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Congratulations to UBC Department of Psychiatry Clinical Professors, Dr. Stacy Elliott and Dr. Biju Mathew, who have both been honoured with King Charles III Coronation Medals in recognition of their outstanding service to Canada and their communities.

MARCH 25, 2025

Dr. Stacy Elliott is Sexual Medicine Physician with Spinal Cord Injury BC and is trained to assess and treat sexual and reproductive problems in persons with illness or injury. Dr. Elliott was recognized with the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her work across BC and Canada in sexual rehabilitation and fertility in persons with spinal cord injury at the Rick Hanson 40^th Anniversary celebration on March 20. She also received a Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee medal in 2012.

FEBRUARY 13, 2025

Dr. Biju Mathew is a psychiatrist with the Fraser Health Authority, researcher, and author of the book ‘Super 30 – Changing the World 30 Students at a Time‘. Dr Mathew was involved in the development of the current inpatient Psychiatric unit at Ridge Meadows Hospital. He was one of the early sponsors of Nurse Practitioner’s program in BC. Through advocacy and in print he championed the need for housing for the homeless in BC from 2015. He worked collaboratively with the local cities, Fraser Health and Division of Family Practice for the establishment of Foundry for the communities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. Dr Mathew is the founder of the Ridge Meadows South Asian Cultural Society where he has dedicated his philanthropic efforts to highlighting the outstanding contributions made by South Asian immigrants to Canada and to raising awareness about mental health and its impact on communities.

Dr. Mathew wishes to thank the ‘UBC department of Psychiatry, Fraser Health and the local communities for their ongoing support’.

Congratulations again to Drs. Elliott and Mathew for their well-deserved recognition!

Dear Department members,

The Department is saddened to share the news that Dr. Roger Freeman passed away on March 13, 2025, at the age of 91. He was a Clinical Professor Emeritus and had been a member of the Department of Psychiatry for over 50 years. Before his retirement from clinical practice, Dr. Freeman taught regularly in the Psychiatry Residency program at UBC.

Dr. Freeman co-founded the Neuropsychiatry Clinic at BC Children’s Hospital, where he was a Senior Neuropsychiatrist. He also co-founded and managed the Tourette Syndrome International Database Consortium, a worldwide clinical dataset on Tourette syndrome. A well-known child psychiatrist, he had a special interest and expertise in tic disorders and also served as a psychiatrist for hearing and visual impairment and meningomyelocele clinics. Dr. Freeman was the author of numerous papers on Tourette syndrome and a frequent presenter at Tourette Syndrome Foundation of Canada (TSFC) conferences. In recognition of his clinical expertise and research contributions, he was honoured as Clinician of the Year (2006) by the TSFC and received a distinguished service award from the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine.

Beyond his work in psychiatry, Dr. Freeman was an avid outdoorsman. He was an honorary member of the BC Association of Forest Professionals and a Life Member of the Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC. Alongside his wife, he also co-authored numerous hiking and trail guidebooks for Vancouver’s North Shore Mountains and elsewhere.

On behalf of the UBC Department of Psychiatry, we extend our sincerest condolences to Dr. Freeman’s family and loved ones for their loss.

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).

The Department of Psychiatry congratulates Professor Dr. Todd Woodward who has been awarded a UBC Killam Research Prize in recognition of outstanding research and scholarly contributions in the category of Applied Science, Medicine, and Sciences.

Dr. Woodward is with the Department’s Division of Neuroscience and Translational Psychiatry, a Research Scientist with the BC Mental Health and Addictions Research Institute (BCMHARI), and Centre Investigator with the Brain Research Centre. As director of the Cognitive Neuroscience of Schizophrenia (CNoS) Laboratory, his program is focused on two main areas of research: cognitive neuropsychiatry and functional neuroimaging.

Join us once again in congratulating Dr. Woodward on this well-deserved award.