William Panenka

Dr. Panenka is a dually certified psychiatrist and neurologist and Associate 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.

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.

Nicholls Lab

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. Erin Michalak is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, Program Director for the APEC Digital Hub for Mental Health and the Patient Engagement Methods Clusters Lead for the BC SUPPORT Unit. Her background is in psychology, with a PhD awarded from the University of Wales College of Medicine in the United Kingdom. Her research expertise lies in eHealth/mHealth, patient engagement in research, knowledge translation, mood disorders, quality of life, and implementation science.

Dr. Michalak’s research has been well supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, and other funders. She is the founder and leader of the `Collaborative RESearch Team for the study of psychosocial issues in Bipolar Disorder’ (CREST.BD), a CIHR-funded Canadian network dedicated to collaborative research and knowledge exchange in bipolar disorder. She has published over 100 scientific articles and several books and book chapters. She lives on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, where she is an avid mushroom hunter and breeder of Giant Schnauzers.

www.crestbd.ca/
www.bdwellness.com
www.bdqol.com

View publications

2018 CIHR Gold Leaf Prize for Transformation in Patient Engagement

@erin_michalak
@CREST_BD

Dr. Raymond Lam is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the UBC Mood Disorders Centre. He is a lead investigator for the Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression, Executive Director of the APEC Digital Hub for Mental Health, and Past Executive Chair of the Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments. He also leads the Cluster of Excellence on Research on Equity in Mental health in the Asia Pacific–Digital focus.

Dr. Lam’s research examines clinical and neurobiological factors in seasonal, treatment-resistant and workplace depression, clinical trials, clinical guidelines, digital health technologies, and global mental health.

Peer-reviewed publications

• Distinguished Achievement Award for Overall Excellence, UBC Faculty of Medicine, 2022 & 2014
• J.M. Cleghorn Award for Clinical Research, Canadian Psychiatric Association, 2015
• R.O. Jones Memorial Award Canadian Psychiatric Association, 2007
• Silver Anniversary Leadership Award, UBC Medical Alumni, 2006
• Douglas Utting Prize and Medal for Depression Research, McGill University, 2001

Dr. David Kealy is an Associate Professor with the Psychotherapy Program and the Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Kealy has a background in social work and public mental health service, previously holding a clinical leadership position at one of the largest community outpatient psychotherapy programs in British Columbia. He provides teaching and clinical supervision in the Psychotherapy Program, and maintains an active consultation and psychotherapy practice.

His program of research encompasses the process and outcome of psychotherapy, along with many of the issues that bring people to seek psychotherapy. Such issues include concerns in areas of identity and self-concept, emotion regulation, and interpersonal relatedness. His psychotherapy research is focused on factors that influence therapy process and outcome, particularly in the treatment of individuals with personality disorders, multiple clinical or social difficulties, and histories of traumatic experience. The ultimate aim of such work is to support integrative and personalized approaches to treatment, as well as preventive and accessible interventions.

Website: UBC Men’s Health Research Program

Peer-reviewed publications

His work has been recognized by early-career research awards from the Western Psychological Association and the Society for Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration, and he is currently a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar.