Invitation of Expressions of Interest for the 2025 Canada Research Chair Competition

Dear Faculty,

The Faculty of Medicine has launched the 2025 Canada Research Chair (CRC) Competition for up to four (4) Tier 1 and up to three (3) Tier 2 Canada Research Chairs in any field of research aligned with the Faculty of Medicine strategic plan, through a competition open to FoM Departments, Schools with Centres, and Institutes as partners.

As the UBC Department of Psychiatry is eligible to submit up to three proposals for internal or external Tier 1 and/or Tier 2 Chairs, we are inviting formal expressions of interest (EOIs) from eligible faculty members from federally designated groups, namely people with disabilities, Indigenous people, racialized people, women, and people from minoritized gender identity groups. Please note that only applicants belonging to any of these federally designated groups are eligible for this competition, and at least one Tier 1 Chair within the internal stream will be dedicated to retaining a researcher with a disability.

In addition to meeting the criteria outlined above, faculty must be full-time and tenure-stream to be eligible for an internal chair position. All other candidates, including partner track and clinical faculty, are welcome to submit an EOI and will be considered for an external chair proposal. Tier 1 Chairs are seven-year positions, renewable once, intended for exceptional researchers who are internationally recognized as leaders in their fields, while Tier 2 Chairs are five-year positions, renewable once, intended for exceptional emerging scholars who demonstrate the potential to lead in their fields. Full details can be found here.

Eligible faculty are asked to submit their formal expressions of interest to Margaret Koshi (margaret.koshi@ubc.ca) by Monday, February 24, 2025. You must include:

• A current curriculum vitae
• A brief letter of interest describing your qualifications and research plans for a Tier 1 or Tier 2 Chair
• A document describing how your area of research aligns with Department as well as Faculty of Medicine priorities as reflected in the strategic plans

Applications will undergo review and adjudication by a departmental Advisory Committee, in accordance with the Canada Research Chairs Program (CRCP) guidelines for recruiting and nominating CRCs, and selection criteria will include strategic alignment with departmental priorities as identified in the current strategic plan.

Should you have any question regarding the 2025 CRC Competition, please feel free to reach out to margaret.koshi@ubc.ca.  

Sincerely,

The UBC Department of Psychiatry Administration Office at the UBC Vancouver Campus 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).

** Sent on behalf of the UBC Psychiatry Postgraduate Education Team**

UPDATE: Examiner found. Thank you to all those who inquired.

Dear Faculty Members,

We are urgently seeking a Mock OSCE examiner for our February 13th exam. The Mock OSCEs are an integral part of preparing our residents for their Royal College OSCE exams and we want to ensure the continued success for all of our residents.

We need one examiner for the morning session, 8:30am – 12:15pm, February 13, 2025.

Mock OSCE are conducted virtually through Zoom. You will receive all necessary information prior to the exam. Examiners are eligible for payment at the rate of $106.03 per hour.

If you are interested in being an examiner next Thursday, February 13th, please email Raquel Portillo Henriquez at raquel.portillo@ubc.ca.

Thank you for your help in making Mock OSCEs successful.

Regards,

Raquel Portillo Henriquez 
Senior Program Assistant, PGE
UBC Department of Psychiatry

The UBC Department of Psychiatry Administration Office at the UBC Vancouver Campus 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).

As the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) announced the results of its Fall 2024 project grant competition last week, we wish to congratulate our faculty member and principal investigator Dr. Brian MacVicar, along with his team, who was awarded grant funding to support his project. We would also like to congratulate faculty member Dr. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez who is co-investigator on a project that received funding.

Lipid Nanoparticle-messenger RNA (LNP-mRNA) as a versatile therapeutic platform for brain diseases

• Principal Investigator: Brian A. MacVicar

• Co-investigators: Bernier, Louis-Philippe; Cullis, Pieter R; Lynd, Larry D; Ross, Colin J; Tremblay, Sébastien; Weilinger, Nicholas L

Brain diseases affect around 10% of Canadians, but treating them has been challenging since the brain is difficult to target with regular medicines. Exciting new technologies that carry genetic drugs, similar to those used in COVID-19 vaccines, are changing the way we think about treatments. Our team is working on a unique approach using a novel technology called lipid nanoparticle-messenger RNA (LNP-mRNA) to help heal the brain from within. Decades of research in neuroscience have shown that many brain diseases occur because the brain lacks certain proteins. We believe we can fix this by giving the brain the missing proteins it needs to get better. READ MORE

Understanding the amnestic side effects of electroconvulsive shock

• Principal Investigator: Jason S. Snyder

• Co-investigator: Fidel Vila-Rodriguez

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is widely used as a therapy for mental illness, and is the most effective treatment for patients who suffer from drug-resistant depression. Unfortunately, many patients avoid ECT treatment due to its side effects on memory. Generally, patients reports difficulties remembering information learned around the time of treatment, but the duration of the impairment and the exact types of memory that are impaired remains unclear. Minimizing these side effects not only requires identification of the types of memory that are affected, but also depends upon an understanding of how ECT affects brain circuits involved in memory. READ MORE

Read the complete list of UBC Faculty of Medicine researchers who were awarded more than $26M for transformative health research.

If you are a PI who was awarded funding in the fall 2024 CIHR Competition, but was not mentioned in this post, please reach out to Megan Rollerson (megan.rollerson@ubc.ca)