Weekly Province-wide Pathology Rounds

Department Rounds: Careers in Pathology & Laboratory Medicine

Date: Friday, October 3, 2025
Time: 12:00–1:00 PM PT
Location: Paetzold Auditorium, Vancouver General Hospital (JPPS 1891) & via Zoom

Join us for the next session in the Careers in Pathology & Laboratory Medicine: Master Classes series. This session features an interview with Dr. Blake Gilks, Professor Emeritus, world leader in gynecologic cancer diagnostics and research, and a mentor to generations of trainees.

The interview will be hosted by Dr. Jennifer Ji (3rd Year Pathology Resident) and Professor David Huntsman. The series highlights the motivations, leadership approaches, and visions for the future of academic pathology in BC.

Zoom Access

• Go to ubc.zoom.us and click "Join a Meeting"
• Meeting ID: 96254 992493
• Passcode: 992493
• Dial-in option: +1 778 907 2071 (long distance charges may apply)

📄 Download the event poster

🔁 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

Seed2STEM: Reconciliation in Action

This summer, the seed2STEM program welcomed 104 Indigenous high school students across Vancouver and Kelowna, including seven from remote communities. Started at ICORD in 2018 with just one student, the program has grown into a major pathway supporting Indigenous youth in STEM.

Students were hosted by researchers at UBC-Vancouver, UBC-Okanagan, hospitals, health research sites, SFU, and the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory. They explored fields ranging from astrophysics and chemistry to nursing and neuroscience, while also participating in field trips, guest talks, and cultural activities.

Seed2STEM continues to have lasting impact—88% of program alumni have gone on to post-secondary studies, most in STEM disciplines. For many students, including long-term participant Abigail Nicholson, the program has shaped career goals and strengthened ties to higher education.

The program is led by Cheryl Niamath (ICORD Communications + Administrative Manager) and Corree Laule (Professor, UBC Departments of Radiology and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine; MR Physicist, Blusson Spinal Cord Centre/ICORD and DMCBH), together with the seed2STEM team.

📹 Watch the video
📰 Read the full ICORD story

Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Supports Seed2STEM

We are proud to share that Dr. Zu-hua Gao, Head of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, has committed $15,000 in support of the seed2STEM program.

Seed2STEM provides paid summer research internships for Indigenous high school students across BC, helping to build pathways into STEM education and careers. The department is honoured to contribute to this important initiative and to support the leadership of Cheryl Niamath and Corree Laule in growing the program.

Learn more about the program here: Seed2STEM: Reconciliation in Action

Call for Proposals: UBC Master of Data Science (MDS) Capstone Projects

UBC’s Master of Data Science (MDS) program is inviting proposals for Capstone projects taking place in May–June 2026. These two-month projects give research groups the opportunity to collaborate with MDS students, who apply advanced data science skills to real-world research problems.

Capstone teams can help with:

• Building reproducible, well-documented data science pipelines
• Data cleaning, analysis, and visualization
• Developing tools such as dashboards, analytic reports, or scripts

The deadline to submit proposals for early feedback is October 15, 2025. Examples of past projects can be found here: MDS Capstone Project Examples

For questions or to learn more, contact: Varada Kolhatkar kvarada@cs.ubc.ca, Katie Burak kburak@stat.ubc.ca, or Maymay Milad maymay@science.ubc.ca.

ATM Learns: Generative AI in Healthcare

Join the Academy of Translational Medicine (ATM) for the first session in its new interdisciplinary workshop series, ATM Learns.

In this session, Dr. Xiaoxiao Li (UBC, Vector Institute, Google Visiting Scholar) will present Generative AI in Healthcare: Advances, Pitfalls, and Path Forward. The talk will cover recent advances in applying AI—especially transformer-based foundation models—to medical imaging, along with challenges such as bias, interpretability, and clinical applicability. Dr. Li will also discuss strategies to build fair, robust, and trustworthy AI systems for patient care.

📅 Date: October 15, 2025
⏰ Time: 3:00–4:00 PM PT
💻 Location: Zoom
🔗 Register Here

CFI Innovation Fund 2026: Facilities Planning Support

UBC’s Institutional Programs Office (IPO) has shared the dates for the next round of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Innovation Fund. The Faculty of Medicine Facilities Planning team is available to support faculty in navigating the CFI process, including assessing existing spaces through test fits and preparing Renovation and Infrastructure Cost Estimates (RICE).

A test fit is a preliminary layout or mock-up used to evaluate how research facilities or equipment can fit into an existing space, taking into account accessibility, utilities, IT, and other infrastructure needs. Cost estimates are required before the IPO’s Test Your Concept (TYC) session.

Project Tiers

• Tier 5: New structure or addition
• Tier 4: Impact to building exterior
• Tier 3: Demolition/construction of walls or changes to utilities
• Tier 2: Additional utility services only
• Tier 1: No change to allocated space

Given the high number of applications (50+ annually), faculty are strongly encouraged to contact Facilities Planning early—well before December 2025—to ensure timely support.

🔗 More information: Renovation and Infrastructure Cost Estimates (RICE)