Welcome to Pathology's Bi-Weekly Bulletin

Welcome to Pathology's Bi-Weekly Bulletin | July 10, 2026

Dr. Zu-Hua Gao Reappointed Head of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Congratulations to Dr. Zu-Hua Gao on his reappointment as Head of the UBC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, effective July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2031.

The announcement was shared on behalf of Dr. Sharmila Anandasabapathy, Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Vice-President, Health, UBC. A formal leadership announcement from Faculty of Medicine Communications will follow in the coming weeks.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Gao on his reappointment and continued leadership of the Department.

2025 Annual Report Now Available

The UBC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine is pleased to share its 2025 Annual Report.

The report highlights the people, progress, partnerships, and impact that shaped the Department over the past year across patient care, education, research, innovation, and service to communities across British Columbia.

A companion Five Years in Review page is also available, offering a summary of key departmental trends and highlights from 2021 to 2025.

We invite faculty, staff, learners, alumni, and partners to read the report and reflect on the Department’s achievements and continued contributions to pathology and laboratory medicine.

Dr. Quant Promoted to Associate Professor

Congratulations to Dr. Quant on her promotion to Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

This promotion recognizes Dr. Quant’s contributions to teaching, research, service, and leadership within the Department and the broader academic community.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Quant on this well-deserved achievement.

Dr. Cheryl Wellington Awarded Brain Canada Platform Support Grant

Congratulations to Dr. Cheryl Wellington, Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, on receiving a Brain Canada 2025 Platform Support Grant.

The grant will support Dr. Wellington’s leadership of the UBC Core Facility for Neurology Biomarker Innovation (CFNBI), a state-of-the-art facility that helps researchers and clinicians analyze protein biomarkers in blood, plasma, serum, and cerebrospinal fluid for a range of brain disorders.

The funding, totaling $1.95 million, includes support from Brain Canada, Michael Smith Health Research BC, the CLEAR Foundation, and the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health.

This support will help expand the platform’s capabilities, increase access for researchers and trainees, and advance research to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of brain conditions.

Congratulations to Karina Chornenka on Passing the Royal College Exam

Congratulations to Karina Chornenka, Neuropathology Resident in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, on successfully passing her Royal College examination.

This is an outstanding achievement and reflects Karina’s dedication, hard work, and perseverance throughout her residency training.

The Department also extends its sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to Karina’s training and supported her over the past five years.

Please join us in congratulating Karina and wishing her continued success in her career.

Congratulations to Fang Fang Li on Successfully Defending Her PhD

Congratulations to Fang Fang Li, PhD Candidate in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, on successfully defending her doctoral dissertation.

Fang Fang’s research focused on novel methods to detect and measure viral exposures in clinical and research settings, combining wet lab and dry lab approaches to investigate evidence of viral etiology in inflammatory disease development.

Fang Fang completed her work under the supervision of Dr. Agatha Jassem and Dr. Natalie Prystajecky, with support from her supervisory committee: Dr. Hind Sbihi, Dr. Manish Sadarangani, Dr. Stephen Yip, and Dr. Angela Devlin.

Please join us in congratulating Fang Fang on this important achievement and wishing her all the best in the next chapter of her research journey.

Dr. Mei Lin Bissonnette Completes 2026 Faculty Emerging Leaders Program

Congratulations to Dr. Mei Lin Bissonnette, Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, on completing the 2026 Faculty Emerging Leaders Program through the UBC Faculty of Medicine.

The six-month program brings together faculty from across the Faculty of Medicine to explore key areas of leadership, including strategic decision-making, wellbeing, equity, conflict navigation, and leadership in complex academic environments.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Bissonnette on this achievement and wishing her continued success in her leadership journey.

Dr. Allison Matthews Receives Renewal of BCCHR Clinical Investigator Award

Congratulations to Dr. Allison Matthews, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, on the renewal of her BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute Investigator Grant Award Program (IGAP) Clinical Investigator Award.

The award has been renewed for a five-year term, from July 1, 2027 to June 30, 2032. This support recognizes Dr. Matthews’ research productivity and contributions as a clinical investigator.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Matthews on this achievement and wishing her continued success in her research endeavours.

New Data Science for Healthcare Microcertificate

The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine is pleased to offer a new 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.

Designed for healthcare professionals, the course provides hands-on training in R programming, data wrangling, visualization, basic statistical analysis, reproducible reporting, dashboards, and the use of AI tools to support more efficient and insight-driven data workflows.

This is a valuable opportunity for clinicians, residents, fellows, laboratory professionals, researchers, and learners who want to move beyond spreadsheets and build practical data skills that can support quality improvement, research, and data-informed healthcare delivery.

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

Four $1,000 tuition subsidies are available for eligible students enrolling in the October 2026 intake. Medical, graduate, and undergraduate students interested in applying for a subsidy must submit their application by July 31, 2026.

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

UBC Staff and Faculty BBQ: RSVP by August 18

The 2026 UBC Staff and Faculty BBQ will take place on Wednesday, September 9, 2026. All departmental staff and faculty are invited to attend this annual celebration.

To register, please complete the Department RSVP spreadsheet: UBCPathologyDept_StaffFacultyBBQGuestList_2026.

The internal Department submission deadline is Tuesday, August 18, 2026.

The Pathology Departmental Contact for this event is Sneha Dabgar. If you have any questions, please contact PathAssist@pathology.ubc.ca.

Wristbands will be distributed the week before the event.

Event details | Department contact list

CIHR Peer Review Now Eligible for CPD Credits for MD Reviewers

MD reviewers who participate in CIHR peer review may now claim continuing professional development (CPD) credits toward certification with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) and the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC).

This update provides an opportunity for physician reviewers to maintain certification requirements while contributing their expertise to the grant review process.

For CFPC members, CIHR peer review may be claimed through the Mainpro+ portal as a self-learning, non-certified activity. For Royal College members, peer review activity is eligible under the Maintenance of Certification Program, Section 3: Feedback and Improvement.

Reviewers are encouraged to consult the appropriate CFPC or Royal College resources for details on how to claim credits.

View the CIHR CPD notice

Faculty of Medicine Accounts Receivable Office Relocation

Please note that Faculty of Medicine Accounts Receivable will be relocating to the UBC Point Grey Campus on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. The last day at the City Square office will be Tuesday, August 18, 2026.

New office address:
Accounts Receivable
IRC – Dean's Office
Suite 317 – 2194 Health Sciences Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3

Effective the week of July 6, 2026, the address displayed on Workday invoices has been updated to the new office location. Beginning July 2, 2026, all mail intended for Faculty of Medicine Accounts Receivable should be sent to the new address.

During the transition period, AR will continue to accept mail delivered to City Square; however, departments are encouraged to begin using the new address as soon as possible.

Cash deposits: Please continue to hand-deliver cash deposits to the City Square office until the move. The last day for cash deposit drop-off at City Square will be Tuesday, August 18, 2026. After the relocation, cash deposits will need to be hand-delivered or couriered to the new IRC – Dean’s Office location. Please coordinate courier or drop-off arrangements with the AR team.

After the move, the AR team will continue to be available on-site on Tuesdays at the new location.

Questions may be directed to the Accounts Receivable team at fom.accountsreceivable@ubc.ca.

UBC IT Network Maintenance at BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital

UBC IT has scheduled network maintenance at BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital from Tuesday, July 14, 2026 at 8:00 pm to Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 12:00 am.

During this maintenance window, UBC network services at C&W Hospital will be unavailable. Faculty, staff, and learners working at this site are encouraged to plan accordingly.

View UBC IT service status

Cybersecurity Reminder: Staying Safe While Travelling and Avoiding Phishing

As summer travel and conference season continues, faculty, staff, and learners are reminded to take simple steps to protect UBC information while working away from campus.

Before travelling, update and secure your devices, remove sensitive files that are not needed, use MFA, and connect through the UBC VPN when accessing UBC electronic information on public or unfamiliar networks.

Please also remain alert to phishing emails. If a message feels urgent, unexpected, or unusual, pause before clicking links or opening attachments. Suspicious emails should be reported to security@ubc.ca.

Cybersecurity on vacation | Phishing awareness reminder | Report an incident

Clinical Faculty Mentoring Program: Apply by July 17

The Faculty of Medicine Clinical Faculty Mentoring Program is now accepting applications from clinical faculty interested in participating as mentors or mentees.

The program supports flexible, one-on-one mentoring relationships and provides an opportunity for clinical faculty to share experience, knowledge, and perspectives across the Faculty of Medicine.

The 2026–27 cohort will run from October 2026 to April 2027. Applications are due Friday, July 17, 2026.

Learn more and apply

AFMC Awards 2027: Call for Nominations

Nominations are now open for the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada Awards 2027. Faculty and staff are encouraged to consider colleagues who may be eligible for recognition in areas such as clinical teaching, mentorship, faculty development, clinician-scientist achievement, equity, wellness, leadership, and innovation in medical education.

Completed nomination packages should be submitted to fom.recognition@ubc.ca for internal review by Wednesday, September 9, 2026.

Learn more about the nomination process

Weekly Province-wide Pathology Rounds

Summer Schedule Note

Province-wide Pathology Rounds will pause for the summer and will resume in September 2026.

Thank you to everyone who attended, presented, helped organize and supported this year’s rounds. We are grateful for your participation and engagement throughout the academic year.

🔁 Missed a session? View recordings of previous rounds here: Past Rounds Archive

💡 Have ideas for future rounds or speakers? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at pathassist@pathology.ubc.ca

📣 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!