I am pleased to announce the extension of Dr. Kiran Veerapen as Assistant Dean, Faculty Development, in the UBC Faculty of Medicine, effective to December 31, 2022. Dr. Veerapen is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Medicine.
Dr. Veerapen will continue to provide strategic leadership on faculty development. She works closely with regional associate deans, associate deans, assistant deans and other faculty leaders, ensuring that faculty development activities align with strategic priorities, and that Faculty and UBC plans are compliant with accreditation standards.
Please join me in thanking Dr. Veerapen for her continued leadership.
Join the Academic Integrity Hub for Academic Integrity Week October 17–21, 2022, promoting academic integrity at UBC and beyond.
Explore a range of events and resources, including Take Five for Integrity — an in-class awareness campaign supported with materials for instructors and in-class presentations from staff and students.
A message from Roger Wong, Vice Dean, Education and Robert McMaster, Vice Dean, Research, Faculty of Medicine.
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Calvin Roskelley as the interim Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, effective to December 31, 2022.
Dr. Roskelley is a professor in the Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences. His research focuses on the role of the tissue microenvironment in tumor progression. Dr. Roskelley contributes to the teaching mission in the undergraduate medical, biomedical engineering and science programs, as well as serving as Director of the cell and developmental biology graduate program. Dr. Roskelley also serves on the graduate supervisory committees of students in multiple graduate programs in the Faculty.
Dr. Roskelley’s appointment follows the leadership of Dr. Michael Hunt. We would like to thank Dr. Hunt for his outstanding leadership in the Faculty.
Please join us in thanking Dr. Roskelley for his interim leadership.
The Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) has launched the VCHRI Strategic Plan 2022-2027: Integrating Research Innovation and Health Care.
Read the strategic plan on their website to learn more about their plan to achieve meaningful and sustainable outcomes for patients, families and the research community.
A message from Roger Wong, Vice Dean, Education and Robert McMaster, Vice Dean, Research, Faculty of Medicine.
We are pleased to announce the reappointment of Dr. Dean Jones as Associate Dean, Fraser for a five-year term effective to September 30, 2027.
During his first term, Dr. Jones supported the successful implementation of medical and health professions distribution to the Fraser region, including the MD Undergraduate Program (MDUP) Fraser Medical Cohort and the Master of Physical Therapy (MPT). He also has, and will continue to, play a key role in developing UBC’s academic integrated health vision in the Fraser region and Fraser Health.
In addition, Dr. Jones will continue to provide strategic leadership to ensure a high-quality educational and inclusive experience for all learners and trainees in the Fraser region. He will work closely with Associate and Assistant Deans, Department Heads and School Directors and other senior leaders to ensure regional academic activities and research initiatives align with the strategic priorities and plans of the Faculty and UBC. We look forward to our continued work with Dr. Jones and as he enters a second term in this role.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Jones on his reappointment.
Thrive is a time when we come together as a UBC community to learn about, talk about, and explore ways to support our mental health. The last few years have brought unprecedented challenges and complexities that have impacted the mental health of our community, and now more than ever, it is important that we support one another in learning to thrive.
You can play a role during Thrive by hosting an in-person or virtual event or activity supporting mental health literacy during the month of November. An event can be an existing program that you already host or one designed specifically for Thrive.
Up to $300 in funding is available for UBC Vancouver students, faculty or staff who would like to host an event in November. Applications are open until October 24, 2022.
The FoM internal deadline to submit Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (RCPSC) applications for Academic Certification is Monday, September 12th. Please share the entire package electronically via OneDrive with Aneri Dalal. Please do not send them directly to the Dean. For more information on the Academic Certification process including the Academic Certification Application, Policy on Academic Certification and a guide on how to prepare a strong letter of support, please visit MedNet. Please note: The Royal College will be accepting electronic applications (i.e. hard copy originals are not required), and credit card payments. Please contact Irish Krolikowski if you have any questions.
Associate Membership Reappointment
Please be reminded that the 2022 Associate Membership Reappointment deadline is Tuesday,September 20, 2022. Please contact Aneri Dalal if you have any questions.
Postdoc Workshop for Administrators
Faculty Relations is facilitating a workshop for administrators on Wednesday, September 28th, from 1:30 -3:30 pm. Anyone who handles postdoctoral fellow appointments should attend this workshop. This workshop will cover the basics for unit administrators to better understand Postdoctoral Fellow appointments at UBC. The presentation will be held via Zoom, and a link will be provided to registrants the day before the workshop, along with a copy of the presentation. The session will not be recorded. If interested, please register at https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5tYha72SiQWRIeG. The Zoom link for this session will only be provided to those who have registered, and it is requested that the Zoom link is not shared with others. Please forward this email to those who might benefit from this session.
Call out for Mentors: FoM Staff Mentorship Program
As announced recently, if you are interested in being a mentor, please submit a mentor applicationhere by September 30, 2022 end of day.
Candidate Submissions: For reappointment, promotion and tenure reviews in 2022-2023, July 1, 2022 was the deadline to submit their finalized CV, teaching evidence, and list of potential referee names as per the Collective Agreement. Please forward their casefile to our office as soon as possible in order to ensure that the faculty members’ reviews stay on track for completion by July 1, 2023. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Jane or Alyssa if you have any questions about your files.
2022-23 FARPT Meeting Schedule – The Faculty Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee meeting schedule has been set for the coming year. Please take note of these dates to ensure Department Heads and School Directors are available to present their cases. Heads and Departments are encouraged to have their reports and recommendations to the Dean by the end of November to allow for the Dean’s Advisory Committee to meet and review the promotion and tenure files in time to receive a decision made by the President ahead of the July 1, 2023 promotion date.
2022 Faculty Salary Increase – End of Process
Please refer to the attached email regarding important updates and actions required for the salary increase this year. The Faculty Salary Increase Notices (FSIN) have been shared with each Department/School via the OneDrive FSIN folder. If you have any questions, please reach out to Alyssa, Jane, or Susan.
Minimum salary for benefits for Postdoctoral Research & Clinical Fellows
The minimum monthly salary for the purpose of benefits eligibility has been updated for Postdoctoral Research Fellows and Clinical Fellows. The new minimum monthly salary is now $1,400. The other benefit eligibility requirements (i.e., an appointment of at least 0.5 FTE for one year or more) remain unchanged. Please see the following link for details: https://hr.ubc.ca/working-ubc/salaries/faculty-salaries/minimum-salaries-purpose-benefits-eligibility
Lengthening Immigration Processing Times for Work Permit Applications
Please see the below communication for guidance and information on managing the challenges surrounding longer processing times.
Housing Immigration & Relocation Services (HIRS) have identified a significant increase in processing times for work permit applications made abroad or inside Canada. Please see this communication attached here for guidance and info on how to manage the challenges surrounding longer processing times.
Campus as a Living Lab (CLL) offers faculty and staff at UBC Vancouver an opportunity to explore, develop and test new ideas on sustainability and climate action on campus. The 2022/23 CLL Fund Competition provides up to $50,000 in funding for teams to develop ‘living lab’ projects.
The deadline to submit proposals is November 7, 2022.
The UBC Collaborative Research Mobility Awards (CRMA) competition is now open. It provides up to $5,000 to support new or existing research partnerships between UBC researchers in the Okanagan and Vancouver.
Faculty members from all disciplines are invited to apply by November 4, 2022. Funding may be used to cover travel and accommodation costs associated with meetings, accessing specialized equipment, or other partnership activities.
Meet Rouhollah (Rola) Mousavizadeh, Research Associate in the Department of Physical Therapy.
Title:
Research Associate
Department/Unit:
Department of Physical Therapy
Campus:
UBC Vancouver
How long have you worked at the UBC Faculty of Medicine?
Almost 10 years.
Tell us what you do at the Faculty in one or two sentences:
As a researcher in Dr. Alex Scott’s laboratory, I study the pathology of tendons to develop novel modalities for management and therapy of tendon injuries.
What’s your favourite thing about your work?
The journey of research. It comes with lots of failed experiments which test your resilience and teach you to learn from different angles. And when the success comes, you feel absolute joy.
What song did you sing out loud to as a teenager?
I love Persian traditional music and poetry. Specially a poem by Rumi and vocals by Shajarian. It’s translated to:
I have come hidden from eyes like mind and soul
To take flame (bright) to my eyes and soul
They have filled my sight, where can I see but them
They have taken the city of my heart, where else can I go?
In the desiring of them, I have been turned like desire
Because I cannot name them, I say the name of the moon
What makes you laugh?
Watching my son when he hysterically laughs at something silly.
Where is your favourite vacation spot, and why?
Visiting my wife’s family in Bellingen, Australia.
