Renewal of MOU between UBC Psychiatry and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS)

Dear Colleagues,

I am very pleased to share that, on my recent visit to India, I had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Pratima Murthy, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in Bangalore, in order to renew the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between NIMHANS and the UBC Department of Psychiatry for a further five-year period.

The previous agreement, signed in August 2017 by Dr. Dermot Kelleher, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, established an understanding of a mutual desire to strengthen collaboration and cooperation between UBC and NIMHANS. This partnership has been extremely fruitful with research collaboration resulting in high impact publications and exchange of several fellows between our institutions. With the renewal of the agreement, we will continue to strengthen these collaborations with NIMHANS in regards to research projects, exchange of visiting faculty and trainees between institutions, joint organization of symposia, seminars and CPD events, and other related activities.

The Department is very fortunate to maintain a formal and ongoing partnership with NIMHANS, one of India’s premier centres for research, clinical services and training in mental health, neurosciences and allied fields. In renewing our pact with a fellow leader in mental health, the Department is fulfilling a key strategic priority outlined in the 2020-2025 UBC Psychiatry Strategic Plan, which is to build and leverage our partnerships around the world in order to expand our research capacity, welcome talented researchers and trainees from outside of Canada, foster knowledge exchange, and enhance the global presence and profile of the Department.

As we pursue new and exciting collaborative opportunities with NIMHANS, I look forward to sharing these updates with you in the near future. 

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. Kamyar Keramatian, who has received a Health Professional-Investigator (HP-I) Award from Michael Smith Health Research BC!

Dr. Keramatian is an adolescent and adult psychiatrist who currently serves as the co-medical manager of the UBC Mood Disorders Center and the physician lead for the Coastal Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) Program. His research team, which includes people living with bipolar disorders (BD), have developed a virtual group-based educational program for youth at high risk for BD. This award will support Dr. Keramatian’s study exploring the feasibility of implementing this program across BC to increase knowledge of BD, reduce self-stigma, improve help-seeking and enhance resilience in adolescents and young adults who are at high risk of developing BD. This program also aims to help young people with BD to be identified earlier in order to receive more timely care.

Affecting about 2 percent of people in BC, BD can cause individuals to experience extreme changes in their mood, as well as their energy and ability to function. These changes, however, are frequently underreported and unrecognized, especially in youth, which can delay the diagnosis and treatment of BD by several years. By facilitating early identification and treatment of BD in youth, Dr. Keramatian’s research can potentially reduce health-care costs and lead to more efficient access to care and service delivery for youth with BD across BC.

*** Sent on behalf of Dr. Sophia Frangou, Professor and Associate Head, Research, UBC Department of Psychiatry ***

Self nominations are now open for the Necia Elvin Memorial Prize for Schizophrenia Research. This prize of $1,600 has been made available through an endowment established by Dr. Memory Elvin-Lewis, family and friends in honor of her sister Necia Elvin.

Eligibility: Doctoral student or Postdoctoral trainee in Psychiatry, Psychology or Neuroscience

Award Criterion: Best paper published in the preceding year (i.e., May 1, 2022-April 30, 2023) on any aspect of schizophrenia

Submissions should include:

(a) A PDF copy of the paper to be considered and;

(b) A completed self-nomination form with the name and affiliation of the applicant and a brief description (max. 200 words) of how their paper has advanced knowledge or improvement of treatment in schizophrenia.

Please send your self-nomination package to Margaret Koshi at margaret.koshi@ubc.ca by the deadline of May 1, 2023.

Sincerely,

Dr. Sophia Frangou, MD, Ph.D., FRCPsych, FRCPC
President’s Excellence Chair in Brain Health
Associate Head – Research
Professor of Psychiatry

Dear Faculty, Staff, Students and Residents,

We are pleased to announce the recipients of the inaugural Stimulus Grants.

The Stimulus Grants Initiative was launched by the UBC Department of Psychiatry, in partnership with the UBC Institute of Mental Health (UBC IMH) and BC Children’s Hospital, with the aim to increase research capacity and support for clinicians, residents and junior academics seeking to initiate pilot or small, self-contained studies in their areas of interest in mental health. The applications were assessed by members of an international scientific advisory board, constituted by the Department. All applications were of high quality and we want to commend ALL applicants for their efforts in putting together excellent applications. 

The following applicants were awarded a Stimulus Grant:

Stimulus-Clinician Grant

Dr. Michael Song, PGY1 Resident: Epigenetic markers for adverse childhood experiences among complex concurrent psychiatric disorders: a pilot study

Stimulus-Junior Academic Grant

Dr. Heather Palis, Postdoctoral Fellow: Examining ten-year trends of ADHD diagnosis and treatment in British Columbia among people with concurrent substance use disorders and history of incarceration

Stimulus-Child and Youth Mental Health Grant

Dr. Clara Westwell-Roper, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Subspecialty Resident: Longitudinal variation in markers of stress and inflammation in youth with obsessive-compulsive disorder and their parents participating in group family-based cognitive behavioural therapy

Dr. Ruiyang Ge, Research Associate: Individual-Level Deviations from Normative Neuroanatomical Models in Youth with Mood Disorders

We thank each and every applicant who submitted a proposal and we offer our warm congratulations to the successful applicants.

We encourage all eligible faculty and residents to consider submitting a proposal for the next cycle of the Stimulus Grants competition. Proposals will be accepted from June 1^st 2023 to October 1^st 2023. Details can be found at https://psychiatry.ubc.ca/research/research-support-hub/grant-support-grant-writing-grant-funding-and-grant-application-process/stimulus-grants-initiative/.

In addition, two Stimulus Grant Information Sessions will be hosted by Dr. Frangou during the summer, and are open to anyone interested in submitting an application. Please stay tuned, as more details regarding these sessions will be announced in the coming weeks.

On behalf of the UBC Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Mental Health and BC Children’s Hospital, we wish much success to each of our 2022/2023 Stimulus Grant recipients as they pursue their respective projects, and we look forward to sharing with you updates regarding their progress in the near future.

Sincerely,

Dr. Lakshmi N. Yatham, Professor and Head, UBC Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Sophia Frangou, Professor and Associate Head, UBC Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Roberto Sassi, Psychiatrist in Chief, BCCH and Associate Professor (Partner) & CAP Division Head, 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).

Google’s Project Zero team discovered multiple security flaws with Samsung Galaxy and other smartphones that could allow hackers to target devices easily. All a hacker would need is the victim’s phone number, which can be used to compromise the phone without the user knowing anything is wrong. Samsung is aware of the issue and is currently working on a fix. However, until a solution is found, Google says users can protect themselves by turning off Wi-Fi calling in their device settings.

The devices affected are:

• The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, with the S-Pen. HAVEN DALEY/AP
• Samsung Galaxy phones, including those in the S22, M33, M13, M12, A71, A53, A33, A21, A13, A12 and A04 series
• Vivo phones, including those in the S16, S15, S6, X70, X60 and X30 series
• Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7 and 7 Pro
• Any wearables that use the Exynos W920 chipset
• Any vehicles that use the Exynos Auto T5123 chipset