Reflecting on an extraordinary academic year

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past few months, I have had the opportunity to travel across the province, spending time with many Faculty of Medicine colleagues — faculty, clinical faculty, staff, learners and partners as part of our Beyond 75: Imagining the future of medicine at UBC series of events. Seeing your work, listening to your stories and hearing your ideas for the future was both illuminating and inspiring.

Everywhere I travelled these past few months — from Nanaimo to Kamloops and Vanderhoof to Prince George and on to Vancouver, Surrey and New Westminster — I witnessed an unshakeable shared commitment to protecting and preserving our Faculty’s culture and values of respect, compassion and integrity. Our commitment to our contract with society and ourselves is deep and lived, and fortified by our shared belief that health care is a basic fundamental human right, not a privilege. And the work of transforming health should begin with the most vulnerable.

This commitment comes to life when we consider the incredible things that we have accomplished and continue to accomplish when we work together with a common purpose. Just a short while ago, we watched with great pride as the Faculty’s newest graduates crossed the stage, embarking on the next stage of their professional journeys as doctors, health professionals and researchers across this vast province. It was a particular honour for me to join with families and friends in celebration of this year’s largest-ever cohort of doctors to graduate from the Indigenous MD Admissions Pathway.

The success of this year’s graduates and learners is a testament to the exceptional commitment of the many teachers, mentors and administration teams in uplifting and empowering the next generation. I encourage all of you to read some of the heartfelt messages of thanks from this year’s graduates to clinical faculty members who helped shape their journey. As well, congratulations to the many faculty recognized as recipients of the Faculty’s Distinguished Achievement Awards in 2025. The work that we do in inspiring future generations of doctors and health professionals ultimately holds deep meaning for the people we serve, and its impact is far-reaching, here in Canada and around the world.

We are truly delighted to congratulate and welcome Dr. Sharmila Anandasabapathy as the newly appointed Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Vice-President of Health at UBC. A highly respected clinician, scholar and academic leader, she brings a wealth of experience that will strengthen our academic mission in new and exciting ways. Her fresh perspective and collaborative approach aligns perfectly with our values and ambitions, and will fortify our ability to serve the people of British Columbia and Canada.

And as a gastroenterologist, I’m personally delighted to welcome a colleague whose interests in research span the interdisciplinary spaces of gastroenterology, biomedical engineering and global health.

Inter-disciplinary research and innovation also take centre stage in the latest issue of Pathways: The Resilient Brain. If you haven’t read it yet, this edition highlights the work of our world-class researchers and their teams as they explore how to create better brain health across the lifespan. The breakthroughs and advances in treatment featured are both significant and inspiring — discover more on the Pathways website.

As we look ahead to the summer, I share with you my latest, somewhat reflective playlist. I was struck by the profound and perhaps humorous line “Time is a tide that disobeys, and it disobeys me” in David Gilmour’s “Scattered.” I’ve ended with a wonderfully tranquil track in Gaelic, “Samhradh, Samhradh” (pronounced Sow-ruh), which just means “Summer, Summer”! I hope you all enjoy some tranquil summer time with family and friends and have the opportunity for rest and relaxation and, perhaps, a bit of reflection too!