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Welcome to Pathology's Bi-Weekly Bulletin | June 27, 2025
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‍New Dean Appointed to UBC Faculty of Medicine

Dr. Sharmila Anandasabapathy, a leading gastroenterologist and clinician-scientist from Baylor College of Medicine, has been appointed as the new Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Vice-President, Health at UBC. Dr. Anandasabapathy is renowned for her work in cancer detection, biomedical engineering, and global health equity, particularly in developing low-cost technologies for early gastrointestinal cancer detection. She will begin her five-year term on November 1, 2025, succeeding Dr. Dermot Kelleher.

🔗 Read the full story
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Two Pathology Department Faculty Win Innovation and Translational Research Awards

Congratulations to Dr. David Granville and Dr. Cheryl Wellington, both professors in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UBC, who are among the 2025 Innovation and Translational Research Award recipients from Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. Dr. Granville is developing a novel multi-pronged approach to treating pressure injuries using natural compounds that inhibit tissue-degrading enzymes. Dr. Wellington is exploring the use of advanced blood testing technology to improve diagnosis and prognosis of traumatic brain injury in children, potentially replacing the need for CT scans with a simple finger prick test.<

🔗 Read the full announcement

 
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Three Pathology Faculty Honored with Distinguished Achievement Awards

Congratulations to three faculty members from the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine who received 2025 Faculty of Medicine Distinguished Achievement Awards.
Dr. David Granville received the Excellence in Clinical or Applied Research award,
Dr. Stephen Yip was recognized for Overall Excellence — Mid-Career, and
Dr. Poul Sorensen was honored for Excellence in Basic Science Research.
These awards recognize exceptional contributions in research, education, and service while advancing the Faculty's vision of transforming health for everyone.

🔗 Read the full announcement

 

 

Weekly Province-wide Pathology Rounds

🩺 Weekly Rounds Update

Please note: Province-wide Pathology Rounds have now concluded for the 2024-2025 Season – have a fun-filled summer!.

Province-wide Pathology Rounds for the 2025-2026 Season will begin on Friday, September 5, 2025 – a calendar invitation will be coming soon!

🔁 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

Recent Publications from Department Faculty

• Dr. Stephen Yip (Associate Professor) - "Primary Central Nervous System Melanoma With Bilateral Vestibular Lesions Mimicking Neurofibromatosis Type 2" published in the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. This case report describes a rare presentation of CNS melanoma that clinically mimicked neurofibromatosis type 2. Read the abstract (Note: Full article requires subscription)

• Dr. Mehwish Anwer (Postdoctoral Fellow) - "Gene expression dysregulation following mild Traumatic Brain Injury assessed by Visium spatial transcriptomics" published in Cell Reports. This study uses advanced spatial transcriptomics to understand brain changes after mild traumatic brain injury, with co-lead authors from the Wellington and Cembrowski labs. Read the full article

• Dr. Cheryl Wellington - New preprint: "Both the low-density lipoprotein receptor and apolipoprotein E define blood-borne high-density lipoprotein entry into the brain" posted on bioRxiv. This collaborative study with the University of Zurich reveals how HDL enters the brain and how both HDL composition and endothelial receptors govern its transport across the blood-brain barrier, advancing our understanding of lipid trafficking in the CNS. Read the preprint
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Department History: Early Years Reminiscences from the 1950s

We are pleased to share historical reminiscences from Peter Ommundsen, who worked in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine during the 1950s. His reflections offer a unique glimpse into the early spaces, people, and practices that shaped the department's foundations.

🔗 Read the full reminiscences

Residents Pass Royal College Exams

Congratulations to our residents who have successfully passed their Royal College exams: Dr. Conor Broderick and Dr. Miriam Torchinsky from Medical Microbiology, and Dr. Jenny Wang from Hematopathology. Dr. Wang will be joining the Hematopathology staff at VGH. Please join us in celebrating these important milestones and wishing them success in their future careers.

Free Microsoft 365 Training Available for UBC Faculty and Staff

UBC IT is offering comprehensive training sessions to help faculty and staff master Microsoft 365 tools, including new AI features like Copilot. Training covers productivity tips for Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, file sharing best practices, and highlights of new features. Multiple online sessions are available throughout the summer, including specialized Copilot Chat training. Advanced training for team management and collaborative document management is also available upon request.

Register for training sessions

Pathology Picks:

Here are some additional reads you might be interested in:

  • Registration Open: ARC 2025 Summer School (July 7–11)
    UBC Advanced Research Computing invites faculty, staff, and students to the 2025 ARC Summer School—a week of hybrid workshops covering HPC, Python, cybersecurity, data management, and more. Sessions are flexible and open to all skill levels. View the full program and register .
  • UBC Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) Housing Program Now Available
    UBC's RGI Program caps housing rent at 30% of pre-tax household income for eligible staff and faculty. The program is now permanent with expanded income limits. Eligible staff must be full-time with 1+ years service (ongoing) or 3+ years (term). Income limits range from $70,000-$103,000 depending on unit size. Applications are now being accepted.
    Learn more and apply
  • Centre for Heart Lung Innovation Annual Report 2024 The Centre for Heart Lung Innovation has released their 2024 annual report, highlighting the year's research achievements, collaborations, and innovations in cardiovascular and respiratory health. Read the full annual report

📣 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!