Peer Observation of Teaching Lead opportunity, CAHS Fellows, NSERC CREATE and Genome BC funding, CIHR Project Grants, recent faculty publications and more.

View online
UBC Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Bi-Weekly Bulletin

Welcome to Pathology's Bi-Weekly Bulletin | August 25, 2026

Leadership Opportunity: Peer Observation of Teaching Lead

The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PALM) is seeking a new Peer Observation of Teaching Lead. Dr. Amanda Bradley is stepping down from this role and leaves a well-organized program in place.

The Lead will oversee peer observations of PALM faculty members teaching in the BMLSc and Graduate Programs. Applicants should have demonstrated excellence in teaching.

Responsibilities include:

  • Implementing the PALM Peer Observation of Teaching process
  • Creating a supportive, respectful and confidential environment for peer feedback
  • Co-facilitating training workshops approximately every two years on conducting constructive peer observations
  • Coordinating schedules and matching peer observers with instructors
  • Maintaining records of observation team members, completed observations, guidelines, forms and training materials

This is a voluntary service role within PALM and is not remunerated.

If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Dr. Hélène Côté, Vice-Chair of Scientific Education, at helene.cote@ubc.ca.
Drs. David Granville and Aly Karsan

Drs. David Granville and Aly Karsan Elected as CAHS Fellows

Congratulations to Dr. David Granville and Dr. Aly Karsan, professors in UBC’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, on their election as Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS).

Election to CAHS Fellowship is one of Canada’s highest honours in the health sciences and recognizes internationally respected leadership, academic achievement and contributions to advancing health research. Please join us in congratulating Drs. Granville and Karsan on this outstanding achievement!

Learn more about CAHS Fellowship
Dr. Marcel Bally

Dr. Marcel Bally Part of $1.65-Million NSERC CREATE Initiative

Congratulations to Dr. Marcel Bally, Professor in UBC’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Distinguished Scientist at BC Cancer, who is part of a national consortium that has received $1.65 million through NSERC’s Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program.

Led by Dr. Marc-André Fortin at Université Laval, ICARE-Nanomed will provide interdisciplinary training in nanoparticle characterization and the development of future nanomedicines. The six-year initiative brings together researchers, institutions and partners from across Canada to support collaborative research training for students and postdoctoral fellows.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Bally and the ICARE-Nanomed consortium!

View the 2026 NSERC CREATE funding decisions.
Drs. Junyan Shi and Andre Mattman

Genome BC Supports New Study Led by Drs. Junyan Shi and Andre Mattman

Congratulations to Dr. Junyan Shi, Clinical Associate Professor, and Dr. Andre Mattman, Clinical Professor, in UBC’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. They have received approximately $194,000 through Genome BC’s GeneSolve program for their project, Assessment of Ferritin Light Chain (FTL) Tyr31Ser Variant (Y31S) in Coastal First Nations Communities in British Columbia Amongst Those Presenting with Clinical Symptoms of Iron Deficiency.

Ferritin testing is commonly used to assess the body’s iron stores. However, the FTL Tyr31Ser genetic variant can produce unusually low ferritin results even when iron levels are normal, potentially complicating the diagnosis and treatment of iron deficiency.

Working with community members and health-care providers, the research team will examine the prevalence and clinical impact of this variant. The project aims to improve diagnostic accuracy, prevent unnecessary treatment and support culturally safe and equitable care.

Learn more about the Genome BC-funded project.
Drs. William Lockwood and Cheryl Wellington

Drs. William Lockwood and Cheryl Wellington Receive CIHR Project Grants

Congratulations to Dr. William Lockwood and Dr. Cheryl Wellington, who received funding through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant: Spring 2026 competition. Their projects are among 42 UBC Faculty of Medicine-led projects awarded more than $39 million in federal funding.

  • Dr. William Lockwood: Identifying mediators of drug tolerance and persister cell survival in response to targeted therapies in lung adenocarcinoma
  • Dr. Cheryl Wellington: Alamar discovery of plasma biomarkers that distinguish dementia subtypes, inform on disease staging and predict rate of cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias

Congratulations to Drs. Lockwood and Wellington on this outstanding achievement!

View the complete UBC Faculty of Medicine announcement.

Rachael Smith Receives 2026 DMCBH Trainee Award (Co-supervised by Dr. Cheryl Wellington)

Congratulations to PhD student Rachael Smith, recipient of the 2026 George Wayne King Sr. and Beverley King-Dorsey Scholarship in Neuroscience Award from the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health.

Co-supervised by Drs. Robin Hsiung and Cheryl Wellington, Rachael is investigating plasma biomarkers for autopsy-confirmed neuropathologies, with a particular focus on frontotemporal dementia. Her research aims to support more accurate diagnosis of neurological diseases.

View the complete list of 2026 DMCBH Trainee Award recipients.

Recent Faculty Publications

Congratulations to the following faculty members on their recent publications, listed here by research location.

BC Cancer

  • Bally, Marcel B. — Chan V, Chao PH, Sun X, Han J, MacPherson S, Andrew LJ, Brittain NY, Do T, Bally MB, Lum JJ, Li SD. Temporal immune and metabolic shifts drive the anti-tumor efficacy of resiquimod-loaded nanoparticles in peritoneal carcinomatosis. Adv Healthc Mater. 2026. Epub ahead of print.
  • Bennewith, Kevin L.; MacAulay, Calum E. — Brace E, Malone J, Tanskanen A, Paulus L, Bennewith K, MacAulay C, Lane P. Quantification and mitigation of system background fluorescence in fiber-optic-based imaging systems. Biomed Opt Express. 2026;17(7):3502-3524.
  • Karsan, Aly; Medvedev, Nadia — Gopal A, Tam D, Mey F, Lin D, May C, Jiang J, Bridgers J, Caswell B, O'Neill K, Vizeacoumar FS, MacAuley M, Haniak E, Craddock C, Vyas P, Malcovati L, Buckstein R, Moksa M, Hirst M, Vizeacoumar FJ, Medvedev N, Heuser M, Stubbins RJ, Deng Y, Karsan A. Initial leukemic epigenomic state determines hypomethylating agent response. Nat Commun. 2026;17(1):6940.
  • Karsan, Aly — Munzur AD, Herberts C, Kwan EM, […], Hofman MS, Wyatt AW. Clonal hematopoiesis after 177Lu-PSMA-617 radioligand therapy in prostate cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2026;32(13):2644-2652.
  • Lockwood, William Wallace; Naso, Julia R. — Fung LC, Joseph B, Ofori-Amanfo K, […], Naso JR, Lim EL. Clinical and molecular correlates of digitally quantified anthracosis in lung tissue slides: utility of an automated quantitative workflow. J Pathol Clin Res. 2026;12(4):e70110.
  • Park, Yongjin — Hou L, Li Y, Xiong X, […], Ordog T, Kellis M. Genotype epigenome phenotype integration reveals peripheral immune contributions to type I bipolar disorder. Nat Commun. 2026;17(1):7740.
  • Sabatini, Peter J.B. — Fan Z, Tudor R, Cabanero M, […], Eng L, Leighl NB. Biomarker testing among patients with nonsquamous NSCLC across three time periods and three testing platforms—a brief report. JTO Clin Res Rep. 2026;7(8):101012.
  • Sorensen, Poul H. — Evdokimova V, Ruzanov P, Gassmann H, […], Stein LD, Radvanyi L. Proinflammatory signaling in Ewing sarcoma is driven by retroelement activity and counteracted by reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Cell Rep. 2026;45(7):117708.
  • Sorensen, Poul H. — Luo W, Zhang HF, Li W, […], Lee D, Cairo MS. Circumventing Ewing sarcoma tumor microenvironment resistance by IL1RAP CAR-modified TGFβ1-imprinted natural killer cells in combination with IL-15 agonist and anti-GD2 antibody. J Immunother Cancer. 2026;14(7).
  • Venturutti, Leandro — Nawaz W, Fong A, Cardoso MP, […], Scott DW, Venturutti L. Non-canonical NF-κB drives a fate switch from germinal center to early effector B cells. iScience. 2026;29(8):116917.
  • Wang, Yemin — Aceto G, Liu K, Arabzadeh A, […], Wang Y, Huang S. SMARCA4 loss reprograms p300 chromatin occupancy to subvert p53-mediated transcriptional repression in ovarian small cell carcinoma. Nat Commun. 2026;17(1):7523.

BC Centre for Public Health Laboratories

  • Hogan, Catherine Anne; Morshed, Muhammad Golam; Prystajecky, Natalie A.; Tyson, John R. — Cabrera A, Lee TD, Yao AY, […], Morshed MG, Hogan CA. Comparative diagnostic evaluation of microscopy and targeted next-generation sequencing of the barcoding gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I for tick identification in British Columbia, 2021-2023. Int J Parasitol. 2026:104897.
  • Krajden, Mel — Janjua N, Naveed Z, Sbihi H, Krajden M. Real-time population-level integrated data system for health intelligence. Int J Popul Data Sci. 2026;11(5):3759.
  • Mansour, Sarah C. — Mansour SC, Wardell SJT, Baghela AS, Blimkie T, Gill E, Straus SK, Falsafi R, Pletzer D, Hancock REW. Targeting the stringent response alters gene expression and extracellular vesicle RNA in Staphylococcus aureus. Microbiol Spectr. 2026;14(7):e00359-26.
  • Morshed, Muhammad Golam — Sareen K, Schonhofer C, Lo CKF, […], Hamze H, Morshed M. Update on Lyme disease diagnostic approaches and protocols in Canada: overview of existing testing strategies and limitations. Can Fam Physician. 2026;72(7-8):451-457.
  • Morshed, Muhammad Golam — Sareen K, Schonhofer C, Lo CKF, […], Hamze H, Morshed M. Actualisation des approches et des protocoles diagnostiques pour la maladie de Lyme au Canada: aperçu des stratégies de dépistage existantes et de leurs limitations. Can Fam Physician. 2026;72(7-8):e224-e231.

BC Children's Hospital

  • Geltink, Ramon I. Klein — Maccari ME, König C, Andrieux G, Kury P, Berger SA, Mann J, Kelly B, Völkl S, Huang C, Helmstädter M, Lagies S, Fischer M, Baixauli F, Gorka O, Groß O, Hufnagel M, Salou S, Farmand S, Heine S, Schuster V, Willenbacher W, Dückers G, Grimbacher B, Warnatz K, Kapp FG, Lorenz M, Groß M, Wittner J, Elling R, Scorrano L, Koenig IA, Bengsch B, Speckmann C, Kammerer B, Börries M, Schwarz K, Hertel J, Pearce EL, Ehl S, Klein Geltink RI, Rensing-Ehl A. FAS-controlled T cells drive lymphoproliferation through glycolysis without effector differentiation. J Hum Immun. 2026;2(4):e20250233.
  • Goldfarb, David M. — Michalchuk Q, Zhang Q, Collet JC, Piasecki S, Walker C, Wong T, Goldfarb DM, Srigley JA. Impact of copper-coated surfaces on healthcare-associated infections and microbial load in a pediatric tertiary care setting: an observational cohort study. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2026;47(8):786-792.
  • Senger, Christof — Samra S, Sharma M, Körholz J, […], Lyons JJ, Turvey SE. Human germline biallelic loss-of-function OSMR variants cause severe allergic disease. J Hum Immun. 2026;2(4):e20260067.

Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health

  • Wellington, Cheryl Lea — Galarneau JM, Tabor JB, Bodnar T, […], Emery CA, Debert CT. Simoa and MSD platforms show analytical discordance but comparable diagnostic performance for GFAP, NF-L, and T-tau in adolescent concussion. Sci Rep. 2026;16(1):22100.
  • Wellington, Cheryl Lea — Achalu K, Cooper JG, Tabor JB, […], Emery CA, Wellington CL. Using reference intervals to improve interpretation of youth sport-related concussion biomarkers using a research platform. Brain Commun. 2026;8(4):fcag250.

Royal Columbian Hospital

  • Hrynchak, Monica A.; Minor, Agata — Brown SD, Dreolini L, Minor A, Mozel M, Wong N, Mar S, Lieu A, Khan M, Carlson A, Hrynchak M, Holt RA, Missirlis PI. A de novo algorithm for allele reconstruction from Oxford nanopore amplicon reads, with application to CYP2D6. Bioinformatics. 2026;42(8):btag535.
  • Moshref Razavi, Habib; Purych, Dale B. — Razavi HM, Purych D, Yeung W. Un homme de 51 ans atteint d'une fièvre récurrente transmise par les tiques. CMAJ. 2026;198(26):E1046-E1047.

Royal Jubilee Hospital

  • Hall, Allison H.S. — Byemerwa J, Neish D, Forgah L, […], Muehlbauer MJ, Akinyemiju T. Association of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and proinflammatory biomarkers with breast cancer molecular subtypes: analysis of the MEND study. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2026;218(1):10.

Simon Fraser University

  • Morin, Ryan D.; Venturutti, Leandro — Pelzer B, Meydan C, Spiegel IM, […], Venturutti L, Melnick AM. SPEN loss drives extrafollicular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with female-specific lethality and therapeutic vulnerabilities. Cancer Discov. 2026;16(8):1666-1690.
  • Morin, Ryan D. — Parker H, Mirandari A, Stevens B, […], Bryant D, Strefford JC. Integrated multiomic profiling reveals 2 distinct splenic marginal zone lymphoma subgroups with prognostic relevance. Blood Adv. 2026;10(14):4943-4957.
  • Morin, Ryan D. — Shipp MA, Staudt LM, Hodson DJ, […], Alizadeh AA, Morin RD. Laying the foundation for clinically actionable genomic subtyping in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Blood Cancer Discov. 2026;7(4):520-531.

Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute

  • Lan, James H. — Liyanage A, Schneider C, Renard J, […], Harriman D, Nguan C. Smartphone-measured tremor and tacrolimus trough levels in kidney transplant recipients: an exploratory prospective study. Front Transplant. 2026;5:1870210.

Vancouver General Hospital

  • Crawford, Richard I. — Wang OJE, Lopez A, Teegee N, Crawford RI, Lam JM. Solitary lesion with features of atrophic papulosis in early childhood. Pediatr Dermatol. 2026. Epub ahead of print.
  • Karin, Amir — Karin A. Erratum to “Detecting Siemens macrotroponin by a point of care high sensitivity troponin I assay: a first look” [Clin Biochem. 2026;143:111119]. Clin Biochem. 2026:111174.
  • Lavergne, Valéry — Hostettler K, Trautner BW, Lavergne V, McCreary EK, Huttner A. Communicable episode 38: why do you have to be so complicated? The 2025 IDSA complicated UTI guidelines. CMI Commun. 2026;3(1):105165.
  • Lavergne, Valéry — Cordes Lourenço L, Wilmsen M, Calin R, […], Lambregts MMC, Huttner A. Evidence for antibiotic durations in chronic bacterial prostatitis: a systematic review. CMI Commun. 2026;3(1):105156.
  • McGinnis, Eric; Spence, Tara — Salcedo-Porras N, AlBulushi F, Parlow JNC, McGinnis E, Spence T. Optical genome mapping refines diagnosis of high-grade myeloid neoplasms through detection of MECOM rearrangements cryptic to conventional karyotype. Am J Clin Pathol. 2026;166(2):aqag087.
  • McGinnis, Eric — AlBulushi F, McGinnis E. Concurrent loss of PIGA and ZRSR2 in a patient with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and myelodysplastic neoplasm. Int J Lab Hematol. 2026. Epub ahead of print.
  • Nouri, Kazem — Thomas GE, Voisin V, Nouri K, […], Lee JB, Schimmer AD. Mitochondrial RNA degradation regulates differentiation, stemness, and immune sensitivity in acute myeloid leukemia. Nat Commun. 2026;17(1):7191.
  • Skinnider, Brian F. — Flerlage JE, Eichenauer DA, Fuchs M, […], Hoppe RT, Binkley MS. Historical outcomes for patients with stage IA NLPHL: Global NLPHL One Working Group retrospective analyses. Blood Adv. 2026;10(15):5338-5347.
Data Science for Healthcare Using the R Language

New Data Science for Healthcare Microcertificate

The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine is pleased to offer a new AI-augmented 10-week microcertificate, Data Science for Healthcare Using the R Language, beginning October 16, 2026.

This practical program was developed under the leadership of Dr. Daniel T. Holmes, Clinical Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Head and Medical Director of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Providence Health Care, and Clinical Chemistry Data Analytics Lead with the Provincial Laboratory Medicine Service.

The program provides healthcare professionals with in-demand analytics skills to analyze medical datasets using Claude Code and the R programming language, and to produce actionable insights, conduct quality improvement initiatives, and support data-informed delivery.

Students will learn to use the R language, assisted by a coding agent, to perform the data analytics tasks required for clinical research, figure creation, statistical analysis, quality monitoring, and report and dashboard generation. A free Claude subscription is provided for the duration of the course as required, giving students hands-on experience with AI-assisted coding, documentation, and data analysis.

Course start date: October 16, 2026
Course fee: $2,000 CAD

Four $1,000 CAD tuition subsidies are available for students enrolling in the October 2026 intake. Eligible applicants, including medical, graduate, and undergraduate students, must submit their application by July 31, 2026. Selected recipients will be contacted directly by the end of August.

Learn more about the microcertificate | Register for the course | Apply for a student subsidy

CMPT 2026 summer intern Emily

UBC Pathology’s CMPT Celebrates 2026 Summer Intern Emily

The Canadian Microbiology Proficiency Testing Program (CMPT), a service program of UBC’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, is celebrating the achievements of BCIT trainee Emily as she completes its 12-week summer internship.

During her internship, Emily worked with more than 100 clinical isolates, characterized antimicrobial susceptibility profiles and gained hands-on experience in laboratory quality and proficiency testing. She also led a retrospective evaluation of laboratory performance in CMPT’s mycology schemes and will co-author a manuscript based on this work.

Launched in partnership with BCIT in 2025, the internship gives medical laboratory technology trainees practical experience in diagnostic quality and infectious disease testing.

Congratulations to Emily, and thank you to her mentor, Shadi Alami, and the entire CMPT team for supporting her training!

Read Dr. Lucy Perrone’s LinkedIn post.
Indigenous Speakers Series: Frybread Power

Indigenous Speakers Series: Frybread Power

Join the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) for Frybread Power: The Significance of Indigenous Empowerment, Pride & Resilience for Health.

This full-day event features Dr. Evan Tlesla Adams and Joe Gallagher of the Tla’amin Nation. Through conversations about leadership, storytelling, medicine and systems change, they will explore Indigenous empowerment, resilience and pathways toward thriving Indigenous futures.

  • Date: Monday, September 21, 2026, 9 am–4 pm
  • Location: Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre, UBC Vancouver
  • Participation: In person or online

A recording will also be available after the event.

Register now or view the program and speaker biographies.

📣 Have News to Share?

Do you have a story, publication, award, event, or other exciting update to share with the UBC Pathology community?

We'd love to hear from you! Please reach out to Debbie Bertanjoli at dbertanjoli@pathology.ubc.ca.

Let's celebrate our collective achievements and keep our community connected!
UBC Logo