The Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics is pleased to extend congratulations to our graduating Anesthesia residents.
Rachel Blair Michelle Chuang Alex (Jamie) Head David Li Kimberly Li James Matthews Robin Mawson Alex McLean Nilufer Nourouzpour David Olmstead Nikunj Patel Jacob Pelling Cale Templeton Dannielle Tinker Robertson Venema William Yao Paul Yen
On June 11, 2025, the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics hosted its 2025 Resident Awards Night, where we were able to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of our residents, including the graduating residents from the Anesthesia Residency Program; Pain Medicine Residency Program and the Family Practice Anesthesia. In addition to announcing the award winners and celebrating the graduates, the event served as a platform to express gratitude to faculty and staff members who had played a vital role in supporting the trainees’ journeys.
The Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics is pleased to extend congratulations to our graduating Pain Medicine residents
Noah Alexander Sam Brophy
On June 11, 2025, the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics hosted its 2025 Resident Awards Night, where we were able to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of our residents, including the graduating residents from the Anesthesia Residency Program; Pain Medicine Residency Program and the Family Practice Anesthesia.
In addition to announcing the award winners and celebrating the graduates, the event served as a platform to express gratitude to faculty and staff members who had played a vital role in supporting the trainees’ journeys.
The Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics is pleased to extend congratulations to our graduating Family Practice Anesthesia residents
Sairvan Fernandes Jacek Orzylowski Ethan (Bei Yuan) Zhang
On June 11, 2025, the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics hosted its 2025 Resident Awards Night, where we were able to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of our residents, including the graduating residents from the Anesthesia Residency Program; Pain Medicine Residency Program and the Family Practice Anesthesia.
In addition to announcing the award winners and celebrating the graduates, the event served as a platform to express gratitude to faculty and staff members who had played a vital role in supporting the trainees’ journeys.
We wish to extend congratulations to this year’s Pharmacology graduates:
Master of Science in Pharmacology
Janet Jia He Zhang
Bachelor of Science, Major in Pharmacology
Darya Bateni Donya Bateni Wayne Bao Josh Dyce Edward Huang Mandy Li Carly Lin Amy Liu Mido Luo Kia Rashidi Ravinder Sheena Nima Teymouri Boxon Zhang Jeffrey Zhang
MD, University of Ottawa, 1983Anesthesia residency, University of Ottawa, 1983 – 1988; Anesthesia fellowship, Hahnemann University, Philadelphia PA,1988 – 1989; Staff Anesthesiologist, Ottawa Civic Hospital, 1989 – 1992; Associate Professor of Anesthesia, Penn State University, 1992 – 1997, tenure 1998; Staff Anesthesiologist, Providence St. Peter Hospital, Olympia WA 1999 – 2021; Staff Anesthesiologist, Saanich Peninsula Hospital, 2021 – present.
Congratulations to Dr. Mark Ansermino who was awarded a BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute / Institute of Global Health at BCCH – CHIPS grant valued at $1,500,000 to support his proposal entitled “Smart triage and smart QI (Quality Improvement)
Smart Triage and QI
Dr. Ansermino and partners at Wallimu (Uganda), the Kenya Medical Research Institute, and many other collaborators have worked collaboratively over the past decade to develop and validate data-driven risk prediction models to improve childhood mortality and morbidity outcomes in triage and discharge in low resource settings. Smart Triage is a digital triaging platform that is simple, robust, low cost, and made specifically for low-resource facilities. It uses an algorithm that identifies children as emergency, priority, or non-urgent, based on easily measurable clinical symptoms and signs which can be captured by a low-skilled, frontline healthcare worker immediately after a child arrives at a health care facility. The triage system is intuitive and starts by displaying specific danger signs chosen in collaboration with local clinical experts. To help ensure that children at hospitals around the world are receiving the best care possible, a quality improvement (QI) program, Smart QI, will be implemented alongside Smart Triage. Smart QI provides a framework for continuous QI, driven by data collected through Smart Triage. Smart Triage and Smart QI were designed with the input of frontline health workers to ensure they are easy to use with little training and limited skills. It is also low cost, affordable, and relies on technology that is readily available in low and middle-income countries.
Through a research grant received from in 2018, the team was able to successfully implement a feasibility study of Smart Triage and Smart QI at Holy Innocent’s Children’s Hospital in Mbarara Uganda with over 5,500 children. Initial results have demonstrated that when using Smart Triage, the time it took for seriously ill children to receive antibiotics was reduced by 20 percent.
The next stage of this program, with this funding, is to update and validate the triage models through robust data collection, and scale Smart Triage + QI through rigorous research at regional referral hospitals in Uganda and Kenya. Each emergency department sees about 6,000 to 8,000 children each year, the majority of children are suffering from infections such as pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria.
Mining4Life and BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, with support from the BC Children’s Research Institute (BCCHRI) and the Institute for Global Health at BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital (IGH-CW), have generously committed $1.5M for this project thus far, and endeavour for additional fundraising with the ultimate goal of improving the health and lives of vulnerable children worldwide.
Congratulations to Dr. Wesam Farag (Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Khaled Abdelrahman’s laboratory) who was awarded a 3-year Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship to support his research project entitled “Targeting G Protein-Coupled Receptors to Improve Neurovascular Coupling in Alzheimer’s Disease” A lay summary can be found – https://webapps.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/decisions/p/project_details.html?applId=516614&lang=en
Congratulations to Dr. Gillian Goobie (Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Tillie-Louise Hackett’s laboratory) who was awarded a 3 year Parker B. Francis Fellowship in Pulmonary Research to support her research project entitled “Identifying environmentally sensitive targets in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis”. The Parker B. Francis Fellowship in Pulmonary Research (PBF) is intended to support the development of outstanding investigators embarking on careers in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. The PBF Fellowship provides important support at a key transition point in the careers of new scientists who will benefit patients with lung diseases through innovative research.
Lay summary: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a disease that causes lung scarring and results in breathing difficulties and early death. Air pollution is associated with IPF development and progression, but we do not understand why. This project aims to answer this question by looking at how air pollution contributes to scar tissue within the lungs through a process called DNA methylation that controls whether genes are turned on or off. We will match satellite-derived air pollution levels with lung imaging and DNA methylation data from patients with IPF compared to healthy individuals to understand how lung scarring occurs in response to pollution. This research will help uncover how pollution contributes to lung scarring in IPF and may identify new targets for therapies to reverse this process.
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!
