Announcing the IMH Marshall Fellows for 2023/2024

Dear Faculty, Staff, Students and Residents,

As the IMH Marshall Fellows Program enters its fifth year since its inception in 2019, I am delighted to share that the selection process for 2023/2024 has been completed and six outstanding proposals have been recommended for funding by the Chairs of the Committee.

The decisions were finalized following the thorough review and consideration of many outstanding project proposals submitted by both PhD and MD applicants this year. As the Fellowship Program was originally developed to also support the training of clinician scientist psychiatrists, three of the six fellowships have been awarded to MDs.

It is with great pleasure that I announce the 2023/2024 cohort of the IMH Marshall Fellows Program. Please join me in warmly congratulating the following awardees, listed in alphabetical order:

IMH Marshall Fellowship Awardees & Research Titles

Nicholas Ainsworth, MD: Measuring psychomotor response to L-DOPA challenge as a biomarker for outcomes in late-life depression: A feasibility study

Clare Killikelly, PhD: Digital early detection of psychological disorder after the loss of a loved one

Ana Mikolić, PhD: Screening for psychological risk factors to improve management of mild traumatic brain injury

John-Jose Nunez, MD: Predicting and Identifying Depression in Cancer Patients From Their Initial Oncology Consultation Document Using Natural Language Processing

Chithra Pream Raju, MD: Cannabidiol adjunctive therapy for acute bipolar depression: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial

Megan Rowland, PhD: Investigating the Role of Baf53b in Regulating Parvalbumin Neuronal Gene Expression and Autism Behaviours Across Development

I encourage you to visit the IMH Marshall Fellows web page to learn more about each of our awardees and the exciting research they will be pursuing. I look forward to sharing further updates on our Fellows in the months to come, and additionally, I hope you will all join us at next year’s Research Day, tentatively scheduled for June 13, 2024, where our Fellows will be presenting a talk on their respective projects.

On behalf of the Institute of Mental Health and the UBC Department of Psychiatry, I wish each of our 2023/2024 IMH Marshall Fellows much success as they gain valuable experience that will both accelerate their learning and serve as an important foundation for their future pursuits in translational mental health research.

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).

Dr. Lakshmi Yatham and Team Publish Findings in New England Journal of Medicine Which May Inform Future Guidelines for Bipolar Depression Management

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.

In the Spotlight | FAIZA HAMEER

September 2023

Meet Dr. Faiza Hameer, who is a Psychiatrist at Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) and, administratively, acts as the medical lead for emergency psychiatry for the Fraser Health Psychiatry program. She joined the UBC Department of Psychiatry as a Clinical Instructor in 2016, and in 2017 was appointed as the Assistant Program Director for Fraser and the Discipline Specific Site leader (DSSL) at RCH for the Postgraduate Education Program.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?

I am so honoured to be featured in “The Spotlight”!

Although I’m originally from Edmonton and completed my medical school there at the University of Alberta, I am a graduate of the University of British Columbia psychiatry program. There are so many cross-roads in medical education, but I have been so grateful that this is the path that the fates of the CaRMS match chose for me.

In addition to the excellent training in psychiatry, the personalized approach of the program and my supervisors helped me identify my interest and aptitude in teaching and really mentored me into taking on progressive roles in education and leadership. Having the combination of clinical and administrative roles has allowed me to have experiences and be part of conversations that have given me a perspective and maturity I may not have had otherwise.

What community do you work in?

I clinically spend most of my time as an emergency psychiatrist at the Royal Columbian Hospital, a job that I knew I wanted immediately after rotating through the unit in both my first and final years of residency. Now that I’ve been working there for 6 years as a staff psychiatrist, I can say that I enjoy it just as much as I had hoped, and I love being part of the multi-disciplinary emergency department family.

The professional and personal connections and trust that are made in highly acute situations is truly difficult to describe. I balance out the acuity by also working at one of our tertiary psychiatric facilities in Coquitlam where the focus is on longer term psycho-social rehabilitation.

What aspect of your work do you enjoy the most?

If I had to choose a favourite part of my practice, I would have to select teaching residents in the emergency setting. It is such a different, demanding and high risk environment that learners can often feel apprehensive. I really try and teach and model the reminder that underneath all the complex presentations, nuanced risk assessments and minutiae of diagnostic criteria, there is a real person/family in crisis who is doing the best they can. Keeping this core fact at the forefront helps us make those difficult decisions even in the most complicated of cases.

Over time I think most feel as I do, that it is such a privilege to see patients and their families in what is often such a difficult or dark time and have the experience and training to intervene and support them and their families. I enjoy the process of watching residents gain confidence and competence and then begin to teach their juniors in the same way.

What is an important piece of advice you can share with junior colleagues and residents, or someone considering a career in psychiatry?

The one related piece of advice that was given to me and that I pass on to residents now, is that there are many ‘right’ ways to move through a grey area and choosing the one that is ‘the most right’ can be challenging. It’s always ok to ask for help, ask for another opinion or another perspective.

How do you achieve a good work-life balance?

Although it can still be a complicated schedule, I think I have been able to find a fairly good combination of work and home. When work is truly life and death, there have been times when it is hard to prioritize the lighter aspects of my day-to-day. However, it’s those down times that give myself and all of us who work in medicine the ability to be the best whole and human physician we can for our patients. Outside of work I love to keep busy with friends and family, including my husband, two kids, and all the stray animals those kids have brought home (so far we are at 1 dog, 2 cats, and several fish).

I look forward to continuing what I hope will be life-long learning in psychiatry, in life, and in the balance between the two.

Academic Advisor Role Change and Recruitment Request

** 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.

Inviting Expressions of Interest in the Role of CAP Subspecialty Program Director

Dear Colleagues,

Further to our announcement that Dr. Jennifer Russel will be stepping down from her role as the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) Subspecialty Program Director on August 31, 2023, we would like to invite expressions of interest for this key leadership role in the Postgraduate Education Program. This appointment will come with a stipend and will be for a three-year term from September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2026.

The CAP Subspecialty Program Director will report to the Department Head, the Associate Head, PGE & CPD, and the Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education. We encourage you to review the job description, which outlines the specific responsibilities and accountabilities for this role.

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 Friday August 18, 2023. Please note that the Department may extend the application period for this role until the vacancy is filled.

Should you have any specific questions regarding this role, please don’t hesitate to contact Vicky.

Sincerely,

Dr. Lakshmi N. Yatham, Professor and Head, UBC Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Jordan Cohen, Associate Head, PGE & CPD, UBC Department of Psychiatry

Resignation of Dr. Sophia Frangou as Director, Research Track, UBC Psychiatry Postgraduate Program | Call for Expressions of Interest

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

UBC Department of Psychiatry Staffing Updates | July 2023

Dear Department members,

I wish to share with you some staffing updates regarding our UBC Department of Psychiatry Administration Office.

Firstly, we are delighted to welcome to our team Dr. Nicole Sanford, who has accepted the role of Research Manager for the UBC Institute of Mental Health (IMH) as of July 1, 2023. Nicole was previously a Postdoctoral Fellow in the research group led by Dr. Sophia Frangou, and in her new role as IMH Research Manager, she will be responsible for the planning and coordination of all activities of the IMH, including supporting fundraising activities, coordinating the annual IMH Marshall Fellows adjudication process, and contributing to the development of grant proposals, scientific papers, and other research-related materials. She will work closely with investigators, health care providers and leaders, administrators, and community partner/organizations, and will serve as a liaison between these groups and the UBC Psychiatry Administration Office. She may be reached by email at nicole.sanford@ubc.ca.

As well, we are thrilled to share that Ms. Klara Labady has joined our team as the new Executive Coordinator for the Office of the Department Head and IMH Director as of Monday July 10. Klara brings to this role her extensive experience in an academic office setting, having previously served as an Assistant to the Chair of Creative Arts at Red River College Polytechnic in Winnipeg, Manitoba. We are confident that her strong administrative skills and many years in an executive support role will be a great asset to the Head’s Office and the UBC Psychiatry Administration team. Klara will be situated in the main Administration Office on the 2^nd Floor at UBC Hospital, Detwiller Pavilion (UBC Campus), and may be reached by email at psychiatry.headasst@ubc.ca.

Please join me in warmly welcoming both Nicole and Klara to their respective new roles in the UBC Department of Psychiatry!

Sincerely,

Vicky Yau
Director, Administration
UBC Department of Psychiatry

Congratulations to Dr. Terrance Snutch, Recipient of the 2023 Margolese National Brain Disorders Prize

The Department warmly congratulates Professor Dr. Terrance Snutch, who has been awarded the prestigious 2023 Margolese National Brain Disorders Prize by the UBC Faculty of Medicine. This award recognizes Dr. Snutch’s outstanding translational research, which has contributed significantly to the development of new therapeutic targets relevant to multiple neurological diseases.

As a foremost expert and pioneer in molecular neurobiology, Dr. Snutch’s ground-breaking work has laid the foundation for important areas in the broad field of calcium channel research, and has led to key advancements in understanding fundamental mechanisms in neurobiology. He achieved a number of important firsts in this area, including his novel findings demonstrating that the brain expresses a functionally diverse family of calcium channels, and also describing and elucidating the previously unknown R-type calcium channel. As a true innovator and visionary in the field, Dr. Snutch has contributed greatly to the design of first-in-class drugs aimed at treating brain disorders, the identification of numerous new molecular targets underlying brain diseases, screening methodologies and improved drug oral formulations, as reflected in over 100 U.S. and international issued patents.

Dr. Snutch has been a long-serving faculty member at UBC since 1989, holding joint appointments as a Professor with the Michael Smith Laboratories, the UBC Department of Psychiatry, the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, and the UBC Department of Zoology. He was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2001, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2008, and in 2016, as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. In 2021, Dr. Snutch was the recipient of the Bill and Marilyn Webber Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his distinguished career at UBC.

Congratulations once again to Dr. Snutch on receiving this extraordinary honour by the UBC Faculty of Medicine!

Read the full announcement here.

Departure of Dr. Jennifer Russel, CAP Subspecialty Program Director

Dear colleagues,

It is with mixed feelings that we announce that Dr. Jennifer Russel will be leaving her position as the UBC Psychiatry Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) Subspecialty Program Director effective August 31, 2023, as she has accepted the prestigious position of Psychiatrist in Chief at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto. We are thrilled that she has been offered this exciting and well-deserved advancement opportunity, which speaks to her exceptional qualifications and track record, and are delighted that her move will bring her family closer to loved ones in Ontario. That said, we will dearly miss Dr. Russel and the fantastic leadership she brought to the CAP Subspecialty Program.

Appointed as the CAP Subspecialty Program Director in 2021, Dr. Russel has provided outstanding direction and support to the Program over the last 2.5 years. Notably, she oversaw the successful implementation of Competence by Design (CBD) within CAP Subspecialty education as of July 1, 2021, and has since ensured the Program has continued to fully meet RCPSC standards of accreditation. As well, she led the implementation of Junior Attending call for PGY 6, in keeping with the transition to CBD. Since her appointment, the CAP Subspecialty Program increased from 6 to 10 positions, and over the duration of her term, Dr. Russel has focused on the development of CAP education to distributed sites, especially in the North, where we now have our first Lead Resident from NIHA. Dr. Russel has been an incredible leader in many other regards, building a wonderful rapport with residents and going above and beyond to provide guidance, mentorship, and support in their learning, career preparation, and personal wellness.

Dr. Russel joined the UBC Department of Psychiatry in 2011, and was promoted first to Clinical Assistant Professor in 2015 and then to Clinical Associate Professor in 2022. She previously served as Clinical Director for the Compass Program at BC Children’s Hospital (BCCH) as well as Medical Director for the BCCH Adolescent Psychiatry Inpatient Unit, and since 2021 has served as Associate Head of Psychiatry at BCCH. In 2020, Dr. Russel was named a Physician Changemaker by the Canadian Medical Association.

On behalf of the entire UBC Department of Psychiatry, we sincerely thank Dr. Russel for her many significant contributions to the Program and the Department. As she prepares to step down from this role, the Department will be initiating a formal search and selection process in the coming days to fill this vacancy.

Please join us in wishing Dr. Russel all the best as she moves into her new leadership role in Toronto!

Sincerely,

Dr. Lakshmi N. Yatham, Professor and Head, UBC Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Jordan Cohen, Associate Head, PGE & CPD, UBC Department of Psychiatry

Congratulations to 2023 FoM Distinguished Achievement Award Recipients, Dr. Evelyn Stewart and Dr. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez!

The Department congratulates Dr. Evelyn Stewart and Dr. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez, both of whom are recipients of a 2023 Faculty of Medicine Distinguished Achievement Award!

Professor Dr. Evelyn Stewart is the recipient of the Award for Service to the University and Community, in recognition of her significant contributions to local, national, and international communities aimed at improved health outcomes of the population.

Dr. Stewart is an internationally-recognized expert on pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders (OCRDs). As a leader in the field, she has provided valuable mentorship to young researchers and junior colleagues, has participated actively in departmental committees, and has served on numerous bodies for professional and scientific organizations in order to drive research and inform care in OCRDs. As well, her dedicated public outreach activities have been impactful in raising awareness and educating patients, their families and the broader community about OCRDs.

Assistant Professor Dr. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez is the recipient of the Award for Overall Excellence – Early Career, in recognition of his outstanding contributions in the areas of research, education, and service.

Since his appointment in 2016, Dr. Vila-Rodriguez has been a highly engaged and productive early-career academic in the UBC Department of Psychiatry. He currently leads the NINET Laboratory, which investigates clinical applications of non-invasive neurostimulation therapies for depression and other psychiatric disorders. In addition to his cutting-edge research, he contributes substantially to teaching on an annual basis, has supervised numerous graduate students and trainees over the years, and partakes in extensive service activities within the Department and the broader community.

Congratulations again to our deserving awardees on this wonderful recognition by the Faculty of Medicine!