BCIRPU Director Dr. Shelina Babul has been recognized for her international work in concussion education and prevention with a 2025 Alumni UBC Global Citizenship Award.
 
The Global Citizenship Award is given to a UBC alum in recognition of community or voluntary service that has gained international recognition and made a global difference. Throughout her career, Dr. Babul has worked to improve concussion diagnosis, treatment, and management, and lead prevention efforts. She created the Concussion Awareness Training Tool (CATT), an internationally used resource with evidence-based information and training on concussion. CATT is part of the federal Concussion Harmonization Project, and the website, cattonline.com, receives over 100,000 visits a year.

Dr. Babul has worked to incorporate concussion education into the medical education system; earlier this year, she was awarded a 2025 Certificate of Merit Award from the Canadian Association for Medical Education. In 2024, she contributed to the development of the BC clinical practice guideline for concussion and mild traumatic brain injury.

Dr. Babul has worked to improve concussion education globally. Earlier this year, she travelled to Colombia with University of Victoria Professor Dr. Mauricio Garcia-Barrera to help healthcare professionals understand the latest in evidence-based concussion diagnosis and management. In 2023, Dr. Babul and BCIRPU Investigator Dr. Ian Pike travelled to Lebanon to mentor colleagues at the American University of Beirut on injury prevention. This collaboration led to the formation of the ICARE program, which provides school nurses with the knowledge and protocols needed to respond to concussions in educational settings.

Dr. Babul completed her BSc in Biopsychology and PhD in Kinesiology and Exercise Physiology at UBC.

“I am humbled to be recognized by my alma mater for my work in concussions,” Dr. Babul said. “Concussions are not a problem unique to Canada—they can happen to anyone, at any time. Although concussions are better recognized and treated than they were ten years ago, there is still work to be done to improve education and awareness.”  

Dr. Babul will be formally recognized at the Alumni UBC Achievement Award ceremony on November 6, 2025. Congratulations!