Blog

The UBCMJ blog is a space for students to share their research interests, travel experiences, and opinions on medicine and medical education. Interested in writing a post? Contact external.editor@ubcmj.com


The Value of Home Visits in Primary Care
November 3, 2022The Value of Home Visits in Primary Care Ruvini Amarasekera, MD Candidate (UBC Medicine Class of 2023) Dr. Sarah Bartlett, MD CCFP, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs (UBC Medicine Vancouver-Fraser Program) Dr. Judith Hammond, MD CCFP (COE)   The last two and a half years in the COVID-19 pandemic have amplified the importance of being […] Read More >


Thoughtfully Observing Adverse Effects of Drugs: Old-School Dr. Tom Perry Teaches How to Spot Tell-Tale Signs of Drug Harm
February 5, 2022Dr. Tom Perry believes that listening and observing thoughtfully can help protect patients from avoidable adverse drug effects.  As a specialist in internal medicine and clinical pharmacology at UBC he often uses video recordings to demonstrate changes in functioning of patients after reducing or stopping problematic medications. (Alan Cassels at the Therapeutics Initiative interviewed him […] Read More >


AMiNDR (A Month in Neurodegenerative Disease Research) Podcast
January 21, 2022By: Sarah Louadi, UBC MD Class of 2024. What is AMiNDR (a brief introduction)? AMiNDR is an open-access knowledge dissemination tool for researchers and clinicians who are interested in neurodegenerative diseases. We present the abstracts published on Alzheimer’s disease by category in an audio format to help scientists keep up with the new literature in […] Read More >


Writing Award 2020-2021
July 16, 2021Special thanks to all UBCMJ authors for their amazing submissions this academic year. We are excited to announce Braedon Paul as the winner of our Distinguished Writing Award for the 2020-2021 academic year! Braeden was a fourth-year medical student and has now graduated. He has been writing for UBCMJ for the past four years! Please […] Read More >


Interview with an MD/PhD Candidate: Introducing Shayda Swann
April 25, 2021We chat with third-year MD/PhD Candidate, Shayda Swann. Tell us a little bit about your research project. My project focuses on healthy aging in women living with HIV, from cell to society! I’m part of the “British Columbia CARMA-CHIWOS Collaboration” (affectionately known as BCC3), a community-collaborative study that will be collecting clinical samples (everything from […] Read More >


Interview with an MD/PhD Candidate: Introducing Lianne Cho
March 11, 2021We chat with third-year MD/PhD Candidate, Lianne Cho. Tell us a little bit about your research project. I am studying mood disorders in a homeless and precariously housed sample using an epidemiologically-informed approach. The larger study I am a trainee with is the “Hotel Study”, which is a community-based longitudinal study that works with participants […] Read More >


Interview with an MD/PhD Candidate: Introducing Rohit Singla
February 8, 2021We chat with third-year MD/PhD Candidate, Rohit Singla. Tell us a little bit about your research project. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) refers to structural or functional abnormalities of the kidney lasting greater than 3 months. With rates of diabetes and hypertension on the rise, combined with an aging population, CKD currently impacts approximately 1 in […] Read More >


Innovation and Unity in the Midst of a Global Pandemic: A Medical Student’s Perspective
January 27, 2021BY: Wan Xian (Kate) Koh, UBC MD Class of 2021 On March 11th, 2020, the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Medical students from across Canada were pulled from clinical duties. As a 3rd year clerk who had previously been spending 12 hours a day in the hospital, […] Read More >


Shall I Start From the Beginning?: A Guide for Medical Professionals Working with Patients with Complex Conditions
January 23, 2021Written by Hannah Siden I never thought I’d be writing this – but as we all know, life doesn’t always go to plan, and sometimes you get curveballs thrown that you didn’t see coming. Chronic, complex illness was my curveball. I have a diagnosis of hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which weakens the connective tissues in […] Read More >


Interview with an MD/PhD Candidate: Introducing Dhiraj Mannar from the Subramaniam Lab
January 12, 2021We chat with second-year MD/PhD Candidate and UBCMJ section editor, Dhiraj Mannar, who is actively involved in COVID-19 research! Tell us a little bit about your research project. My current project involves the structural and biochemical characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein. SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of COVID-19 and relies on a trimeric spike […] Read More >