We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Mieke Koehoorn as Dean pro tem, Faculty of Medicine, and interim Vice-President, Health, effective September 1, 2025, to October 31, 2025.
Dr. Koehoorn is currently Vice Dean, Academic Affairs, in the Faculty of Medicine, where she provides strategic leadership for a variety of Faculty-related matters, ranging from academic standards and faculty recruitment to the administration of policies and procedures that support the Faculty’s success and academic mission.
A professor in the School of Population and Public Health (SPPH), Dr. Koehoorn holds a PhD in epidemiology and is a senior scientist with Partnership for Work, Health and Safety—an innovative research collaboration between UBC and WorkSafeBC.
She previously served as Head of the Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Associate Director of Faculty Affairs and of Research at SPPH, and as a UBC Vancouver Senator.
Dr. Koehoorn’s many contributions have been recognized with a Canadian Institutes for Health Research Chair in Gender, Work and Health award, as well as Michael Smith Health Research Scholar and Senior Scholar awards. She was also honoured with the Faculty of Medicine Award for Excellence in Mentoring Early Career Faculty.
Dr. Dermot Kelleher’s term as Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Vice-President, Health, will conclude on August 31, 2025. We would like to thank Dr. Kelleher for his extraordinary service to the university over the past decade.
We look forward to welcoming Dr. Sharmila Anandasabapathy as the new Dean, Faculty of Medicine, and Vice-President, Health, on November 1, 2025. During the interim period, we are very grateful to Dr. Koehoorn for serving as Dean pro tem and interim Vice-President, and I look forward to working with her and the leadership teams in the Faculty of Medicine and UBC Health.
Benoit-Antoine Bacon
President and Vice-Chancellor
Gage Averill
Provost and Vice-President, Academic, UBC Vancouver