; Lakshmi N Yatham

Over half a million Canadians live with bipolar disorder (BD), a long-term and potentially disabling mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings from depression to mania. Suicide rates are disturbingly high – up to 15% of people with BD will end their own lives. This evidence paints a bleak picture. Yet, with optimal support, care and empowerment, people with BD can experience good health and quality of life (QoL). READ MORE

If you are a PI who was awarded funding in the fall 2024 CIHR Competition, but was not mentioned in this post, please reach out to Megan Rollerson (megan.rollerson@ubc.ca)