Professor Phillips received his PhD in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario, under the mentorship of Gordon Mogenson and subsequently spent time in the laboratories of Elliot Valenstein and James Olds’ at the Fels Research Institute and Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, respectively. He joined the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia in 1970, was appointed Full Professor in 1980 and served as Head from 1994- 1999. He subsequently joined the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine UBC in 2000 and became Founding Director of the UBC Institute of Mental Health in 2005. Dr. Phillips served for two terms as the inaugural Chair of Advisory Board for the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction. Dr. Phillips has been honoured with numerous awards.