Dr. Lakshmi Yatham, MBBS, FRCPC, MRCPsych (UK), MBA (Exec) is currently a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia and the Regional Head for the Department of Psychiatry at Vancouver Coastal Health and Providence Healthcare. Dr. Yatham’s major areas of research focus include first episode mania, neurobiology and treatment of bipolar disorder as well as high risk population for bipolar disorder.
Dr. Yatham has received a number of awards including the Senior Scholar Award from Michael Smith Foundation, the prestigious Mogens Schou Award for international education and advocacy on bipolar disorder from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders, the Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology Medal for contributions to psychopharmacology and John M Cleghorn Award for excellence in research and leadership from the Canadian Psychiatric Association.
Dr. Yatham served as the Vice President and later as the President of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders and in these roles implemented establishment of bipolar networks, chapters, trainee awards and task forces. He was the founding chair of the Canadian Network for Bipolar Disorders and also the chair of the bipolar group of the Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT). As a bipolar group chair, he led the development of CANMAT treatment guidelines for bipolar disorder which are updated every 3 years in collaboration with the International Society for Bipolar Disorders and published in Bipolar Disorders journal. These guidelines are highly cited with the 2009 version receiving over 450 citations, and the most recent update published in 2013 already received over 50 citations. Dr. Yatham is currently the Secretary for the World Federation of Societies for Biological Psychiatry and is actively involved in establishing new task forces with specific objectives and deliverables in order to move the field of biological psychiatry forward.
Dr. Yatham’s research activities have been supported by national and international peer reviewed funding agencies. He received the inaugural Michael Smith Foundation Senior Scholar Award as well as NARSAD Young and Independent investigator awards and his research program has consistently been supported by the peer reviewed funding from the CIHR since 1996. His research work has resulted in over 220 peer-reviewed publications including papers in high impact journals. Further, he has written several book chapters, edited books including a large international multi-authored book titled “Bipolar Disorder: Clinical and Neurobiological Foundations” and presented his research at numerous international conferences. He is a member of the editorial boards of several international journals and The Editor-at Large for the International journal Bipolar Disorders. Dr. Yatham is regularly invited to speak on all aspects of bipolar disorders at international meetings such as Collegium Internationale Neuro-psychopharmacologicum, European College of Neuropsychopharmacology and International Conference on Bipolar Disorders.