We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Tillie Louise Hackett is a recipient of the 2024/2025 UBC Killam Teaching Prizes
This award is to recognize an individual demonstrating excellence and dedication to teaching and commitment to students
Dr. Tillie-Louise Hackett exemplifies excellence as an educator and mentor. Over the past decade, she has been recognized as one of the top educators across UBC’s undergraduate, graduate, and medical school programs. As a mentor, her dedication to student success has led 55 trainees to win over 150 awards and pursue careers in academia, medicine, graduate studies, and industry. Dr. Hackett’s commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment is highlighted by her trainees and reflected in numerous accolades for teaching excellence and mentorship. Her outstanding contributions make her a deserving recipient of the 2024/2025 Killam Teaching Prize.
Congratulations go to Dr. Khaled Abdelrahman who is being recognized by the Canadian Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (CSPT). Dr. Abdelrahman will be recognized with the 2024/2025 Junior Investigator Award at the Society’s 2025 Annual Conference in Vancouver – Jun 2 – 5, 2025. The Junior Investigator Award is awarded annually to recognize significant contributions to the advancement and extension of knowledge in the field of basic or clinical pharmacology.
Congratulations, Dr. Abdelrahman, for a well-deserved recognition!
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Hilary Grocott has been appointed Head, Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, effective to June 30, 2030.
Dr. Grocott is a professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics. A world-renowned cardiothoracic anesthesiologist, his research is primarily focused on optimizing neurologic outcomes following cardiac surgery. Dr. Grocott has delivered nearly 250 invited lectures across six continents and previously served as Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia.
As Head, Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Dr. Grocott will provide strategic leadership to the department, helping foster excellence and innovation in education, research, and service. He also aims to enhance faculty engagement and build on the department’s existing strengths.
Dr. Grocott’s appointment follows from the leadership of Dr. Peter Choi, who served as interim Head from July, 2023. I wish to thank Dr. Choi for his exemplary service, leadership and contributions to the Faculty in this role.
The Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics extends congratulations to Dr. Darryl Knight on his recent reappointment as President, Providence Research; Vice President, Research and Academic Affairs at Providence Health Care and Associate Dean, Research, Providence Health Care Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine for a five-year term effective to June 30, 2029.
Dr. Knight is a professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and a cell biologist with an international reputation in the area of lung and airway remodeling. He has previously served as Associate Director of the James Hogg Research Centre (now the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation).
Dr. Knight is also a founding member of several prominent health research initiatives and currently holds leadership roles in a variety of national and international research networks. His efforts to enhance collaboration between researchers, clinicians and policymakers have been instrumental in strengthening Providence Research’s mission to improve patient care and health systems.
In his previous term as Associate Dean, Research, Providence Research and President, Providence Research, Dr. Knight’s leadership has been integral in advancing Providence Research’s strategic goals, including enhancing interdisciplinary research, fostering meaningful community partnerships and driving impactful innovations in health care. His vision for the future of Providence Research — as part of the care, research and innovation network working with the new St. Paul’s Hospital at the Jim Pattison Medical Campus — focuses on expanding research capacity, increasing Providence Research’s global visibility, and further strengthening its contributions to clinical research, health policy and practice.
We extend our sincere congratulations to Dr. Knight on his reappointment and look forward to his continued leadership as Providence Research builds on its world-class reputation for excellence in health research.
Congratulations to Drs. Pascal Bernatchez, Colin Dormuth and Matthew Wiens who were recently awarded 4 & 5-year Canadian Institutes of Health Research Project Grant from the Fall 2024 competition
Dr. Pascal Bernatchez, Associate Professor – was recently awarded a 5-year Canadian Institutes of Health Project Grant valued at $914,175 to support his project entitled “Activation of the chronic endothelial function reserve for the prevention and regression of aortopathies.”.
Dr. Colin Dormuth, Associate Professor – was recently awarded a 4-year Canadian Institutes of Health Project Grant valued at $753,524 to support his project entitled “Safety Advisories Framework for Effective Risk communication – Phase 2 (SAFER-2)”.
Dr. Matthew Wiens, Assistant Professor – was recently awarded a 4.5 -year Canadian Institutes of Health Project Grant valued at $1,690,651 to support his project entitled “Smart Discharges for newborns with sepsis: a personalized public health approach for improving discharge and post-discharge care in low-resource settings”.
Annabel is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Therapeutics Initiative focusing on the implementation of a set of interventions to reduce laboratory test overuse. She is also co-leading engagement with healthcare professionals to update guidelines for the deprescribing of antihyperglycemic medication. Annabel recently completed a postdoctoral position at the University of Brighton, UK. This research was based within the Shared Values workstream of the UKRI GCRF Action Against Stunting Hub focusing on informing local solutions through making explicit lived experiences and evaluating intangible project legacies. Her PhD was based within the same project and focused on a qualitative values-based approach to localization of Global Health Projects. Annabel’s BSc and MSc were in Food Science and Human Nutrition. She has also worked within the charity sector in the UK in community engagement for the purpose of improving health and social care services in Hertfordshire. Annabel’s research priorities are participatory methods, knowledge exchange and implementation science.
Social Media / Lab or Research Website
Website (or Lab):
Research Interests
Knowledge Translation, Qualitative Research Methods, Patient Engagement
Dr. Yashodani Pillay (BSc, PhD) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and the Centre for International Child Health at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, Canada. She has a PhD in Medical Biochemistry from the University of KwaZulu-Natalin Durban, South Africa where she worked on environmental toxicology with collaborative projects in HIV and maternal and newborn health. Currently, as a global health researcher, she has dedicated her focus on maternal and pediatric sepsis, digital innovations, and quality improvement. She is currently leading the Smart Discharges for Mom & Baby project in Uganda, which aims to develop, validate, and implement an innovative precision public health approach to improving post-discharge post-delivery care for mother-newborn dyads in Uganda. She is also leading implementation of Smart Triage in Uganda and Kenya – a data-driven approach to improving the quality of care for children treated for severe infectious illness at health facilities in low-resource settings.
