The UBC Department of Emergency Medicine recognizes students, residents and faculty members each year for their outstanding commitment and dedication to their work. See below for our awards and recipients.
Student Awards
Dr. Kendall Ho leads the Digital Emergency Medicine program within DEM and is recognized for his innovative research in digital health. He has established an endowment to provide awards for M.D. students who are interested in applying digital emergency medicine in rural, urban, or remote settings. This award aims to help remove barriers for future generations of physicians seeking to improve healthcare access for vulnerable communities through digital solutions.
Recipients
- 2025 Aziz Ghafoor
On November 1st, 2024, the Canadian emergency medicine community experienced a profound loss with the sudden and unexpected passing of Dr. Jill McEwen. For decades, Dr. McEwen stood as a towering figure in emergency medicine, recognized as a trailblazing clinician, an innovative educator, a visionary leader, and a passionate advocate for women in EM.
In honor of Dr. McEwen’s legacy, her family has established an award for fourth-year medical students with a keen interest in emergency medicine. They aim to provide a minimum of $5,000 each year, with 1 to 2 awards available. Only faculty members may submit nominations for this award.
Recipients
Resident Awards
Dr. Riyad B. Abu-Laban is a DEM Professor and a highly respected Emergency Physician, known for his substantial contributions to emergency medicine as a researcher, educator, and leader. His work has advanced the field both in Canada and internationally. This award is presented during our annual Research Day to honor the best project abstracts submitted by a UBC RSPSC-EM resident or a UBC Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellow.
Recipients
2025
- 1st Prize winner: Dr. Paul Clerc
- 2nd Prize winner: Dr. Emily Lostchuck
- 3rd Prize winner: Dr. Damian Feldman-Kiss
2024
- 1st Prize winner: Dr. Trisha Kandiah
- 2nd Prize winner: Dr. Daniel Shi
- 3rd Prize winner: Dr. Eva Bruketa
- 4th Prize winner: Dr. Paul Clerc
2023
- 1st Prize winner: Dr. Aidan McParland
- 2nd Prize winner: Dr. Kira Gossack-Keenan
- 3rd Prize winner: Dr. Rana Swed-Tobia
Faculty Awards
This annual award recognizes one UBC DEM faculty member who has made an outstanding contribution to RCPSC emergency medicine resident education beyond clinical teaching. The recipient will be named and awarded at the full program graduation in the spring of each year.
Residents and faculty may nominate a UBC DEM faculty member for the award.
Recipients
- 2025: Dr. Nikki Holm
- 2024: Dr. Brett Passi
- 2023: Dr. Jared Baylis