Riley Rose

Dr. Pouya Rezazadeh-Azar is a Clinical Assistant Professor who has been very active in research and supervision in the Department since 2018. In June 2025, he transitioned from a current clinical faculty appointment to a full-time tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor, taking on a academic faculty position in Concurrent Disorders.

As a clinician-scientist specializing in addiction psychiatry and pain medicine, Dr. Azar also serves as co-medical manager of the Complex Pain and Addiction Service, a consult service within the Department of Psychiatry at Vancouver Coastal Health. This service manages pain, mental health and substance use disorders across Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), UBC Hospital, and GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre. Dr. Azar is also a clinical assistant professor at UBC, director of the VGH Concurrent Disorders Fellowship, and co-lead of the Substance Use Disorder Clinical Research Unit at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. He also works as a pain physician at the VGH Transitional Pain Clinic.

Dr. Azar’s research focuses on advancing treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD) and improving outcomes for patients with co-occurring mental health, substance use, and pain conditions. As an emerging leader in this area, he has developed protocols for rapid buprenorphine and methadone initiations for individuals using high-potency synthetic opioids. These protocols have been featured in multiple publications and adopted for clinical practice in institutions both locally and internationally.

He is currently collaborating with the UBC Department of Chemistry to develop a portable device capable of quantifying opioids in drug and biological samples to estimate opioid tolerance and facilitate opioid agonist therapy initiation, as well as developing a molecular labeling technology to track opioids and their precursors. In partnership with Cornell University, he is evaluating a contactless monitoring system designed to track physiological parameters in seclusion rooms and supervised consumption sites. In addition, he is working with the BC Institute of Technology to design digital algorithms and mobile apps that enhance adherence to opioid agonist therapy and support long-term recovery.

As well, Dr. Azar is leading a youth-focused prevention campaign that leverages modern multimedia and social media strategies to engage at-risk populations with relatable, evidence-informed messaging. To date, his research has attracted funding from peer-reviewed grant agencies such as CIHR and NSERC as well as philanthropic support through the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation.