The Link E-Newsletter

Leadership Opportunities Available

Click here for a list of leadership opportunities available.

Appointment Announcements

• Dr. Adrian Yee was appointed the Assistant Dean, MD Undergraduate Education, Island Medical Program (IMP) effective July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2015.
• Dr. Sam Abraham will be extended as the Interim Associate Dean, Research, BC Cancer Agency effective to August 31, 2013.
• Dr. Lesley Bainbridge will be extended as the Director, Interprofessional Health Education effective July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2014.

Get Fit for a Cause: Health Here Help There: April 23 – May 14
A 21-day initiative, organized by second year Masters of Physical Therapy student Naomi Casiro, to inspire health and wellness in Vancouver and beyond, while simultaneously raising dollars to fund an after school program for struggling youth in northern Argentina. Participate in online videos and in person classes on fun and exciting health and wellness topics such as nutrition, yoga, cross fit and posture, delivered by passionate local Vancouver professionals.

REMINDER: Full Faculty Meeting & Webcast: May 9
The Full Faculty Meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 9 from 5:00 to 6:30 pm in the Life Sciences Centre, Lecture Theatre 1 at the UBC Point Grey campus. Videoconference will be available in Victoria, Prince George, and Kelowna, in addition to an online webcast.

BrainTalks UBC: Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Enhancement: May 10
On Thursday, May 10, a BrainTalk will be held with two notable speakers: Dr. Derryk Smith, Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, to discuss the use of possible prescription cognitive enhancers, and Trent McConaghy, PhD, to discuss the cognitive enhancement that artificial intelligence tools can provide.

Med Ed Day for Health Professionals: May 11
The 2012 Medical Education Day for Health Professionals and the 8th William Webber Memorial Lecture on Medical Education will be Friday, May 11 from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm at the University Golf Club, Vancouver. A preliminary agenda and registration are available online.

Advanced Hazmat Life Support course: May 11 – 13
Advanced Hazmat Life Support (AHLS) has a two day Provider Course designed to train medical professionals how to treat people exposed to hazardous materials. AHLS provides the specialized knowledge and skills you need to determine the toxic agent causing the symptoms and how it should be treated. There is also an optional 3rd half-day to become certified as an Instructor.

The Eighth D. Harold Copp Lecture: May 14
The Faculty of Medicine sponsored The Eighth D. Harold Copp Lecture will be held this year on Monday May 14 at 4pm in the Life Sciences Centre (LSC #2). The 2012 Copp Lecturer is Dr. Freda Miller, Senior Scientist in the Developmental & Stem Cell Biology program at The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Professor at the University of Toronto, and Canada Research Chair in Developmental Neurobiology. The presentation is titled “Stem cells: building and rebuilding the nervous system.”

Call for Nominations: Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards: Deadline May 31
Now in its 10th year, the Top 100 Awards honour female leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Details and nomination forms are available online.

Meeting the Challenge of Emerging, Acute and Persistent Viral Diseases Symposium: May 31 – June 1
The Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology together with the Gairdner Foundation of Canada is holding its inaugural symposium “Meeting the Challenge of Emerging, Acute and Persistent Viral Diseases” at the University of Alberta in Edmonton on May 31 and June 1, 2012. The symposium will focus on the viral pathogenesis, immune responses and potential of novel antivirals, and vaccines both prophylactic and therapeutic for these viruses.

CMMT 15th Anniversary Celebration: June 5
The Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics’ (CMMT) 15th Anniversary Celebration will be Tuesday, June 5 in Vancouver.

New Donor Wall in the Life Sciences Centre
The new donor wall on the ground floor of the Life Sciences Centre recognizes Faculty of Medicine donors and research supporters.

Read the latest issue of the UBC Medical Journal
The UBC Medical Journal (UBCMJ) is a student-run academic journal with a goal to engage students in dialogue in medicine. The theme of the latest issue is Preventative Medicine.

Read AFMC’s Annual Report
The AFMC’s (Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada) 2011-12 Annual Report includes highlights from the AFMC’s major projects and activities in areas of interest to academic medicine.

Read the final report of the Future of Medical Education in Canada Postgraduate project
The Future of Medical Education in Canada Postgraduate (FMEC PG) project consortium partners are very proud of the release of the final project report, A Collective Vision for Postgraduate Medical Education in Canada. The project set out to conduct a thorough review of postgraduate medical education in Canada and establish whether the structure and processes of the current system are designed for the best possible outcomes to meet current and future societal needs. The 10 recommendations in this collective vision aim to prepare the Canadian postgraduate medical education system for the century ahead.

UBC Announcements

Call for Student Volunteers: President’s UBC Vancouver Non-Academic Misconduct Committee: Deadline May 4
The University Counsel invites interested students to apply for positions on the President’s UBC Vancouver Non-Academic Misconduct Committee. Information about the Committee and how to submit your name for consideration is available online.

Complimentary tickets available for the ‘Public Salon: Ideas That Move the City:’ May 16
A limited number of complimentary tickets are available for UBC faculty, staff and students to the upcoming Public Salon hosted by Sam Sullivan, former Mayor of Vancouver. The event features short presentations by Vancouver’s leaders and thinkers, including Dr. Hal Gunn, Clinical Assistant Professor, and Dr. Unjali Malhotra, Clinical Instructor, both in the Department of Family Practice. For complimentary tickets, contact gc.events@ubc.ca.

Bike to Work Week: May 28 – June 1
During Vancouver’s Bike to Work Week, there will be free bike check-ups, refreshments and checkpoints all around the city, including one at UBC Vancouver on University Boulevard on May 30th from 4:00- 6:40 pm. You can also sign up for a free cycling skills course at UBC Vancouver on May 24.

Register now: Responding with Respect: Mental Health in the UBC Workplace: May 29
Responding with Respect is a free, three-hour training developed in a partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association and UBC Human Resources. It will help faculty and staff to recognize the symptoms of anxiety and depression in the workplace, respond in an empathetic and productive way and also refer themselves or their colleagues to appropriate resources.

Call for Applications: Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies Distinguished Scholars in Residence: Deadline June 30
The Distinguished Scholar in Residence Award is open to full Professors and senior Associate Professors at UBC Vancouver, who have a demonstrated commitment to excellence in scholarship and an interest in collaborating in an interdisciplinary research environment. The residency period is from April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014. More information, including eligibility and application procedure, is available online. Please contact Program Manager Emma MacEntee (Nationalprograms@pwias.ubc.ca) with questions regarding the program.

Register now: Coaching @ UBC
UBC’s award-winning Coaching program has spaces available for one-on-one coaching services (free to UBC faculty and staff).

UBC Vancouver campus: Construction on Main Mall and University Boulevard
As part of UBC’s plan to make Main Mall and University Boulevard (from East Mall to West Mall) the primary pedestrian corridors and the symbolic center of campus, there will be significant construction in these areas between April and September 2012.  During and after construction, vehicle access in these areas will be restricted to emergency vehicles only. Bicyclists and pedestrians will continue to have access through the areas at all times during the construction phase.

Read the Office of the Ombudsperson for Students’ Annual Report
The 2011 Annual Report of the Office of the Ombudsperson for Students is now available. The mandate of the Ombuds Office is to ensure students are treated fairly in every aspect of their university life. The Ombuds Office provides guidance and advice to students and other members of the university community who deal with student matters and make recommendations to serve as an effective influencer of positive change.

Translation Services for the UBC Community
UBC Continuing Studies can provide faculty and staff with accurate and timely translations from English into Chinese, French, Spanish and Korean, as well as other languages upon request. They can provide language solutions for communications with international partners and organizations, promotional materials, research materials and abstracts, questionnaires, social media, or film and video subtitles.

UBC Appointment Announcements

• The UBC Board of Governors has approved the reappointment of Dr. David Farrar as Provost and Vice-President, Academic for a second five-year term, effective September 1, 2012.

UBC Policies and Procedures Updates
The Board of Governors has approved the following at its meeting on April 3, 2012:

• Amendment to Policy #61 – Postdoctoral Fellows
• Amendment to Policy #86 – Extraordinary Expenses – Grant and Contract-Funded Employees

Call for Comments: Proposed Policy Amendment – Policy #88 (Intellectual Products)
The UBC community is invited to comment on proposed amendments to Policy #88 (Intellectual Products). The existing Policy #88 has been in place, without amendment, since 1993. Since that time the technical, collaborative, and educational environments in which the University operates have changed significantly and the University’s practices in relation to the management of intellectual property arising from University research have evolved. Please submit feedback to the Office of the University Counsel at university.counsel@ubc.ca by October 7, 2012.

Leadership Opportunities Available

• Head, Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics
• Director, International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD)
• Regional Associate Dean, Northern British Columbia, UBC Faculty of Medicine & Vice Provost, Medicine, University of Northern British Columbia
• Associate Dean, Admissions
• Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education

Announcements

Appointment Announcements

• Dr. Pierre Guy was appointed Interim Director, Centre for Hip Health & Mobility effective January 1, 2012 to June 30, 2012.
• Dr. Jan Friedman’s term as Acting Associate Dean, Research, CFRI was extended effective April 1, 2012 to June 30, 2012.
• Dr. Sharon Salloum was reappointed Associate Dean, MD Undergraduate Program, Student Affairs effective July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013.

New Faculty of Medicine approved Centre: Centre for Health Evaluation & Outcome Sciences
The Faculty of Medicine is pleased to announce the Centre for Health Evaluation & Outcome Sciences (CHÉOS) as our newest Faculty of Medicine approved Centre. This internationally renowned Centre, led by Dr. Aslam Anis, brings together a very talented interdisciplinary group of investigators that is addressing health interventions on populations to understand how to improve health and transform health for the future.

Save the Date: Full Faculty Meeting: May 9
The next Full Faculty Meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 9, 2012 from 5:00 – 6:30 pm at the following locations: UBC Point Grey campus, the University of Victoria, the University of Northern British Columbia, Kelowna General Hospital, and via live webcast. Details are available online.

Agenda for the May 2012 Full Faculty Meeting: Email Circulation Only
The agenda for the Full Faculty Meeting on May 9, 2012 will be circulated by email only. In order to update your email address, please contact Communications. The agenda will be circulated by April 18, 2012 and available on the Faculty’s website.

Register now: Population Health and GIS course: Deadline April 20
Population Data BC is offering an online course on Population Health and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from May to August 2012. In this course, students will learn about the geographic nature of population health research, key considerations and limitations in spatial analysis and the application of GIS in health research. Students will learn about linking administrative data to spatial data in order to analyze it spatially, with a particular focus on mapping variations in disease rates.

Register now: Diabetes Educator Course in Vancouver: April 23 – 26
This comprehensive four-day course is for health professionals from a variety of disciplines who face diabetes in practice. The goal is to update your understanding of the complexities of diabetes care, and learn effective approaches to educate those affected by diabetes. It is an ideal course if you are entering the dynamic, specialty field of diabetes education. This course is not specifically designed as preparation for the CDE examination; however it will serve as an excellent review in your preparation to become a certified diabetes educator.

Register now: Transfusion Reaction Education webinar series: April – June
The BC Provincial Blood Coordinating Office (PBCO), in collaboration with the BC Transfusion Medicine Advisory Group (TMAG), will be re-running a six module webinar series, entitled Transfusion Reaction Education for BC Pathologists from April to June. This event is an Accredited Group Learning Activity eligible for up to 6.0 (1.0 per module) Section 1 credits as defined by the Maintenance of Certification program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. The CME credits are available to all physicians that take the course (one credit per module) and successfully pass the 8-question quiz at the end. Once this spring session has finished, PBCO will post the links to the webinars as well as all the educational resources on their website.

Call for Nominations: 2012 Royal College AMS Donald R. Wilson Award: Deadline May 1
This award recognizes the seminal work of Dr. Donald Richards Wilson, who, while serving as president of Associated Medical Services (AMS), led the initiative which served as a foundation from which emerged the CanMEDS program of the Royal College. This award is given annually to a medical educator or a leader of a team, program, or department who has demonstrated excellence in integrating the CanMEDS roles into a Royal College or other health related training program. Details about eligibility, nominations, submissions and selection are available online.

Call for Nominations: BCMA 13th Annual Health Promotions Awards: Deadline May 4
The BCMA Health Promotion Awards recognize individuals and organizations working to improve the health and safety of British Columbians by celebrating those who demonstrate leadership in health promotion. There are three separate categories: Corporate Sector, Non-profit Sector and  Individual. Visit the website for information about the nomination criteria, nomination form, submission instructions and selection process.

Call for Proposals: BCcampus 2012 Online Program Development Fund: Internal Deadline May 10
The BCcampus Online Program Development Fund (OPDF) provides an opportunity to develop courses and reusable resources that support online learning collaboratively with educators from BC post-secondary institutions. This year, $500,000 is being made available through this fund. Information about the program and the application form are available online. Please submit applications for unit approval to the office of Dr. David Snadden, Executive Associate Dean, Education, by email to eade.admin@ubc.ca or by mail to 2775 Laurel Street, 11th Floor, GLDHCC, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9.

Registration and Call for abstracts now open: 2nd International Scientific Tendinopathy Symposium: September 27 – 29
The 2nd International Scientific Tendinopathy Symposium (ISTS2012) is being held September 27-29, 2012 at the University of British Columbia / Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. It will consist of 1.5 days of keynotes, oral presentations by senior scientists and selected abstract submissions, as well as poster sessions. There is also a pre-symposium roundtable discussion, and a one-time only post-symposium clinical workshop led by Jill Cook and Bill Vicenzino. Early registration at reduced fees is available for the first 75 tickets; register now while space is available. Details about the programme, abstract submission, and registration are available online.

MSFHR Knowledge Translation Needs Assessment Survey
The Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) is conducting a survey to determine individual needs and interests for training and resources related to the effective use of health research evidence in health care practice and policy. The target audience for the survey is both researchers AND those who use research evidence in their work. Please note that the survey is anonymous and does not collect any information that will identify you personally or link you with any specific organization.

Curriculum Development Opportunities at Thompson Rivers University
Thompson Rivers University, Open Learning (TRU-OL) is looking for qualified content experts/curriculum developers and content experts/ consultants to develop the following online courses: HLTH 2501 Pathophysiology and HLTH 4001 Social Determinants of Health.

Updated Faculty of Medicine Website
We are pleased to introduce an updated Faculty of Medicine website. The updated website is a reflection of replacing the technology that supports the website (from ACM to WordPress). The navigation and content of the site remain the same with the new look and layout, providing you with access to the same information.

Faculty Executive Minutes
Stay up-to-date on academic matters of the Faculty. Minutes from Faculty Executive meetings are posted to the website monthly.

Contact List
The Faculty of Medicine Contact List has been updated and is available on the Contact page of the website. Please submit any updates and corrections to Elizabeth Kukely.

UBC Announcements

Call for Applications: Peter Wall Institute UBC Visiting Scholar Abroad Award: Deadline April 30
Two Peter Wall Institute awards of $25,000 are available to UBC faculty members who are early or mid-career scholars (pre-tenure or recently tenured) to travel abroad to undertake innovative research that will make a social, ethical, medical, scientific, or other contribution to the country being visited. The objective of the Peter Wall Institute UBC Visiting Scholar Abroad Award is to support research that will have a transformative impact on scholars and situations in the host country, as well as having a transformative impact on the UBC scholar’s intellectual development. Criteria, expectations and application requirements are available on the PWIAS website under “News.”

Call for Applications: Ireland Canada University Foundation – Dobbin Scholarships: Deadline April 30
The Ireland Canada University Foundation offers an annual programme of scholarly exchange awards between the universities of Canada and Ireland. These scholarships are open to scholars of all academic disciplines, and are tenable for travel from Canadian to Irish universities, in order to support the scholar’s research on a topic relating to both countries. The scholarships fund short periods of exchange, typically one month, are valued at CAD $ 7,000, and are targeted at scholars in the early stages of their research career.

Call for Nominations: NSERC Innovation Challenge Awards: Deadline May 1
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Innovation Challenge Awards honour graduate students in the natural sciences or engineering who have demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit by identifying ways in which their research thesis results can be developed into products and processes to benefit Canadians. Since 2004, these awards have recognized and rewarded Canada’s brightest minds. NSERC and a number of private-sector partners jointly fund the Innovation Challenge Awards.

UBC Information Security Awareness Programme
UBC is launching an Information Security Awareness Programme designed to help departments better secure their electronic information. As part of this program, the UBC Information Security Office has made an online security awareness training course available through Vista. This training is available to all UBC employees, including faculty, staff and graduate students, and consists of brief training modules delivered via web videos on topics from mobile devices, to social networking, to telecommuting and more, providing guidance on IT security, education on risks and how to handle them. In our roles at UBC we are all responsible for security. Please help us keep UBC’s data safe. View the videos at www.vista.ubc.ca by logging in with your CWL account and clicking on “UBC Information Security Awareness Training”.

Launch of Early Alert Program
In support of UBC’s goal to create a campus community that is deeply conducive to student wellbeing, Student Development & Services is pleased to announce the launch of Early Alert. With Early Alert, faculty and staff can identify their concerns about students who are facing difficulties sooner and in a more coordinated way. This gives students the earliest possible connection to the right resources and support, before difficulties put their academic success at risk.

College for Interdisciplinary Studies (CFIS) Evolution
On February 15, 2012, the UBC Senate approved a motion to change the mandate and structure of CFIS as of April 1, 2012.  As a result, CFIS research units and their associated graduate programs will transfer to Faculties.  The independent graduate programs currently administered by CFIS (Bioinformatics, Cell and Developmental Biology, Genetics, Genome Science and Technology, Interdisciplinary Oncology, Neuroscience and Sustainable Building Science Program) will remain in CFIS at this time. For a list of CFIS units and their new Faculty homes, as well as the Senate motion, please see the CFIS website.

UBC Okanagan campus: Office of Educational Research, Planning & Analysis
Effective April 2nd, 2012, the Office of Educational Research, Planning & Analysis, led by Director Stephanie McKeown, will report to the Deputy Vice Chancellor and Principal. The Office of Educational Research, Planning & Analysis will be working closely with each of the Okanagan campus’ Senior Executives and their portfolios, including those of the Deputy Vice Chancellor and Principal, the Provost, the Associate Vice President Students and the Associate Vice President Finance and Administration. The Office of Educational Research, Planning and Analysis provides leadership and direction for campus information support activities that impact policy, planning and management decisions through the analysis, presentation and distribution of data.

UBC Appointment Announcements

• Pascal Spothelfer was appointed Vice President, Communications and Community Engagement effective May 28, 2012.

UBC Policy Update

UBC’s Policy #106 “Access to and Security of Administrative Information Systems” in conjunction with the UBC Information Security Manual, sets the expectations of the institution with respect to the protection and security of this information. The UBC Information Security Manual has been updated to V2.0, with a focus on the protection of Personally Identifiable Information. The university expects all employees handling administrative, academic or research information to adhere to the Policy and the standard defined in the Manual.