Dr. Jan Christilaw, MHSc’03
President
Until April 2017, Dr. Jan Christilaw served as President of BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre, and Vice President, Provincial Women’s & Newborn Health, Provincial Health Services Authority. Since stepping down, she has continued her clinical work as a Clinical Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at UBC. She also serves as Director of Women’s Health with the Canadian Network for International Surgery, providing capacity building and skills training in several countries.
Dr. Christilaw has spent her career advancing women’s health in British Columbia. Her 25+ years of accomplishments include: President, Society of Obstetrics-Gynecologists Canada; Expert Advisor, Canadian Institute for Health Information for Maternity; UBC Clinical Professor, Editorial Board of JOGC, and Chair, BC Consensus Panel on Cesarean Birth. During her long career, she has delivered thousands of babies in British Columbia and worked as a full service community Obstetrician-gynecologist in White Rock-South Surrey for over 20 years.
In recent years, she has been awarded the YWCA Women of Distinction Award in the Health and Wellness category, the British Columbia Community Service Award, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal, Waterloo University Distinguished Alumni Award, the National Leadership Award of the Federation of Medical Women, the Canadian International Surgery Volunteer of the Year award, and the UBC MAA Honorary Medical Alumnus Award in 2016. Most recently, as of January 1, 2017, she was appointed to the Order of Canada for her work in obstetrics nationally and internationally.
Dr. Hamed Umedaly, BSc’81, MD’86
Past President
Dr. Hamed Umedaly is a Consultant Anesthesiologist with Vancouver Coastal Health, the Head of the Department of Anesthesiology for Vancouver Acute, and Clinical Professor at the University of British Columbia, Department of Anesthesia.
Dr. Umedaly studied medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He practiced Rural General Practice for three years. He then joined the UBC Anesthesiology Residency Program for 5 years and subsequently trained in Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, Australia.
Dr. Umedaly is an educator, clinician, and researcher, and has been awarded the UBC Anesthesia Residency Master Teacher award on two occasions, the Professional Association of Residents of British Columbia Patti Aiyston Teaching award, and the VGH Clinical Excellence award. He was a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada examiner for 6 years. His current clinical interests include cardiac anesthesia, cardiac surgical ICU, thoracic anesthesia, and perioperative pain management.
Dr. James Boyle, BSc’74, MD’78
Treasurer
Dr. James Boyle completed his B.Sc. in honours physiology, followed by his MD degree at UBC. He interned in Montreal, and then did General Practice in Sechelt B.C. After a Residency in Plastic Surgery, and then a Fellowship in Britain, he returned to Vancouver to practice Plastic Surgery. He was the Director of the Provincial Burn Unit from 1987 to 2007. His current practice includes burn reconstruction, hand surgery, and peripheral nerve surgery. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and a Clinical Professor of Surgery at UBC. After joining the UBC MAA Board in 2015, Dr. Boyle was elected Treasurer in 2018.
Dr. John Edworthy, BSc’74, MD’77
Vice President, Fraser Medical Program
Dr. John Edworthy grew up in New Westminster, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Physiology from UBC in 1974, followed by a MD Degree from UBC Faculty of Medicine in 1977. He obtained his Certification in the College of Family Physicians of Canada in 1983 and was the recipient of the Fellowship in the College of Family Physicians of Canada in 1994. In addition, he served as President of the BC College of Family Physicians. Dr. Edworthy has been a faculty member of the UBC Department of Family Practice since 1997, working in the area of faculty development. Since 2008, Dr. Edworthy has been the Site Director for the Vancouver Fraser Family Practice Residency Program.
Dr. Sara Waters, MD’09
Vice President, Island Medical Program
Dr. Sara Waters completed her B.Sc. in biology at the University of Victoria, followed by her MD degree at UBC’s Island Medical Program. After graduating from the program in 2009, Dr. Waters went on to complete her five-year anaesthesiology residency program with UBC. Dr. Waters currently practices as a consultant anesthesiologist at the Royal Jubilee and Victoria General Hospitals in Victoria and is a Clinical Instructor with UBC’s Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Waters has previously worked a Clinical Associate in the Intensive Care Unit at Vancouver General and Richmond General Hospitals.
Dr. Cheryl Holmes, MD’94
Vice President, Southern Medical Program
Dr. Holmes is Associate Dean for the MD Undergraduate Program at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Clinical Professor and Head of the UBC Division of Critical Care.
She obtained her MD from UBC in 1984. After ten years of family practice in Abbotsford, she enrolled in Internal Medicine at UBC and went on to complete a Critical Care fellowship and has been a Fellow of the RCPSC since 1999. From 2001 to July 2018, Dr. Holmes practiced critical care medicine at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) where she was involved in clinical education of medical students, residents, and fellows in the ICU. She served as Medical Director of Critical Care from 2006 to 2014.
Dr. Holmes held many education leadership roles in Kelowna and in 2013, she completed a Master of Health Professions Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, earning Best Thesis for her work entitled “Harnessing the Hidden Curriculum; a Four Step Competency Approach”. In 2015 she received the Canadian Association for Medical Education (CAME) Certificate of Merit Award. Dr. Holmes research interests are in the Student Voice and the Hidden Curriculum; the Patient Voice in the Learning environment (Royal College grant as PI); Equity and Diversity in Medical Education and Leadership; Decolonizing health professional education at UBC; and Strategies for Facilitating Inclusive Health and Human Service programs.
Dr. Holmes served on both the CACMS and CaRMS national Boards and is committed to equity, diversity and inclusivity and addressing wellbeing of faculty, staff and learners.
Dr. Sarah Courtice, MD’14
Vice President, Vancouver Medical Program
Dr. Courtice completed both her medical degree (2014) and residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (2019) at the University of British Columbia. She works on the Acquired Brain Injury and Adult Concussion Service programs at GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre. She also enjoys working with the pediatric/adolescent population through the Adolescent/Young Adult rehabilitation program, as well as the Spinal Cord Clinic at BC Children’s Hospital.
She enjoys working with medical students and residents, and learning more about Quality Improvement. Her favourite part about being a physiatrist is working with the interdisciplinary team.
Dr. Charlene Lui, MD’94
Director, Fraser Medical Program
Dr. Lui is a Family Physician with a special interest in maternity and infant care. She completed her MD and her Family Medicine Residency at UBC. In addition to family medicine, she is currently the Co-Chair of the Interdivisional Strategic Council in the Fraser Region, is a Board member with BC Family Doctors and a Representative to the Representative Assembly of Doctors of BC. She was the Co-Chair for the FHA Primary Care COVID-19 Coordination Centre and is currently one of the COVID Vaccination Physician Leads. She is a Clinical Instructor for UBC Faculty of Med. Dr. Lui is one of the founding Board members of the Burnaby Division of Family Practice where she served on the Board of Directors for 10 years and Chairperson for 6 years. She spearheaded the GP4Me and the Primary Care Networks initiatives in Burnaby and successfully led the Burnaby Division of Family Practice to be one of the first communities in BC to build patient-and-provider-centric Primary Care Networks.
Dr. Richard Alexander, MD’14
Director, Island Medical Program
Dr. Alexander currently serves as an Anesthesiologist with the Island Health Authority. He also serves as the Medical Education Lead and as a Clinical Instructor for Anesthesiology with UBC’s Island Medical Program. Dr. Alexander is an alumnus, he also completed his medical residency with the university in 2019. He is also a graduate of Brown University, where he served as the Captain of the Brown University Bears swim team.
Dr. Maryam Eslami, MD’18
Director, Vancouver Medical Program
Dr. Maryam Eslami is an Ophthalmology resident at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She obtained her MD in 2018 from UBC. Prior to medicine, she studied biomechanical engineering at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran and was the president of the Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Student Council. Prior to immigrating to Canada in 2011, she was recognized by Iran’s National Elite Foundation for her extraordinary academic achievements.
Outside of clinical practice, Dr. Eslami is particularly interested in mentorship and curriculum development for medical education. She also enjoys a variety of sports and outdoors activities.
Dr. David Chercover, BSc’74, MD’78
Director, MD Admissions Subcommittee
After graduating from University of British Columbia in 1978 with a degree in medicine and interning in Montreal, Dr. Chercover did locums for 3 years in the Fraser Valley and the Northwest coast of BC. During that time, he repeatedly bumped into Dr. David Hardwick, a fellow UBC alumnus and UBC MAA Board Director, who advised him to consider pathology.
After four years as a resident at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) and UBC Hospital, and a year in the VGH Department of Hematopathology, Dr. Chercover became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada in both Anatomical Pathology and Clinical Pathology.
Since then, Dr. Chercover has been a staff member at Lions Gate Hospital, where he happily does mostly surgical pathology. As of July 2021, I have been appointed Head and Medical Director Laboratories, Coastal Community of Care, Vancouver Coastal Health.
Dr. Mike Allard, BSc’78, MD’81
UBC Faculty of Medicine Dean’s Designate
Dr. Mike Allard is Vice-Dean, Health Engagement and Professor of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Medicine, and a Principal Investigator in the James Hogg Research Centre and Cardiovascular Pathologist at St. Paul’s Hospital.
Dr. Allard was born and raised in sunny Vancouver and attended UBC where he obtained a BSc in Biology in 1978 and an MD in 1981. Following a Rotating Internship at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, he returned to UBC for a residency in anatomic pathology that included a research fellowship in the UBC Pulmonary Research Laboratory. He then undertook a cardiovascular research fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, returning to Vancouver in 1990. His research has focused primarily on adaptation of the heart to exercise and hypertension and he remains actively involved in educational programs at UBC.
Away from work, he is married with two adult children and lives in Vancouver. He commutes to work on his bike whenever possible, is an avid year-round recreational hockey player, and has a passion for travel.
Ex-Officio
Dr. Devon Mitchell, BSc’16, MD’20
Residents Representative
Dr. Devon Mitchell is a 2nd year resident in Emergency Medicine at the Vancouver site and the current President of Resident Doctors of BC. As an alumni of the UBC medical school, he has also previously as the Vice-President External of the Medical Undergraduate Society and as the Vice-Chair of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students. He was also a founding director of the COVID-19 Medical Student Response tasked with organizing the involvement of medical students in the initial response to the pandemic. He is passionate about learner engagement and queer advocacy. Outside of medicine he can be found exploring new restaurants or jogging along the seawall.
Parker Nann
Medical Students Representative
After completing his Bachelor of Commerce at Queen’s University, Parker Nann deferred his UBC MD admission to work for a management consulting firm in Boston, Massachusetts. While there, he designed data analysis tools to identify and reduce unnecessary medical care at several US hospitals. Since returning home to Vancouver for medical school, Parker has served for two years as the VP Finance of the UBC Medical Undergraduate Society (MUS), before assuming his current role as President of the MUS. A 5th generation Vancouverite, Parker enjoys skiing, cycling, cooking, commercial aviation, and (though his skill doesn’t match his enthusiasm) playing tennis.
Dr. Beverley Tamboline, BA’53, MD’60
Newsletter Editor
Dr. Beverley Tamboline was the President of the UBC Medical Alumni Association from 2000 to 2003. Since 2001, she has been the UBC MAA Newsletter Editor and she continues to serve in this role. Dr. Tamboline has received many accolades, including a Canadian Medical Association Award in 2000 and the Doctors of BC Silver Medal of Service award in 2011. In 2017-18, she received the alumni UBC 100 Alumni Builder Award for her many contributions to UBC, the Faculty of Medicine, Museum of Anthropology, and her long record of community involvement.
Dr. Penny Ballem, MD’78
Advisor
Dr. Penny Ballem received her MD Degree from UBC in 1978. She was the winner of both the Hamber and the Horner Gold medals upon her graduation from Medicine. She went on to receive her fellowship in Clinical Hematology from UBC in 1983. Dr. Ballem has had a diverse career as an academic clinician in the UBC Department of Medicine, providing patient care, and doing clinical research at both St Paul’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre over the last 35 years. Since the start of her career, she has served in numerous senior health leadership positions including 6 years as Deputy Minister of Health for the Province of BC and 7 years as the City Manager of the City of Vancouver. Dr. Ballem is an elected Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the winner of several awards including the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for Public Service, the 2012 UBC MAA Wallace Wilson Leadership Award, and the Marion Powell Award for leadership in women’s Health. Dr. Ballem is currently providing advice to government’s across the country and internationally on various health policy issues. She continues to practice on a reduced scale, seeing ambulatory hematology patients.
Dr. Arun Garg, MD’77
Advisor
Dr. Arun Garg is a Consultant Medical Biochemistry at Fraser Health‘s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. His interests and extensive experience allows him to have global practice and engagement. He has served as Program Medical Director for Fraser Health Regional Department of Laboratory Medicine for 20 years and Division Head of Medical Biochemistry for over 30 years. He is also Clinical Professor and Director of Cooperation and Engagement in the Office of Global Medicine of Pathology in the Department of Pathology of the Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia. Dr. Garg is also Clinical Service Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University.
Dr. Garg was a founding member of the Canadian Physicians with Interest in South Asia of BC and Canadian Association of Physicians of Indian Heritage. In 2010, Dr. Garg co co-founded the Canada India Network Society and co-chaired first Canada India Networking Initiative 2010 to bring awareness to the issue of cardiovascular disease in the South Asian population. Dr. Garg has been active in many voluntary organizations, including as board member, board chair, and president of the British Columbia Medical Association (BCMA), now Doctors of BC, and board member of the Canadian Medical Association.
He has been recognized and awarded numerous honors and awards, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, Canadian Association of Physicians of Indian Heritage Lifetime Achievement Award, the first foundational recipient of the BCMA’s Dr. Don Rix Leadership Award, and the first Community Award of Drishti magazine as a leader in health services.
Ex-Offcio, Non-Voting
Tushar Dave, BSc-O’19
Southern Medical Program Site Lead | UBC Medical Undergraduate Society
Tushar Dave grew up in Kelowna and is thrilled to be attending medical school in his hometown community. He is a 2nd year Southern Medical Program (SMP) student and is serving his first term as SMP Site Lead. In this position, Tushar represents the interests of SMP students, faculty, and community stakeholders. He attends all monthly MUS meetings, oversees the SMP Site Class Councils and acts as the primary liaison between MUS and Class Councils. He is also a member of several committees, including the UBC Medical Alumni Association, MSAC Advisory Committee, and Constitution and Bylaws Committee. He is honoured to represent the SMP community at these committees. Additional responsibilities include fair allocation of SMP finances, advocacy for site-specific initiatives, and promotion of inclusivity and connectivity among the SMP cohorts. This year, Tushar’s main goal is to add to the work of previous SMP Site Leads and advocate for the addition of an MSAC in Kelowna. With the UBC Medical Program’s decision to welcome incoming medical students at their distributed sites rather than having their first semester together in Vancouver, Tushar realizes the increased value that a lounge-like space has to SMP students. Outside of medicine, Tushar enjoys basketball, photography, exploring the hiking trails of BC and spending time with his friends and family.
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