UBC Department of Psychiatry Staffing Update | January 2023

UBC Department of Psychiatry Staffing Update | January 2023

Dear Department members,

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

Firstly, I am delighted to share the news that Ms. Eunice Yiu will be joining the UBC Psychiatry Administrative team as our new HR Assistant on February 13, 2023. Eunice brings to this role several years’ experience and a strong background in supporting administrative and HR-related processes. Most recently, she held the position of Senior Program Assistant in the UBC Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences where, among various other duties, she was responsible for the full cycle of student appointments, including re-appointments, transfers, costing allocation, and termination processes. Prior to this, she was a Human Resources Officer in Hong Kong, where she was responsible for supporting the full range of day-to-day HR functions and operations, including the implementation of Workday.

In her new role as HR Assistant for the Department, Eunice will be taking over the portfolio for Student/Staff/Volunteer HR processes currently supported by Ms. Leah Ranada. Leah, in turn, will be assuming the portfolio handling HR processes for Term Faculty Appointments, including Fellows and Research Associates, as well as Workday processes for Clinical Faculty. Eunice will be situated in the main Administration Office on the 2nd Floor at UBC Hospital, Detwiller Pavilion (UBC Campus), and may be reached by email at eunicewy.yiu@ubc.ca. Please join me in warmly welcoming Eunice to the UBC Psychiatry Administration team!

Additionally, it is with mixed feelings that we announce that Mr. Colin Bryant will be retiring on January 31, 2023 after over 40 years of dedicated service to the UBC Department of Psychiatry. Colin first joined the Department in 1982, and in his role of Computer & Communications Systems Manager, has been responsible for managing UBC Psychiatry’s network and IT services, including overseeing our local area network (LAN) administration, delivering desktop support for a network of users across the Department, developing and implementing IT policies and procedures to ensure network stability and security, and leading the implementation of user, team, Department, Faculty-wide and UBC-wide initiatives and upgrades with regard to IT services. While we are thrilled for Colin and send our hearty congratulations as he settles into retirement, we will miss his friendly, amicable presence, and the amazing support he has provided to our faculty, staff and students over the years. Fortunately, Colin has graciously agreed to continue providing IT support to the Department in the interim on a part-time, contractual basis pending recruitment to fill his position. Please continue to send your IT requests to psychiatry.it@ubc.ca.

As well, we share that Ms. Shaelynn Perreault will be leaving her position as Executive Coordinator to the Department Head & IMH Director effective February 3, 2023, as she has made the decision to move back home to Ontario to be closer to her family. Shaelynn has been a member our core administrative team since Spring 2022, and in her role, has done a wonderful job providing scheduling support, event coordination and day-to-day administration on behalf of the Department Head and IMH Director, in addition to supporting the clinical and research activities of the UBC Mood Disorders Program.  While we are saddened to see Shaelynn go and will miss her enthusiasm and energy, we are very happy for her and wish her the very best in her future endeavours. As we move forward with recruitment to fill this position, we ask Department members to continue using the psychiatry.headasst@ubc.ca email to get in touch with the Head’s Office, as the UBC Administration team will be monitoring this email and will be providing coverage of tasks related to this role for the time being.

Finally, we are bidding farewell to Ms. Richa Sharma, who has accepted a new position as an Accounts & Administration Coordinator in an external organization. Richa first joined the Department as a Senior Program Assistant in 2021, and has since done a great job in supporting Undergraduate Medical Education in Psychiatry for Year 3 and Year 4, coordinating scheduling for all Year 3 & 4 Psychiatry blocks and ensuring the successful day-to-day running of the program. We will miss Richa and all the positivity she brought to the team, however we are very excited for her as be embarks on this new career opportunity. As Richa’s final day will be February 10, 2023, we wish to warmly welcome Ms. Yuliia Zheldak from UBC Hiring Solutions, who will be providing temporary support to the Psychiatry Education Office as we recruit to fill this position on a permanent basis. Yuliia may be reached by email at uge.assistant@ubc.ca for any administrative matters related to UGE Year 3&4. 

Sincerely,

Vicky Yau
Director, Administration
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).

FoM Awards Reception | Congratulations to All Department Members Recognized on January 16

The Faculty of Medicine held its annual Awards Reception on Monday January 16, where our faculty members Dr. Raymond Lam, Dr. Arvind Kang and Dr. Carol Ward were presented with plaques for their respective Faculty awards recognizing excellence in the areas of research, teaching and CPD in 2022.

Other Department members recognized at the event were Dr. Lindsay Bishop, Dr. Paul Dagg, Dr. Caroline Gosselin, Dr. Kam Keramatian, Dr. Mahesh Menon, Mr. Caden Poh, Dr. Ivan Torres, Dr. Randall White, and Dr. Lakshmi Yatham, each of whom received significant UBC awards or external accolades in 2021/2022.

Kulwant Riar

UBC Psychiatry

Clinical Professor, UBC Department of Psychiatry

Program Director, Postgraduate Forensic Subspecialty

Provincial Clinical Director, Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services (YFPS)

Contact

Email: kulwant.riar@ubc.ca

Short Biography

Dr. Kulwant Riar is a Clinical Professor in the UBC Department of Psychiatry, and was appointed as the Program Director for Postgraduate Forensic Psychiatry Subspecialty in 2021. In this role, he has been responsible for the overall delivery of the program, ensuring that it continues to fully meet the RCPSC standards of accreditation. His duties have also included overseeing the successful implementation of the Competence By Design (CBD) curriculum in the Forensic Subspecialty Program as of July 1, 2021.

A Department member since 1995, Dr. Riar is also the Provincial Clinical Director for Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services (YFPS). Prior to this role, he served as the Regional Clinical Director for YFPS. Dr. Riar has spent over three decades working in the criminal and civil forensic field, and maintains an active practice with the Broadway Forensic Group, Vancouver General Hospital, and the BC Centre for Sexual Medicine.

Clinical Focus

Dr. Riar’s clinical focus and expertise lie in adult and juvenile forensic psychiatry, particularly youths who commit violent and sexual crimes. With assistance from federal funding, he designed and set up a social intervention treatment program dealing with young violent offenders in BC.

Roberto Sassi

Roberto Sassi

Associate Professor (Partner), UBC Department of Psychiatry, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Head, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, UBC Department of Psychiatry

Psychiatrist in Chief, BC Children’s Hospital / Women’s Hospital 

Investigator, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute & BCCH Brain, Behaviour & Development Theme

Adjunct Member, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University

Corresponding Member, Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University

Email: roberto.sassi@ubc.ca

Short Biography

Dr. Roberto Sassi is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Associate Professor (Partner), Head of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the UBC Department of Psychiatry, and Psychiatrist-in-Chief at BC Children’s and Women’s Hospitals.

He graduated from medical school at the University of São Paulo, Brazil in 1996. Dr. Sassi completed his residency training in adult psychiatry at the University of São Paulo as well as at the Massachusetts General Hospital / McLean Hospital, Harvard University, in both adult and child & adolescent psychiatry

Dr. Sassi has a PhD degree from the University of Sao Paulo, with a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroimaging at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh, where he worked on magnetic resonance imaging investigations on bipolar disorder. Prior to joining UBC, Dr. Sassi held faculty appointments at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Miami, FL and at McMaster University, in Hamilton, ON.

Research Focus

Dr. Sassi’s clinical research interests include (1) understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of bipolar disorders in children, adolescents and young adults, including among children at high-risk to develop severe mood disorders, and potential early interventions in this population; (2) the multigenerational transmission of risk for psychopathology, with focus on the interplay of genetic and environmental factors, and (3) implementing measurement-based care in child and youth mental health.

Clinical Focus

Dr. Sassi’s clinical focus is on children, adolescents and young adults with mood disorders.

Publications

Significant Accomplishments and Professional Contribution

  • Sept 2021: Certificate of Special Recognition, Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
  • May 2018: Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Faculty Teaching Award, McMaster University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences
  • May 2014: Jock Cleghorn Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award, McMaster University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences
  • Oct 2013: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Junior Scholar Award
  • Oct 2005: USA National Institute of Mental Health Outstanding Resident Award

Digital Media

Kyung Sue Hong

Kyung Sue Hong

Professor (Partner), UBC Department of Psychiatry, Division of Neuroscience and Translational Psychiatry

Staff Psychiatrist, Coastal Community of Care, Lions Gate Hospital

Member, UBC Mood Disorders Program

Email: kyungsue.hong@ubc.ca

Short Biography

Dr. Hong is an internationally renowned expert in the areas of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder having a research focus on psychopharmacology and genomic and pharmacogenetics. She has made many notable contributions to her field, including furthering the understanding of antipsychotics-induced tardive dyskinesia/dystonia and identifying clinical and genetic correlates of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. She also identified genetic loci in multiplex families with schizophrenia and early-onset familial Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Hong has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers in international journals, including the Archives of General Psychiatry and Biological Psychiatry. Prior to her appointment at UBC, she was a Professor and the Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Sungkyunkwan University and Samsung Medical Center. She greatly improved academic programs and curriculums for medical students and residents and was awarded the Best Teacher of the Year Award and the Excellence Award in Education from the hospital and university.

Research Focus

  • Key research interests include clinical studies for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, psychopharmacology focusing on second-generation antipsychotics (SGA), and genetics/genomics and pharmacogenetics.

Clinical Focus

  • Schizophrenia and Bipolar disorders focusing on early diagnosis, optimizing maintenance pharmacotherapy, and pharmacological trials for refractory schizophrenia including adjunctive and combination therapies

Significant Accomplishments & Professional Contribution

  • Chair of Department of Psychiatry, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 2014 to 2019
  • Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 1995 to 2021
  • Samsung Medical Center Best Teacher of the Year Award, December 27, 2014
  • Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine Excellence in Education Award, August 16, 2017
  • Chair of the Scientific Committee for the 2nd Asian Congress of Schizophrenia Research, 2011
  • International Advisory Committee, Schizophrenia International Research Society, 2011~2020

Kyooseob Ha

Kyooseob Ha

Professor (Partner), UBC Department of Psychiatry, Division of Neuroscience and Translational Psychiatry

Staff Psychiatrist, Coastal Community of Care, Lions Gate Hospital

Member, UBC Mood Disorders Program

Email: kyooseob.ha@ubc.ca

Short Biography

Dr. Ha is an internationally renowned expert on the early diagnosis of bipolar disorders and major depressive disorder. Prior to arriving at UBC, he was a Professor of Psychiatry at Seoul National University (SNU), running its Mood Disorders Clinic and Affective Neuroscience Lab. His concern includes clinical research on phenomenology, long-term course, psychopharmacology, and biological markers, including brain imaging and proteomics, of mood disorders and suicide. He also devoted himself to early detection and psychoeducation for bipolar patients. He has served as the Vice-President of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders and Chairman of the Asian Network of Bipolar Disorder. He also served as the President of the Korean Association for Suicide Prevention and has led the movement for legislation to prevent suicide and the establishment of the Korea Suicide Prevention Center. Dr. Ha has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed papers in international journals.

Research Focus

  • Key research interests include early diagnosis of bipolar II disorder among depressed subjects, using clinical characteristics and biological findings including brain imaging, physiology, and proteomics.
  • Efforts to develop an integrative analysis of longitudinal clinical data and biological characteristics, including proteomics, for early prediction of drug response and suicidal risk in patients with bipolar disorders and major depressive disorders
  • One of S. Korea’s foremost experts on suicide, having led multiple epidemiological studies on this phenomenon in his home country, where the suicide rate is one of the highest among industrialized nations.

Clinical Focus

  • Bipolar disorders – clinical interests include early diagnosis of bipolar II disorder among depressed, pharmacotherapy, pros and cons of using antidepressants, development of application of psychoeducation, and long-term stabilization
  • Major depressive disorder – clinical interests include pharmacotherapy, prevention of recurrence, and prediction of conversion to bipolar disorders

Significant Accomplishments & Professional Contribution

  • Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University, 1995 to 2021
  • President of the Korean Association for Suicide Prevention, 2010 to 2013
  • Director of the Korea National Center for Mental Health, 2013 to 2016
  • Chairman of the Korea Mental Health Commission to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2014 to 2017
  • Chair of Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University, 2016 to 2017
  • International Society for Bipolar Disorder (ISBD) Scholars Award for Clinical Advancement in Asia, June 4, 2015
  • Order of Health Merit for Enhancement of Mental Health, Republic of Korea, April 7, 2016
  • Mogens Schou Award for Public Service and Advocacy, International Society for Bipolar Disorders, March 7, 2018
  • Founding Chairman of the East Asian Bipolar Forum, 2007 to 2013
  • Chairman of the Asian Network of Bipolar Disorder, 2010 to 2013
  • Vice-President of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders, 2010 to 2014
  • Editorial Board Member, International Review of Psychiatry (2011-2022)
  • Editorial Board member, General Psychiatry (2011-2022)
  • Editorial Board Member, International Journal of Bipolar Disorder (2012-2022)

Congratulations to Dr. Shimi Kang, Among WXN Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winners!

Dr. Shimi Kang

The Department congratulates Clinical Associate Professor Dr. Shimi Kang, who has been named among Canada’s Most Powerful Women in Canada: Top 100 Award Winners in 2022 by the Women’s Executive Network! These awards recognize outstanding women across Canada who create meaningful change in the way they lead within their organizations and communities.

Dr. Kang was recognized in the Canadian Tire Community Impact category, one of 12 categories spanning the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, and was among 105 winners selected by WXN’s Diversity Council of Canada. In addition to her roles as a clinical faculty member, psychiatrist, and researcher in the neuroscience of innovation, connection and resilience, Dr. Kang is the best-selling author of The Dolphin Parent and The Tech Solution. As well, she is the co-founder of the Get Sparky app tool for building children’s and parents’ healthy habits and resilience, and is the founder of Future-Ready Minds, which provides programs for the social, emotional, and cognitive (SEC) learning of children and youth to promote positive coping tools and other vital 21st-century life skills.

Dr. Kang will be presented with her award in person at the 20th Annual Top 100 Awards Gala Awards in Toronto on November 17. Stay tunes for further announcements to be published in The National Post and The Globe and Mail. Congratulations once again to Dr. Kang on this well-deserved recognition!

See the full list of awardees and the official press release here.

Thank you to All Who Attended the UBC Psychiatry Annual General Meeting on October 20

We wish to thank everyone who took the time to join in the UBC Psychiatry Annual General Meeting on Thursday October 20, and especially thank those who contributed their ideas, questions and suggestions to the discussion.  As this meeting will take place annually each Fall, we hope to see you all again next year and hope we can count on your ongoing support and engagement.

Due to technical issues and resulting time constraints, we did not have the opportunity to present a prerecorded update from he PGME Program Director, Dr. Irfan Khanbhai. Please click on the video below to view the update!

Amy Zwicker

Clinical Assistant Professor, UBC Department of Psychiatry

Crystal Zhou