On July 7th and August 17th, I will hold 45min Zoom meetings at 12:00pm noon, which are open to anyone interested in applying, aimed at answering any questions you may have about this initiative. The Zoom details for both meetings are:
President’s Excellence Chair in Brain Health Associate Head – Research Professor of Psychiatry
I acknowledge, with gratitude, that I live and work on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil- Waututh) Nations
It was wonderful to welcome all of our clinical faculty members who attended the Annual Clinical Faculty Dinner last night! It was a very fun and relaxed evening, and a great opportunity to recognize and show appreciation for all our clinical faculty members and their many valuable contributions to the Department!
As well, the evening included an Awards Presentation to honour the following awardees of UBC Psychiatry Clinical Faculty Awards for excellence in teaching and research!
Translation Research into Clinical Excellence in Psychiatry Settings (TRICEPS) Award
Dr. Deidre Ryan
Dr. Robert Stowe
Undergraduate Psychiatry Clinical Teaching Award
Dr. Neil Hanon
Dr. Anna Wisniewska
Dr. Colleen Northcott
Dr. Constantine Lai
Dr. Kuljit Dhaliwal
UBC Psychiatry Residents Association Annual Award for Teaching Excellence
BCCH: Dr. Muffy Greenaway
VGH: Dr. Cameron Anderson
SPH: Dr. Julius Elefante
UBCH: Dr. Andrew Howard
RH: Dr. Michael Shabbits
RCH: Dr. Anyssa Shakeri
SMH: Dr. Lindsay Bishop
Victoria: Dr. Ashley Jewett
Prince George: Dr. Dmitri Zanozin
Community Psychiatry: Dr. Martina Smit
UBC Psychiatry Residents Association Annual Award for Teaching Excellence in Child and Adolescent Subspecialty Psychiatry
Dr. Fulroop Sidhu
UBC Psychiatry Residents Association Annual Award for Teaching Excellence in Geriatric Subspecialty Psychiatry
Dr. Michael Weitzner
UBC Psychiatry Residents Association Annual Award for Teaching Excellence in Forensic Subspecialty Psychiatry
Dr. Mandeep Saini
You can view all the 2023 Clinical Faculty photos HERE! If you have additional photos of the event that you would like to add to the album, please send them to Margaret Koshi at margaret.koshi@ubc.ca.
We wish to thank everyone who attended our 2023 UBC Psychiatry Research Day yesterday, either in person or virtually, and also express our sincere gratitude to all of the outstanding poster and Lightning Talk presenters, and our speakers for their engaging presentations and hard work in helping to make our Research Day a success!
Additionally, we would like to thank everyone who presented in-person posters and electronic research posters for the virtual poster gallery. The ePosters will remain accessible on our website, and recordings of the presentations will also be posted online soon.
Finally, we would like to congratulate once again the following awardees of our Research Day Awards, and UGE MD and Resident Awards, which were announced and presents yesterday:
Lightning Talk, Set A: Hallee Shearer | Movie-fMRI offers region-specific advantages as an acquisition state for precision psychiatry
Lightning Talk, Set B: Rebecca Zivanovic |Attitudes and Preferences regarding Contraception of Women with Serious Mental Illness
Zeldowicz Poster Award in Clinical Research: Triya Ramburn | Community gardens as psychosocial interventions for refugees and migrants: a narrative review
Zeldowicz Poster Award in Basic Science/Translational Research: Borna Atrchian | Minder for Younger Minds: Using Qualitative Focus Group Sessions to Adapt a Mental Health and Substance Use E-Intervention for Secondary School Students
Undergraduate Awards for Medical Students
Jay C. Cheng Memorial Prize: Jake Johnston
Kristin SIVERTZ Memorial Prize in Medicine: Mariam Manna
Annette E. Hacking Memorial Award in Medicine in Psychiatry: Mirna Hennawy
Andrew Neil McTaggart Memorial Prize in Psychiatry: Jenny Zhang
Dennis Harris Memorial Prize in Psychiatry: Lance Shaver
Postgraduate Education Awards
George A. Davidson Scholarship Award: Allison Hudson & Maria Alexandra
CanMEDS Awards:
1st place: Alexander Levit and Victor Li
2nd place: Jordana Waserman and Quinten Clarke
3rd place: Oshin Maheshwari
4th place: Adeeb Malas and Max Liu
5th place: Shikha Walia and Faizan Bhatia
Resident Undergraduate Teaching Awards
Vancouver Track: Tristan Willis
Fraser Track: Faizan Bhatia
Vancouver Island: Conor Zeer-Wanklyn
Prince George: Taylor Callander
Significant Contribution to Research: Laura Labonté
The Emily Ellingsen Prize for Significant Contribution to the UBC Psychiatry Residency Program: Alexander Levit
Significant Leadership: Isaac Rodin
Dr. William E. Piper Memorial Award in Psychotherapy: Connor Hawkins & Alexander Levit
2023 Necia Laura May Elvin Memorial Prize in Schizophrenia Research: Andrea Jones
Island Medical Program Emily Ellingsen Award: Darcy Good
Providence Health Care, Department of Psychiatry Awards
Dr. Brian Morris Memorial Award: Stefanie Montgomery
Dr. Maria Corral Award: Galilee Thompson
Dr. Robert Kitchen Memorial Award: Connor McLean
Dr. Megan Roberts Honorary Scholarship: Daniella Crocker & Jessica Chin
Thanks again to everyone who joined our 2023 UBC Psychiatry Research Day, and we hope to see you all again at next year’s event!
You can view all the 2023 Research Day photos HERE! If you have additional photos of the event that you would like to add to the album, please send them to Margaret Koshi at margaret.koshi@ubc.ca.
Dr. Randall White (left) with past president of the American Psychiatric Association, Dr. Jack McIntyre
Congratulations to Clinical Professor Dr. Randall White, who has received the John D. Hackett Leadership Award from the Western Canada District Branch of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Named after the founding president of the Western Canada District Branch (WCDB), Dr. John Desmond Hackett, this award recognizes long-standing members who have made significant and outstanding contributions to the WCDB. Dr. White is the fifth recipient of this award since 2013, and it was presented to him at the WCDB Annual General Meeting in San Francisco on May 22, 2023.
A member of the APA since 1988, Dr. White has served in various prominent roles, including as a continuous member of the Executive Committee since 2017, as APA Assembly Representative, and as President of both the Vancouver Chapter and of the Western Canada District Branch. Notably, in 2021 he was elected as a Distinguished Fellow of the APA, the highest honour conferred by the APA upon its members, and became the sole recipient of this distinction for Western Canada.
Congratulations to Dr. White for being honoured once again by the APA!
A public health emergency around what came to be known as “the overdose crisis” was first declared in this province in April 2016—the same year the grass-roots Overdose Prevention Society began offering its harm reduction services. In the intervening seven years, a staggering 11,171 deaths in BC have been attributed to this ongoing crisis. Supporters of OPS are convinced this number would be much higher if not for their frontline efforts. Having moved from their first location, a tent, to their current space on East Hastings Street, OPS provides a safe, warm, non-judgmental drop-in where people can test their drugs, pick up clean needles, and inject in safety, as well as access other services. A veteran of ten years work in the DTES, Askey was known and trusted. Using a fly-on-the-wall observational approach, his film portrays the community members who work at OPS (most either current or former drug users) with the same clear-eyed compassion as those who use its services.
“Intimate and revealing—quietly but firmly humanizing drug use and the people who engage in it.” — Paloma Pacheco, POV Magazine
“Director Colin Askey doesn’t gloss over the frequently-grim reality of serious substance use disorders … but he insists on the humanity of drug users and the communities they call home.” — Kate Knibbs, Wired
Post-screening Discussion:
Post-screening discussion with Sara Blyth and Amy Evans. Moderated by Dr. Harry Karlinsky, Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia
About the Panel:
Sara Blyth is the executive director and co-founder of Vancouver’s Overdose Prevention Society and former Vancouver Park Board commissioner. She is a long-time community activist who has been working in the Downtown Eastside for over a decade providing grassroots services, opportunities, and responses to the overdose crisis.
Amy Evans is a manager at Vancouver’s Overdose Prevention Society with five years recovery. She found her passion doing harm reduction work in the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood.
Dr. Harry Karlinsky, the Series Director of Frames of Mind and a Clinical Professor in the UBC Department of Psychiatry, has a longstanding commitment to professional and public education. He has presented nationally and internationally on topics ranging from Alzheimer’s disease to information technology to narrative medicine to PTSD and to the use of films in health care education.
Want to be a regular at Frames of Mind screenings on the third Wednesday of every month? Subscribe to the email list and be the first in line for tickets!
** Sent on behalf of Dr. Irfan Khanbhai, PGE Program Director, UBC Department of Psychiatry **
Dear Faculty Members,
Our Psychiatry Postgraduate training program is creating an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Antiracism Committee.
The broader goal of this committee will be to promote diversity, improve discrimination, engage in dialogue and help the program further cultivate respect for human rights and equity. The hope is that this committee will build on the Program initiatives that have already begun as well as examine various aspects of the Program, including curriculum, clinical work, learning environments and culture, in order to further incorporate these principles.
Once active, the Committee would decide on specific goals and objectives. Likely this will involve an initial needs assessment process and eventually taking steps towards influencing change which may include evidence finding, education of both faculty and residents, and utilizing the principles of positive deviance and high leverage behaviours.
The Committee will be comprised of 3 faculty members and 3 residents and in the initial stages, will be setting the terms of reference, meeting frequency and goals. The Committee will also be supported by the PGME AEDI Committee in an ongoing manner as needed. Faculty will be compensated for this work at the UBC Education rate.
If you have interest in being on this new Committee, please send your expressions of interest (which should include a short description of your background, interest, experience and vision for the committee) to myself at irfan.khanbhai@ubc.ca by Friday June 30, 2023. If there are more than 3 faculty that would like to be involved, then a selections process will be undertaken that would involve a short interview.
Thank you for your consideration in this incredibly important endeavour.
Best 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.
Apple has addressed three new zero-day vulnerabilities exploited in attacks to hack into iPhones, Macs, and iPads, so make sure you’re patched by updating to the latest software versions! (Go to Settings > General > Software Update.)
Even devices that already received a Rapid Security Response at the start of March 2023 have a zero-day still to be patched.
And all platforms have received many other security fixes for bugs that could be exploited for attacks as varied as: bypassing privacy preferences; accessing private data from the lockscreen; reading your location information without permission; spying on network traffic from other apps; and more.
After updating, you should see the following version numbers:
watchOS: now at version 9.5
tvOS: now at version 16.5
iOS 15 and iPadOS 15: now at version 15.7.6
iOS 16 and iPadOS 16: now at version 16.5
macOS Big Sur: now at 11.7.7
macOS Monterey: now at 12.6.6
macOS Ventura: now at 13.4
Important note: If you have macOS Big Sur or macOS Monterey, those all-important WebKit patches aren’t bundled in with the operating system version update but are supplied in a separate update package called Safari 16.5.
I am very pleased to share some exciting news from our recent invitation to China, during which Clinical Professor and Island Regional Head Dr. Wei-Yi Song and I were hosted by leadership teams from Shanghai Mental Health Center (SMHC) at Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the Changsha Second Xiangya Hospital at Central South University, in order to renew the existing Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) between the UBC Department of Psychiatry and these institutions for a further three-year period.
As you may recall, our original MOUs in China were established in 2019, and included Beijing Anding Hospital at Capital Medical University with whom our MOU is ongoing, in order to formalize our ties and thereby strengthen our academic partnerships with these leading mental health centres. Notably, these institutions with whom we have established MOUs (Beijing Anding Hospital, SMHC, and Changsha Second Xiangya Hospital) were selected as three among the only four National Centers for Mental Disorders in China following an intense peer-reviewed competition by the Chinese Government.
With the extension of our MOUs, we foresee renewed opportunities and exciting avenues to expand the Department’s research and educational networks in China. While the COVID-19 pandemic hampered efforts to exchange trainees and faculty members over the last three years, we have nevertheless pursued and maintained productive research collaborations with our Chinese partners, including the Enhanced Measurement-Based Care Effectiveness for Depression (EMBED) project, a large Canada-China team grant jointly funded by CIHR and the National Science Foundation of China to implement technology-enhanced measurement-based care for depression, led by co-PIs Dr. Raymond Lam and Prof. Jun Chen of SMHC.
In the months and years ahead, we will continue to strengthen our collaborative efforts in regards to research projects as well as exchange of visiting faculty and trainees between institutions, and fulfill a key strategic priority to leverage our partnerships around the world in order to foster knowledge exchange, expand our research capacity, and enhance the global presence and profile of the Department. These centres host digital platforms and have access to massive clinical and research resources which provide tremendous opportunities for the Department to collaborate. I look forward to sharing further updates with respect to these initiatives in the near future.
Should any residents or fellows be interested in undertaking training at one of the three institutions in China, or any faculty members be interested in a Visiting Professorship or pursuing research collaborative opportunities, please contact Dr. Sophia Frangou (sophia.frangou@ubc.ca) or Vicky Yau (vicky.yau@ubc.ca) for more information.
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).
Congratulations to Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Janel Casey, who has been named Runner Up for a 2023 Women of the Year Community Builder Award by BC Business! This award celebrates female leaders, innovators and difference makers who play a vital role in building better communities across the province.
This year, Dr. Casey is recognized for the many contributions she has made in her role as Fraser Health Regional Division Head for Adult Psychiatry & Royal Columbian Hospital Head of Psychiatry. These contributions include her heavy involvement in the redevelopment plans for Royal Columbian, the oldest hospital in BC, specifically in regard to its mental health building.
Congratulations once again to Dr. Casey on this wonderful recognition!
