VMDAS and VPSA Board Members

Dr. Eric Yoshida is a professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia and the past head of gastroenterology at UBC and  VGH.  He is also the former medical director of BC’s Liver Transplant Program and remains a part of the program.  Eric has been a member of the Canadian Association for the Study of Liver (CASL)’s governing board since 2002 and was its president from 2008-10.  He is the chair of Medical Advisory Committee of the national Canadian Liver Foundation and the founding chair of the Royal College of Physician and Surgeons of Canada’s Diploma in Hepatology Committee.

Eric is the editor-in-chief of CASL’s new journal, the Canadian Liver Journal, and serves/has served as an associate editor and editorial board member of several well-known liver disease/gastroenterology journals.  He is also a volunteer specialist consultant for Medecins sans Frontiers and was a volunteer physician for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the 2011 Canadian Open PGA tournament (he does not golf), and the 2019-19 IIHF World Hockey Championships. 

Selected awards he has been the recipient of include: the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012); the Martin M. Hoffman Award for Excellence in Research (UBC, Department of Medicine) (2013); the Vancouver Acute Medical & Allied Staff Award for Clinical Excellence (2015); the CASL Distinguished Service Award (2016); the Order of British Columbia (2016); and the Dr. William Webber Award from the UBC Medical Undergraduate Society (2017).

Dr. Alison Harris is a radiologist and UBC clinical professor with a special interest in abdominal imaging and genitourinary intervention. She began her career in England and joined VCH in 1999. In 2007 she became the medical head for the Abdominal Division; she was awarded the UBC Burhenne Scholarship in Radiology from 2009 to 2013. She served as the president of the BC Radiological Society from 2017 to 2019 and has also participated in Doctors of BC’s Medical Imaging Advisory Committee, its Guidelines and Protocols Advisory Committee, as well as its Negotiations Forum.

Alison has been a member of VPSA’s Engagement Working Group for several years. She was involved in the appreciative inquiry work that led to the report on women physician leadership and now serves on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Working Group. She is excited to be part of the board and to working closely with the physician and allied health community. Her goal is to build on already existing structures and develop new initiatives to improve collaboration across the multiple groups and health authority leadership.

Dr. John Ridley is a hospitalist at the Vancouver General and UBC hospitals. He joined the Vancouver Coastal Health medical staff in 2003 after returning from Ottawa where he completed his residency in family medicine. John is one of the earliest members of the growing hospitalist team that works at both VGH on the Leon Blackmore medical units and at UBCH on the Complex Activation Medical Unit (CAMU) where he serves as the medical manager.

John is a Vancouver local who attended medical school at UBC (MD 1998) before a five-year sojourn to Ottawa. His earliest medical career in Ontario included work as a clinical associate in the Division of Nephrology at the Ottawa Civic Hospital, an emergency physician at both Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and at Carleton Place & District Memorial Hospital, and also as a full-service rural locum throughout eastern and northern Ontario.

Past service as the Vancouver Division of Family Practice Board Treasurer (2009 – 2013) has given him insight into the governance and functioning of a successful not-for-profit with parallel funding and goals to the VPSA. In addition to joining the VPSA board, he continues to serve as the financial director for his hospitalist group, as the treasurer for the Doctors of BC Section of Hospital Medicine, and as the Medical Manager for CAMU at UBC Hospital.

Dr. Michael Nimmo is the Clinical Associate Head in the University of British Columbia (UBC) Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. He has been a member of the department and a pathologist at the Vancouver General Hospital and Health Sciences Centre since 2000. He obtained his MD in 1995 and then went on to complete his general pathology residency, both at UBC. Prior to obtaining his medical training, Dr. Nimmo trained and practiced corporate law for several years.

Since his initial UBC clinical faculty appointment, Dr. Nimmo has demonstrated excellence through his dedication to academic activities, particularly teaching. His teaching activities are extensive, spanning from the Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science (BMLSc) program within the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine to the MD undergraduate program and to clinical integrated training for residents. He has won several awards, including the UBC Killam Teaching Award, the Dr. Melvyn Bernstein Resident Teaching Award, the BMLSc Graduates’ Choice for teaching excellence and the UBC Medical Alumni Association Wallace Wilson Leadership Award.

Dr. Ka Wai Cheung is a clinical associate professor of emergency medicine. She joined Vancouver Coastal Health in 2008, working now at Vancouver General Hospital and UBC Hospital. In 2010, she graduated with a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, and she has an interest in health education and quality improvement. Dr. Cheung believes that high-quality patient care can only occur with a supported professional environment built on strong and healthy relationships.

Over the last several years, she has been a member of the VPSA Engagement Projects Task Group and has developed a deeper appreciation of VPSA’s efforts to engage and empower professionals. She has also enjoyed working with Doctors of BC members to help develop provincial guidelines, and is a member of the newly created Doctors of BC section of emergency medicine’s equity, diversity and inclusion subcommittee.

In partnership with VCH, she had the opportunity to help produce a smoke-free premises policy video that was awarded a VCHA People First Award. Dr. Cheung has collaborated nationally and internationally with other researchers. She is thrilled to be part of the board and to learn from and serve the members.

Dr. Joy Masuhara is a family physician who has specialized in the care of the elderly throughout her career. Currently she works for Vancouver Coastal Health, Community Older Adult Mental Health and Substance Use Program, and is lead on a project to improve care for frail ethnic seniors. This project has been supported by Facility Engagement and the Vancouver Division of Family Practice and was a PLQI (Physician Led Quality Improvement) initiative. She has given many workshops and lectures on topics such as dementia, quality improvement in nursing homes, polypharmacy and multicultural care.  Joy has been a member of the Vancouver Division of Family Practice, Frail Elder Care Committee since 2015. She is a clinical assistant professor with the UBC Faculty of Medicine and sits on the UBC Community Geriatrics Logistics Committee. She also is a member of the newly formed VPSA/VCH Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and co-chairs the Culture and Environment Working Group.

Joy is on the Board of Directors of SUCCESS, a multicultural and seniors social service non-profit society. Other volunteer work includes being co-chair of Women Transforming Cities International Society, a non-profit group based in Vancouver that works towards improving the lives of women and girls at the local level. Through this organization she has helped to create an online initiative called the Women Friendly Cities Challenge and has spoken at UN Habitat III and the World Urban Forum. She is also co-chair of the Sexual Orientation Gender Identity (SOGI) Partner Constituency Group of the General Assembly of Partners (GAP). GAP is an international multi-stakeholder platform that has been working with UN Habitat to provide civil society input to the process of sustainable urban development.