Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds | June 3 with Dr. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez
All Department members across the province are invited to attend the UBC Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds. The next session will be held Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at 8:30 am on Zoom. The session, Magnetic Seizure Therapy: a Novel Neuromodulation Treatment for Difficult to Treat Schizophrenia, is presented by Dr. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez, MD, PhD, FRCPC, DFAPA, Associate Professor and Director of Non-Invasive Neurostimulation Therapies Laboratory, Co-head of Interventional Brain Medicine Program, University of British Columbia.
A single registration link is available for all 2025 Grand Rounds:
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
For additional information regarding the monthly UBC Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds please contact Kevin Elsaputra at kevin.elsaputra@vch.ca.
Add the 2025 Grand Rounds events to your calendar: Download calendar
- Click the “Download calendar” link above
- For Outlook users: Simply double-click the downloaded file to add the events. *Please note, the events may open as a new calendar -simply drag or copy them to your preferred calendar
- For other calendar apps: Open the file with your preferred calendar application
Previous Grand Rounds are now accessible on Canvas
Department of Psychiatry members with UBC CWL can self-enrol in the Grand Rounds Canvas course to view past recordings:
The VCH/PHC Regional Psychiatry Grand Rounds are now the UBC Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds and are accessible via Zoom to all Department members across the province. Grand Rounds are held the first Tuesday of every month (unless otherwise stated), from 8:30 am to 9:30 am.
The Grand Rounds are a self-approved group learning activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification program of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
Congratulations! | UBC Psychiatry Residents Association Annual Award for Teaching Excellence & TRICEPS Award
**Sent on behalf of Psychiatry Residents and PGE Psychiatry**
Dear Drs. MacEwan, Kang, Ignaszewski, Brink, Jewett, Howard, Yew, Kang, Zhang, Elefante, Chin, Rosetti, Choong, Douziech, Allibhai, and Moniwa – congratulations!
On behalf of the Department of Psychiatry UBC, we are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as the recipient of:
Translation Research into Clinical Excellence in Psychiatry Settings (TRICEPS) Award
- Dr. Bill MacEwan
- Dr. Shimi Kang
- Dr. Martha Ignaszewski
Excellence in Teaching Awards for Undergraduate Education
- Dr. Ejike Udumaga (NMP)
- Dr. Tinus Brink (NMP)
- Dr. Fatima Allibhai (SMP)
- Dr. Nadeem Khan (Fraser)
- Dr. Sara Junaid (VFMP)
Excellence in Teaching Awards for Subspecialty Program
- UBC Psychiatry Residents Association Annual Award for Teaching Excellence
- CAP: Dr. Emily Fraser
- Geri: Dr. Vincent Choong
- Forensics: Dr. Andrew Kolchak
Excellence in Teaching Awards for Residency Program
- UBC Psychiatry Residents Association Annual Award for Teaching Excellence
- Prince George – Dr. Tinus Brink
- Victoria – Dr. Ashley Jewett
- UBCH – Dr. Andrew Howard
- BCCH – Dr. Debra Yew
- LGH – Dr. Arvind Kang
- VGH – Dr. Paige Zhang
- SPH – Dr. Julius Elefante
- RH – Dr. Jessica Chin
- RCH – Dr. Leah Rosetti
- SMH – Dr. Vincent Choong
- KGH – Dr. Jeff Douziech
- RIH – Dr. Tina Allibhai
- Community – Dr. Emiko Moniwa
The awards will be presented at the Clinical Faculty Appreciation Dinner and Awards Ceremony on June 5th at The Arbutus Club, Vancouver.
Regards,
Psychiatry Residents and PGE Psychiatry
Register for Consultation Sessions on Improving Educational Supports for Clinical Faculty
**This message is sent on behalf of Jennifer Golinski, Senior Director, Education Programs, Office of Vice Dean, Education, Faculty of Medicine and Shanda Jordan Gaetz, Managing Director, Faculty of Medicine **
Dear Clinical Faculty Members,
As part of our ongoing efforts to recognize the immense contributions of our clinical faculty members and support them most effectively, the Faculty of Medicine is looking at ways to enhance the teaching experience for clinical faculty members by modifying or increasing our clinical educational support processes and systems.
Building on valuable input we received from clinical faculty members via a survey in October 2024, we’re pleased to invite you to participate in a consultation session that will focus on identifying specific areas where support or enhancements are needed in the Faculty of Medicine’s educational resources, processes, and systems.
We are offering three virtual sessions, with each focusing on one key aspect of support for clinical faculty: Orientation, Faculty Development, and Administration. You are welcome to attend one or multiple sessions that fit your schedule:
- Session 1, Faculty Development: Monday, June 9, 7:00 – 8:30 am
- Session 2, Orientation: Monday, June 9, 4:30 – 6:00 pm
- Session 3, Administration: Wednesday, June 11, 7:00 – 8:30 am
These sessions will be interactive and discussion-based, providing an opportunity to share your insights and help prioritize key improvements.
To register by May 30, please click the following link and select the session(s) you are available to attend: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9N1zO2w58Fy84Wq
If you have any questions regarding the sessions, please contact fom.strategicplan@ubc.ca.
Thank you for your support. We appreciate your time and valuable perspective and look forward to the discussion.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Golinski (she/her)
Senior Director, Education Programs and Services
Office of the Vice Dean, Education
Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia
UBC Faculty of Medicine – Transforming health for everyone
Shanda Jordan Gaetz| Managing Director
UBC Faculty of Medicine
317-2194 Health Sciences Mall
Transforming Health for everyone.
UBC Department of Psychiatry Staffing Update | May2025
Dear Department members,
We are delighted to welcome Mr. Mauricio Bernardino to the Psychiatry Education Team in the UBC Department of Psychiatry!
Mauricio joined us on May 14, stepping into the role of Senior Program Assistant for the PGE program, for which we initiated a recruitment process following the promotion of Mr. Ahsan Sahibzada to the role of Postgraduate Program Manager. He brings his solid administrative background in education settings through his prior role as a UBC Hiring Solutions staff member.
In his new role, Mauricio will be providing administrative support to residents in PGY1 to PGY5, and will serve as a first point of contact for faculty and staff on processes related to the Postgraduate program. He may be reached by email at mau.bernardino@ubc.ca, however for complex issues, please also include Ahsan (ahsan.sahibzada@ubc.ca) on your email to Mauricio during his first few months of training and onboarding. When on site, Mauricio will be situated in the Psychiatry Education Office on the 11th floor of the VGH Diamond Health Care Centre.
Please join us in warmly welcoming Mauricio to the team!
Sincerely,
Margaret Koshi
Director, Administration
UBC Department of Psychiatry
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).
Strangway Building and Michael Smith Laboratories POWER SHUTDOWN | Saturday June 14, 2025, 8:00am – 6:00pm
Hello all,
This is your 1-month notice of a regular building power shutdown for regulatory electrical maintenance work.
| BUILDING(S): | David Strangway Building Michael Smith Laboratories |
| SERVICE: | All electricity not on a back-up generator |
| SHUTDOWN FROM: | 8:00 AM Saturday, June 14th, 2025 |
| SHUTDOWN TO: | 6:00 PM Saturday, June 14th, 2025 |
| REASON: | Maintenance to High Voltage Feeder 12F10 |
Feeder shutdowns are done every 5 years, and this exercise is designed to provide the campus with reliable power on our end (doesn’t include Hydro’s side). We’re simply doing everything in our “power” to ensure reliable electricity to all buildings.
NOTE: Please keep this date in mind when planning/booking events, exams, and classes around this date and time. My suggestion would be to simply block off this period of time as “busy”. As there will be no regular power, the building will be essentially shutdown during this time frame. Because there are so many buildings impacted, these shutdowns are not cancelled last minute due to classes, events, etc. The shutdown will go on!
What to expect?
- Regular power within your building will be off. Generator power will be active during this time if your building has a generator.
How this will affect you?
- If your equipment is on generator power there will be a short power outage (10 – 20 seconds as the generator gets up to speed) then all gets transferred over. The same will happen when the power is restored at the end of this exercise.
- If your equipment is not on generator power, please plan to power it down in advance of the shutdown.
Concerns?
- If you have power sensitive equipment including computers, it’s highly recommended that the equipment be manually shutdown and unplugged during this maintenance.
- If you have a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) this is a great opportunity to test out your equipment, if you don’t have one this is a great opportunity to look into and possibly purchase one (UPS won’t be supplied for the duration of this shutdown)
- This is a great excuse to clean out general food storage fridges and freezers. What often happens is that occupants will return to their fridge/freezer and notice a mysterious puddle of water at the base of the unit and call in a maintenance request to have the issue looked into, only to find it was the result of the ice buildup in the freezer that has melted.
Please reach out to me with any concerns.
Thanks,
Jeffrey Smith
Facilities Manager
VP Finance & Operations (VPFO) Portfolio | Facilities | Customer Services and Informatics
The University of British Columbia | Vancouver Campus
2329 West Mall | Vancouver BC | V6T 1Z4 Canada
Phone 604 822 3425
jeff.smith@ubc.ca
https://facilities.ubc.ca/
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).
Undergraduate Teaching Opportunity – Sign Up to Lead Year 3 Academic Half Day Sessions
Last year’s launch of our new, provincial Year 3 Academic Half Days was a huge success – thank you to all who supported these sessions and provided feedback! We are currently recruiting faculty and residents to help lead these small group teaching sessions for the upcoming academic year. The sessions are held online via Zoom, and are 1 hour in length. Tutor guides are provided to help facilitate and support the tutor in leading the sessions.
Details:
Time Commitment: 1-1.5 hours (including preparation time)
Dates: Tuesday afternoons, 2:30-3:30 and 3:45-4:45
Remuneration: Following the clinical faculty compensation terms, including an extra 30 minutes of preparation time for every new topic. Processed directly through TTPS – no invoicing.
Topics: Anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, trauma, psychotic disorders, sleep, somatization, and substance use disorders.
To Sign Up: email Eva Angelopoulos, Senior Education Programs Manager, at eva.angelopoulos@ubc.ca for full sign up details and any questions.
Best,
Eva Angelopoulos (She, Her, Hers)
Senior Education Programs Manager
Faculty of Medicine | Department of Psychiatry
I respectfully acknowledge, with gratitude, that the land on which I 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)
Interventional Brain Medicine: An Emerging Field in Psychiatry
May 27, 2025
1:00pm – 2:00pm PDT
Summary
Led by Dr. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez, this session provides an overview of Interventional Brain Medicine: the emerging field using neurotechnologies to treat psychiatric and neurological conditions. Dr. Vila-Rodriguez discusses clinical advances in neuromodulation techniques, including transcranial magnetic stimulation, magnetic seizure therapy, and focused ultrasound. His work emphasizes clinically applicable research designed to be translated promptly, efficiently, and safely into real-world practice.
Speaker
Dr. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez, MD, PhD, FRCPC, FAPA
Director, Non-invasive Neurostimulation Therapies (NINET) Laboratory
Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Neuroscience and Translational Psychiatry
Co-head, Interventional Brain Medicine Program
Associate Member, School of Biomedical Engineering
As a Clinician-Scientist, I have a strong interest in conducting translational research that bridges our understanding on the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders with the clinical applications of this knowledge. My clinical practice is actively focused in those most severely afflicted by such conditions, and my research interests are directed at finding novel therapeutic interventions as part of the emerging field of Interventional Brain Medicine. This paradigm shift strategy is already helping mitigating the suffering of those with severe and refractory forms of psychosis, depression, and other neuropsychiatric conditions. I strongly believe that understanding the mechanism of action of Interventional Brain Medicine technologies is a critical step towards translating research knowledge to clinical practice. More important, translating that knowledge to clinical practice will have a direct, immediate, and positive impact on the life’s of those who struggle and suffer the most devastating forms of mental illness and their families.