Aidan Smyth is a doctoral student in the clinical psychology program at McGill University. He is supervised by Dr. Bärbel Knäuper, the director of the Health Psychology Lab. Aidan’s research is focused on mindfulness and self-regulation. He is currently conducting a pilot and feasibility trial related to a mindfulness intervention that aims to (1) help individuals navigate difficult thoughts and emotions, and (2) reduce symptoms of psychological distress. Aidan also works with patients in the Mood and Anxiety Disorders program at the Allen Memorial Institute.

Alesha completed a BSc (hons) Behavioural Neuroscience from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2022. Alesha’s thesis explored the provider perceived benefits and barriers of implementing Stepped Care 2.0 within the New Brunswick Addictions and Mental Health Services. Alesha is am currently a second year MSc Experimental Psychology (Health/Wellness) student at Memorial University, studying the acceptability and usability of the Power Over Pain Portal among people living with pain who are awaiting care at a tertiary care pain clinic.

Alysha is a PhD Candidate exploring the role of gender in teen dietary habits. Through her research, Alysha specifically aims to support high schools in helping students navigate their food choices by co-developing more inclusive and sustainable dietary interventions. As a coach and former athlete, Alysha has a strongly interest in student athletes’ dietary habits in particular. Keeping the voices of key end-users at the forefront, Alysha relies on participatory research methods such as advisory panels in her projects and uses mixed methods when designing dietary interventions.

Brianna is a second-year master’s student at Memorial University with a concentration in Health and Wellness. Under the supervision of Dr. Sheila Garland, Brianna is examining how pre-treatment beliefs influence the outcomes of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia among Cancer Survivors. Beyond her academic and research commitments, Brianna actively engages with her community. She dedicates her time to raising funds and awareness for the cancer community, volunteers with the Sleep Research Society, and is a member in numerous professional and student societies. After completion of her master’s degree, Brianna plans to pursue doctoral studies in clinical psychology.

Caroline Luszawski is a Clinical Psychology PhD student at the University of Calgary studying under the supervision of Dr. Keith Yeates. Caroline graduated from Western University with her Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Biology in 2019 and her Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology in 2020. She completed her Master of Science in Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary in 2022. For her doctoral dissertation, Caroline is investigating the roles of sleep and socioemotional functioning in recovery from pediatric concussion. Caroline is also passionate about incorporating EDI considerations in her research and clinical work.

Corinne is a third-year Clinical Psychology PhD student working under the supervision of Dr. Blaine Ditto (Behavioural Medicine Lab) and Dr. Anna Weinberg (Translational Research in Affect and Cognition Lab) at McGill University. She received her undergraduate degree (B.A., Honors, Human Biology) from Brown University. Several subsequent years of diverse professional and volunteer experience across corporate and community settings informed her research interests. Presently, these focus on understanding the psychophysiological correlates of stress exposure in caregivers, the pathways through which stress is transmitted interpersonally and intergenerationally, and the behavioral interventions best suited to disrupt such ongoing cycles over the lifespan.

Dimitra Pouliopoulou is a PhD candidate at Western University engaged in the development of a video-based Joint Protection Program for people with hand arthritis that will be freely accessible upon completion. The program integrates best clinical evidence, joint-protection principles, and patient needs and preferences. Its emphasis is on reducing loading and making tasks less challenging, making it beneficial for several types of hand arthritis. By combining remote technologies, patient co-design, and an equity lens, Dimitra aims to diminish health disparities among hard-to-reach populations, providing improved access and usability to patients suffering from hand arthritis.

Elsa is a PhD student in Clinical Psychology at McGill University. Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, Elsa started her undergraduate studies in Psychology at the Lebanese American University and obtained her BA (Hons) in Psychology from Concordia University in 2021 and MSc in Psychiatry from McGill University in 2023. Elsa is a trainee member of the Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network (SPIN; https://www.spinsclero.com/), an international patient-researcher-clinician collaboration, led by her supervisor, Dr. Brett Thombs. Her areas of research focus on enhancing patient engagement and improving knowledge dissemination methods, knowledge synthesis to inform clinical practice, non-pharmacological clinical trials, and transparency and reporting in mental health research. As part of her CBITN doctoral studentship, she will conduct a trial to compare methods of disseminating research results to people living with the rare disease scleroderma.

Emily Carrese-Chacra is completing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Concordia University under the supervision of Drs. Sydney Miller and Jean-Philippe Gouin. She is involved in research that aims to test a novel online couples-based intervention for healthy lifestyle among older adults who are overweight or obese and to gather preliminary data on its efficacy in promoting healthy eating and increasing physical activity in this population. This research will add to our understanding of the social determinants facilitating and hindering health behavior change in older adults living with overweight and obesity.

Florence, a dedicated psychology student, is embarking on her integrated Ph.D. / Psy.D. program at UQAM. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Université de Montréal and furthered her expertise with a DESS in behavioral interventions for individuals on the autism spectrum at the University of Quebec in Montreal. Her passion lies in empowering individuals with effective tools to facilitate behavior changes, particularly in the realms of eating habits and exercise, fostering a pathway to a long and healthy life. Currently, Florence is involved in enhancing the functionality of a behavior change platform, EVO+, through a personalized approach.

Haley finished her combined degree in Biological Sciences and Psychology at the University of Calgary, where she completed two Honour's projects focusing on neuroplasticity, integrative oncology, and mindfulness-based therapies. These explorations, the experience of supporting a relative through their cancer experience, and after working in various roles in the healthcare system inspired her to get involved in cancer patient advocacy and integrative oncology research, with a focus the physical, emotional, and spiritual. This led Haley down a path to being passionate about contributing to the advancement of our understanding of the mind-body connection and the role of psychedelics in psychotherapy. Her long-term career goal is to become a research clinician, working with the oncologic population.

Heather Hollman is a PhD Candidate in the Behavioural Medicine Lab in the School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education at the University of Victoria. She is involved in various research projects involving the development and assessment of theoretically-informed physical activity interventions. Her PhD dissertation focuses on physical activity promotion tailored to postpartum individuals with lumbopelvic pain.

Hwayeon Danielle Shin is a Registered Nurse and a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto. She studies health services research, specializing in health informatics. Danielle’s PhD work involves implementing an app-based tool for supporting suicide safety planning intervention in a psychiatric emergency department at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. This project not only intersects health informatics and digital health but also intersects with implementation science. For Danielle, implementation science is about changing behaviors of providers and/or patients to use information technology to improve care and health outcomes.

Dr. Jessica Bourne is a Postdoctoral fellow in the Diabetes Research Prevention Group at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus. Her research focuses on designing, implementing and evaluating physical activity interventions in a range of populations, including individuals diagnosed with cancer and those with or at risk of type 2 diabetes. Jessica has shared her research findings with policy makers, community partners and the public through a variety of knowledge translation activities.

Jonathan Edwin is completing his PhD in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia (UBC). An epidemiologist by training he has held positions in the public and biopharmaceutical sector, most recently as a senior epidemiologist at Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada conducting surveillance and research in the areas of substance use, COVID-19, and public health risk assessments. As a member of the Mental Health Systems and Services Laboratory at UBC run by Dr. Daniel Vigo, his CBITN Doctoral Studentship project will examine heterogeneity of treatment effects in a pragmatic randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of the Minder mobile app in improving the mental health and substance use outcomes of university students . Jonathan holds a Masters of Public Health from UBC and a B.Sc (Hons) in Biology and Pharmacology from McMaster University.

Laura Hernández is a Master of Science student in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Calgary, under the supervision of Dr. Tavis Campbell and Dr. Codie Rouleau. Laura’s research interests include chronic illness, behavioural interventions, health behaviour change, cardiac rehabilitation, and mental health. She has previous experiences in qualitative and quantitative research projects and knowledge translation in psychology and health. Laura’s Master’s thesis investigates the association between predictors of depression and anxiety improvement and mortality among patients in a cardiac rehabilitation program. She aims to expand her competencies through evaluation of a motivational communication intervention on cardiovascular medication adherence.

Megan Poulter is currently in the second year of her Master’s in Clinical Psychology at the University of Regina. She received her Bachelor’s degree at the University of British Columbia in May 2022, with Honours in Psychology and a minor in Family Studies. Her Master’s thesis, a randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of an online self-help program for infertility-related distress, aims to relieve distress, improve mental health, and increase quality of life for individuals at all stages of the infertility journey.

Nicole Andersen is a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Deborah Da Costa and Dr. Annett Korner. Prior to graduate school, Nicole coordinated several research projects on clinical interventions in oncology, rheumatology, and geriatrics. populations. Through this work, she developed strong interests in improving care and treatment outcomes in people with chronic diseases. For her doctoral research, she is studying patient-reported disease and psychosocial outcomes in people with inflammatory arthritis.

Noémie Tremblay holds a Bachelor's degree in Communications from the University of Sherbrooke and she pursued advanced studies in psychology within the Honors program at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) where completed an Honors thesis focusing on relational conflicts during COVID-19 as part of the iCARE study, under the guidance of Dr. Kim Lavoie. She is currently immersed in a Ph.D. program in Psychology, with a distinct emphasis on motivational communication for facilitating lasting changes in health behaviour. Her doctoral research, integrated within the MOTIVATOR© project, is geared towards equipping physicians with the tools of motivational communication to inspire enduring health behavior transformations in their patients. This project aligns seamlessly with her academic foundation, merging her psychological expertise with practical communication experience.

Sydney is a Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student in the Behavioural Medicine Laboratory at the University of Calgary, under the supervision of Dr. Tavis Campbell. She recently earned her M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology, where her thesis work evaluated an online motivational communication program to reduce COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in Canadian adults. Sydney is broadly interested in developing and evaluating behavioural interventions to promote health behaviour adherence, with a specific interest in understanding attitudes towards vaccination recommendations. Sydney’s CBITN Doctoral studentship will be supervised by Dr. Tavis Campbell and Dr. Kerry Mothersill.

Sydney Wasserman is a PhD student in Nursing at McGill University, studying under the supervision of Dr. Sylvie Lambert and with the mentorship of Dr. Mike Spivock as a part of the CBITN program. She is a registered nurse clinician, working clinically as an Emergency Trauma nurse at the Montreal General Hospital. Sydney has been a research assistant at St. Mary’s research centre and McGill University since 2020, where her research primarily focuses on self-management interventions curated for both patients with cancer and their caregivers. She also has a special interest in digital health interventions and implementation sciences within the field of psychosocial oncology. For her PhD thesis, she will be conducting a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART) with the Coping-Together self-management intervention for patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers.

Vanessa K. Tassone is a Master of Science (MSc) student at the Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto. Her research is based within the Interventional Neuropsychiatry Program at St. Michael’s Hospital which is led by Dr. Venkat Bhat. Vanessa holds a Specialized Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from York University. Vanessa is interested in studying behavioural interventions for individuals with depression who are resistant to conventional treatments by targeting the mind-body interaction. Her MSc thesis project will deliver a physical activity program for individuals with treatment-resistant depression

Zaraa Zaman is a 2nd year master's student in the Department of Kinesiology at Brock University. Her thesis project will be focused on examining the effects of a culturally-relevant strength training program on South Asian women's body image. She has been involved in research for 4 years and wants to pursue a career in public health.

Rita is a master's student supervised by Dr. Diana Mager in the Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Alberta. Rita is working on two remarkable research projects encompassing diverse populations, from pediatrics to geriatrics. These clinical trials focused on investigating the impact of behavioural and lifestyle modifications (exercise and diet education) on clinical outcomes that are highly relevant to Canadians living with chronic diseases such as diabetes and celiac disease. Study in my area includes the impact of dietary counselling, utilizing the Gluten-free food guide, on the diet quality, cardiometabolic risk and food insecurity in households with children with celiac disease.