IN MEMORIAM: Dr. Hassan Azim, Honorary Professor

We are very saddened to share the news of the recent passing of Honorary Professor Dr. Hassan Azim at the age of 91. 

Dr. Azim’s distinguished career began over 60 years ago in Cairo, Egypt, where he completed his training in psychiatry and became one of Egypt’s first psychiatrists. In 1960, he arrived in Canada to pursue further psychiatry training at McGill University, then obtained his certification in Psychoanalysis at the Canadian Psychoanalytic Institute. Following several years spent in various clinical roles and as an Assistant Professor at McGill, in 1973 Dr. Azim relocated to Edmonton, Alberta, where he was appointed as a Clinical Professor at the University of Alberta, and also served as Director of the Division of External Psychiatric Services and Co-Director of the Psychotherapy Research Centre.

Upon moving to BC in 1998, Dr. Azim joined the UBC Department of Psychiatry as an Honorary Professor, and for over two decades, was an active member of our faculty. He made significant contributions to teaching psychodynamic psychotherapy and providing valuable support to other UBC faculty members in their supervisory work. As his colleagues in the UBC Psychotherapy Program write, “His lectures were prized by residents and candidates for the accessible way in which he shared his clinical knowledge and encouraged creative and critical reflection… Dr. Hassan Azim was a beloved and effective mentor and supervisor appreciated for his wisdom, patience, and warmth. He was passionate about psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy, and deeply committed to the professional growth of trainees, and to the development of subsequent generations of clinicians. Dr. Azim generously shared his knowledge while encouraging others to form their own views and establish their own style. He demonstrated a persistent inquisitiveness and open-mindedness––showing an embrace of complexity and providing an inspiring model of humility.  His humanistic model of psychoanalysis will be gratefully remembered by the analytic community in Western Canada.” Read the full tribute here.

The passing of Dr. Azim is a significant loss to the Department, to his many friends, patients, former students and mentees, and to his numerous colleagues in the UBC Psychotherapy Program, at McGill and the University of Alberta, and around the world. The UBC Department of Psychiatry wishes to send its deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Dr. Azim during this difficult time.

In the New England Journal of Medicine this week, lead author Dr. Lakshmi Yatham and a team of researchers have published the results from the world’s first randomized clinical trial assessing the duration of adjunctive antidepressant therapy in bipolar depression, the findings of which show that, while the primary outcome of time to any mood episode was not significant, pre-specified sensitivity analysis and secondary outcomes suggest extending the treatment period beyond current guidelines may help prevent depressive relapses.

The clinical trial, conducted at sites in Canada, South Korea and India, involved 178 patients with Bipolar I disorder who were in remission from a depressive episode following treatment with modern antidepressant drugs (escitalopram or bupropion XL). The patients were randomly assigned to either continue antidepressant treatment for 52 weeks, or begin tapering off antidepressants at six weeks and switch to a placebo at eight weeks.

Over the year-long study, 46 per cent of patients in the placebo group experienced a relapse of a mood event, compared to only 31 per cent in the group that continued antidepressant treatment. While this primary outcome was not found to be statistically significant, the comparison included relapses that occurred during the first six weeks of the study when both groups were receiving the same treatment.

However, in an analysis from week six onward, when treatment between the two groups differed, patients that continued antidepressant treatment were 40 per cent less likely to experience a relapse of any mood event, and 59 per cent less likely to experience a depressive episode relative to the placebo group.

Read the full UBC press release here.

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

Dear Clinical Faculty,

I am writing to you today about the Academic Advisor (AA) position that we have for each of our residents.   We are making a significant change in the Academic Advisor duties about which I wanted to update you.  Until now, biannually, the Academic Advisors have had to review their resident’s EPAs and evaluations and create a report that went to the Competence Committee to help ensure adequate resident progression.  

The Program has made the decision that this report creation will now be under the jurisdiction of the Associate Program Directors.  This will allow the AA role to transition to one more of mentorship, resident wellness and support, coaching on learning plans as needed , and any additional aid the resident may require if on a formal learning plan or remediation.  The AA will still have access to all the formal evaluations and assessments to help guide and support the resident.

Occasionally, the Associate Program Director may need help with a resident’s semi-annual report and may ask for your support.

Given that each year we have a new cohort of residents, we are currently actively recruiting for our Vancouver, Fraser, and Vancouver Island tracks.  The full role description is at this link for your perusal.  If you have an interest in supporting our residents in this way, please reach out to your local Associate Program Director:

Dr. Ken Heng – Vancouver Track (Kenneth.Heng@vch.ca)
Dr. Faiza Hameer – Fraser Track (Faiza.Hameer@fraserhealth.ca)
Dr. Alison Gregson – Vancouver Island Track (Alison.Gregson@islandhealth.ca)

If there are any questions, feel free to reach out to your local track Associate Program Director or myself, and we will respond as soon as possible.

Thank you and warm regards,

Irfan

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

I humbly acknowledge, with gratitude, that I 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 wish to share that Dr. Sophia Frangou will be stepping down from her role as Director, Research Track (RT) for the UBC Psychiatry Postgraduate Program. Dr. Frangou was appointed to this role in November 2021, and during this time, she implemented standards and processes to facilitate the RT Program meeting the intended mandate and objectives, while ensuring that it continued to fulfill all clinical and research objectives set out by the Royal College. As her RT Director role has been in conjunction with her other significant leadership responsibilities as Associate Head for Research & International Affairs, I wish to thank Dr. Frangou for her many contributions to both the Postgraduate Program and her ongoing contributions to the Department as a whole.

At this time, I would like to invite faculty members to submit their expressions of interest for this role. I encourage you to review the full job description, which outlines the role’s specific responsibilities and accountabilities. Briefly, the key duties of which will include heading the CaRMS RT selections committee, working with RT residents to identify supervisors for their research projects, identification and allocation of mentors, conducting their progress reviews, and participating in activities related to accreditation of the program.

If you wish to submit your formal expression of interest, please do so by sending an email along with your CV to Vicky Yau, Director, Administration, at vicky.yau@ubc.ca by Monday August 14, 2023. Should you have any questions regarding this role, please don’t hesitate to contact Vicky.

Please join me in once again thanking Dr. Frangou for her hard work and many notable contributions to the Resident Research Track Program. She has graciously agreed to continue in this role until the vacancy is filled.

Sincerely,

Dr. Lakshmi N. Yatham, Professor and Head, UBC Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Irfan Khanbhai, Cl. Associate Professor and PGE Program Director, 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).