Dr. Daniel Vigo, a psychiatrist and an assistant professor of UBC’s School of Population and Public Health, has been appointed as British Columbia (B.C.)’s Chief Scientific Advisor for Psychiatry, Toxic Drugs & Concurrent Disorders. Announced by B.C. Premiere David Eby on Wednesday, June 5, Dr. Vigo will focus on improving care for individuals with severe mental illness, acquired brain injury, and exposure to toxic drugs.
In this role, Dr. Vigo will collaborate with several health authorities, Indigenous partners and individuals with lived experiences. He will access all relevant data sources, conduct centralized data analysis and interpretation, and provide ongoing evidence-based recommendations to enhance the health system’s response.
Dr. Vigo is a psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, and public health specialist. Besides his role at UBC, he is a Lecturer at Harvard Medical School, an Advisor to PAHO and WHO, as well as the Chair of the Services and Policy Workgroup of the WHO-World Mental Health Surveys Initiative. He is also the Regional Lead Psychiatrist for Assertive Community Treatment for the Province of BC and the incoming Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Mental Health Systems.
He has worked in clinical, research, teaching, and leadership positions across both the public and private sector. In these roles, he has published peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and reports on public health, health systems, global mental health, psychiatric epidemiology, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, and e-mental health. Dr. Vigo also leads several projects in BC and globally, including on E-Mental Health, prediction of risk of adverse mental health and substance use outcomes, and needs-based planning for mental and substance use disorder services. More information can be found at Dr. Vigo’s Mental Health Systems and Services Laboratory webpage.
Read the announcement on the BC Gov News.