2017 BMLSc Graduates

Congratulations to our 2017 BMLSc Graduates and award recipients!

Introducing the BMLSc Associate Director

Dr. Michael Sutherland
Associate Director,
BMLSc Program

Dr. Michael Sutherland has accepted the new position of Associate Director, BMLSc Program. Dr. Sutherland will help us gain momentum on our Program review and improvement project.

“In this new opportunity as Associate Program Director, I’m looking forward to the dual role of educational leadership, through course coordination and teaching within the BMLSc program, and academic service contributions, by advancing the BMLSc curriculum review and improvement process. I’m excited to be working together with a diverse group of dedicated individuals to help produce and deliver the highly regarded BMLSC program and promote curiosity and lifelong learning among our students.”

Welcome to New Course Coordinators …

  • Dr. Bojana Rakic - PATH 301 Basic and Physical Biochemistry for Medical Laboratory Scientists
  • Dr. Ramesh Saeedi – Lipid Section lead of PATH 301 Basic and Physical Biochemistry for Medical Laboratory Scientists
  • Dr. Tracy Tucker - PATH 303 Cytogenetics, Molecular Genetics, Tissue Culture & Cytology
  • Dr. Peter Schubert - PATH 402 Hematopathology
  • Dr. Kenneth Liu – PATH 405 Seminars in Current Topics (Co-Coordinator)

We are grateful to our new and continuing instructors. The success of the BMLSc Program is due to these dedicated individuals.

Program Curriculum Changes

In November 2017 the UBC Senate Curriculum and Admissions Committee approved changes to program admission requirements and degree requirements as follows:

    Admissions Requirement
  • CHEM 211 – Changed from being an admission requirement to “strongly recommended” for admission. Students admitted to the program without CHEM 211 will be required to take it in third year
    • Degree Requirements
  • CHEM 311 – Change from required course to optional course.
  • PATH 327 – Reduction of credits (6 to 4).

These changes are a result of feedback gathered from stakeholders, including current BMLSc students, alumni, Course Coordinators/Section Leads, and instructors from Chemistry.

Vancouver Summer Program 2017

Dr. Juliana Li
Honorary Lecturer – BMLSc
STICKY POST

BMLSc participated in the Vancouver Summer Program (VSP) and offered another four week academic program to 33 international students from Asia and Europe this summer. This diverse group of students gained international academic experience and knowledge of Canadian culture through excursions and extracurricular activities.

BMLSc Program Director Dr. Amanda Bradley, PhD candidate Deb Chen and Adjunct Professor Dr. Kenneth Liu presented the Introduction to Medical Laboratory Science course. Topics included hematology, gastrointestinal, hepatic and renal systems. In this course, students applied fundamental concepts learned to examine problem-based case studies. A hands-on hematology lab session and tour of the Canadian Blood Services’ netCAD Blood for Research Facility was conducted. Students also had the opportunity to view pathological specimens relevant to their studies and tour the William Boyd Museum of Pathology located in the David F. Hardwick Pathology Learning Centre (DHPLC).

The Fundamental Techniques for Clinical and Medical Research Laboratories course, led by Honorary Lecturers Jennifer Xenakis, Jenny Tai and Dr. Juliana Li offered practical lab sessions in histochemistry, tissue culture and molecular biology respectively. Students successfully utilized different staining techniques and microscopically determined the composition of unknown tissues, cultured a mammalian cell line, and extracted their own DNA to perform a DNA fingerprinting analysis. Interactive classes for both courses involved presentations, group work and discussions. The students were eager to learn and a pleasure to teach.

Special thanks to Helen Dyck (DHPLC) and Janet MacManus (netCAD) for providing guided tours and to everyone that participated in the VSP.

Visit https://vancouversummerprogram.ubc.ca for more information.

2017 Graduates

This past May, 21 students received their BMLSc degrees, bringing the total number of program graduates to 554.

The annual BMLSc Awards Tea recognized the following students of the 35th graduating class for their outstanding academic achievements:

Kendall Greening was awarded the Professor C.F.A. Culling Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science Prize for highest overall academic standing of the graduating class. Kendall also received the Donald M. McLean Prize in Medical Microbiology and the Eugenie Phyllis and Philip Edward Reid Prize in Morphological Sciences for academic excellence in histology, histochemistry and microscopy.

Patricia Daduica received the B.J. Twaites Prize in Laboratory Administration, awarded to the student with the highest standing in PATH 408.

             

Thenuga Sasitharan received the Prize for Best Overall Performance in PATH 405, Seminars in Current Topics.

             

Graduates’ Choice for Teaching Excellence Awards: The graduates recognized the following instructors, who each received a BMLSc Graduates’ Choice for Teaching Excellence Award: Dr. Michael Neerman, Dr. Morris Pudek and Dr. Mark Scott.

The Reid Memorial Cup: This award, chosen by the graduating class, recognizes a Faculty, Staff member or student who made an outstanding contribution to the educational experience of the BMLSc students. This year’s recipient is Ms. Jennifer Xenakis.