UBC Reports | Vol. 49 | No. 12 | Dec.
4, 2003
Kudos
Two UBC Professors Emeriti have been Awarded France’s
Highest Honour
Dr. Chuni Roy, clinical professor emeritus of psychiatry,
and Dr. Victor Gomel, professor emeritus, obstetrics and gynecology,
have been named Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Légion
d’Honneur.
Created in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Legion of Honour
is the highest award given by the French Republic for outstanding
service to France.
Roy, who joined UBC in 1972, pioneered the treatment of psychiatrically
ill prisoners in Canada. He served as medical director of
a maximum-security psychiatric prison hospital in Abbotsford,
B.C., where medical graduates were trained in a postgraduate
diploma course in penitentiary medicine that Roy developed
in collaboration with the University of Paris.
Founder of the International Council of Prison Medical Services
based in Paris, Roy launched an international campaign for
the ethical treatment of prisoners. Roy is also honorary consul
of the French-speaking West African nation of Burkina Faso.
Gomel is an expert in gynecologic surgery and reproductive
medicine. He has trained French gynecologists for more than
20 years and is planning a French national education and research
centre on birthing.
Gomel joined UBC in 1964 and introduced many surgical techniques
to Canada such as laparoscopy and hysteroscopy. Described
as an international superstar of microsurgery, he has offered
international workshops in microsurgical techniques in gynecology
for almost 30 years. He has also contributed significantly
to knowledge of female reproductive physiology.
He developed an in vitro fertilization (IVF) program in UBC’s
Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology that in 1983 was successful
in delivering Canada’s first IVF baby.
The awards will be presented in Paris.
UBC Professor Emeritus Awarded Order of the Rising Sun of
Japan
John F. Howes, UBC professor emeritus of Asian Studies, has
been awarded the Order of the Rising Sun of Japan in recognition
of his service and dedication to facilitate understanding
between Canada and Japan. The award is one Japan’s most
prestigious honours.
According to the Consulate General of Japan, Howes -- who
first studied and worked in Japan in the 1940s -- actively
found ways to connect with local communities and academic
organizations bridging Japan and the West. His practical approach
to teaching and enthusiasm influenced generations of students.
Howes specializes in Christianity in Japan, the modernization
of Japan and the study of two influential thinkers of the
modern era, Uchimura Kanzo and Nitobe Inazo.
New Head for Island Medical Program
Dr. Oscar Casiro has been appointed associate dean of the
Island Medical Program (IMP), part of UBC’s Faculty
of Medicine expansion.
Educated in Argentina, Casiro immigrated to Canada in 1980
and completed training in pediatrics and neonatology at the
University of Manitoba. He has worked at the Health Sciences
Centre there since 1985 and has been associate dean of undergraduate
medical education at the University of Manitoba since 1999.
His research interests include the long-term outcomes of
high-risk premature infants and the effects of substance abuse
during pregnancy.
Casiro will be based at the University of Victoria and will
also serve as head of the division of medical sciences. He
will assume his responsibilities in January, 2004.
The IMP, along with the Northern Medical Program at the University
of Northern B.C., are partner programs in the Faculty of Medicine’s
expansion that will double the number of undergraduate medical
student spaces by 2010. |
