Aidan Smyth, MSc, MA is a doctoral student in the clinical psychology program at McGill University. He is mentored by Dr. Bärbel Knäuper, the director of the Health Psychology Lab, and Dr. Marco Sinai, the Director of Clinical Training at the McGill University Health Centre. Aidan’s research is focused on mindfulness and self-regulation. He is currently leading a pilot and feasibility trial that involves testing a novel mobile application designed to support mindfulness practice. In addition to his research, Aidan provides clinical care to adolescents at the Teenage Health Unit of the Goldman Herzl Family Practice Centre.

Alesha is a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) student at Memorial University of Newfoundland under the supervision of Dr. Josh Rash, following her BSc in Behavioural Neuroscience (2022) and MSc in Experimental Psychology (2024). Her research focuses on improving healthcare delivery through behavioral interventions, particularly digital resource implementation in chronic pain management. Her doctoral work investigates the behavioral foundations of effective adaptive mentorship in healthcare settings, examining capabilities, opportunities, and motivations that drive the uptake of adaptive mentoring in clinical settings (e.g., pain, substance use disorders, mental health).

Amanda Willms is a PhD Candidate in the School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education at the University of Victoria. She is supervised by Dr. Sam Liu, the director of the Digital Health Lab. She is passionate about the intersection of technology and health and is involved in a variety of projects involving the design, development, and assessment of physical activity interventions. Her PhD dissertation focuses on evaluating the feasibility of a just-in-time adaptive intervention to promote physical activity for type 2 diabetes management.

Anna Dollimount, M.Sc., is a second year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Regina. She is supervised by Dr. Kristi Wright (Child Health, Learning and Development Lab). Anna's research is focused on improving the mental health and quality of life amongst individuals living with Cystic Fibrosis. She is currently completing her doctoral dissertation focusing on evaluating an online, group delivery of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for adults with Cystic Fibrosis.

Annabelle Fortin is a fifth-year PhD candidate in psychology at the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM). She is mentored by Dr Kim L. Lavoie, professor at UQAM, and co-director of the Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre (MBMC). Annabelle's research focuses on patient-centered research, eating behaviours and metabolic bariatric surgery. She is currently working on the development of a behavioural intervention adjunct to bariatric surgery. Annabelle also works with patients in the Mood and Anxiety Program and Psychology in Bariatric Surgery Clinic at the Allan Memorial Institute.

Ariany Marques Vieira is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Reed and Jennifer Harris as part of the CBITN program. She is a member of the Exercise Physiology and Cardiovascular Health Lab and the Prevention and Rehabilitation Department at the UOHI. Ariany's research focuses on optimizing cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs to enhance uptake, adherence, and effectiveness, improving patients' lives. She explores alternative assessment tools, training modalities, and the impact of behavior change and multidisciplinary approaches beyond exercise alone. Her current work examines factors influencing CR utilization and effectiveness, identifying service combinations that best improve physical and mental health outcomes.

Brianna is a Doctor of Clinical Psychology (PsyD) Student at Memorial University, supervised by Dr. Jacqueline Carter. Brianna’s doctoral research focuses on the relationship between exercise and disordered eating behaviors, examining the role of internalized weight stigma and motivations for exercise. Using a mixed methods design that integrates quantitative and qualitative analysis, this research aims to better understand these dynamics and inform the development of prevention and intervention strategies. Brianna is passionate about working with clinical eating disorder populations in the future, striving to provide compassionate care and evidence-based treatments. Beyond academia, she is dedicated to community engagement, mental health advocacy, and translating research into meaningful practice.

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.

Florence is a second year Ph.D. / Psy.D. student at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM). She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology (B.Sc.) from Université de Montréal and furthered her expertise with a DESS in behavioral interventions for individuals on the autism spectrum at UQAM. Her passion lies in empowering individuals with effective tools to facilitate behavior changes, particularly in the realms of health habits, fostering a pathway to a long and healthy life. Currently, Florence is involved in enhancing the functionality and effectiveness of a digital behavior change platform, EVO+, through a personalized approach. Indeed, this approach will rely on motivational communication, behaviour change science, and AI-based algorithms. Florence is mentored by Dr. Simon Bacon, a renowned expert in the field of behavioural interventions and digital health, and Alan Hamilton, an accomplished consultant with expertise in intervention design and evaluation for chronic health conditions.

Gabrielle is a Registered Dietitian and PhD Candidate in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto. Under the supervision of Dr. Laura Chiavaroli, her research centers on the implementation of the Portfolio Diet, an evidence-based dietary pattern shown to improve cardiovascular health and manage type 2 diabetes. Gabrielle is passionate about advancing health equity, with her work focusing on supporting high-risk and ethnically diverse communities in achieving better health outcomes.

Isabela is a PhD candidate in Human Kinetics with the Exercise Physiology and Cardiovascular Health Lab at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Reed. Isabela is involved in several research trials at the EPCHL, investigating the effects of exercise training on the physical (e.g., cardiorespiratory fitness) and mental health (e.g., anxiety levels) of patients with cardiovascular disease. Her PhD research focuses on exercise-based cardiovascular rehabilitation, sex and gender+ science, and cardiac implantable electronic devices. Isabela is dedicated to advancing research in exercise-based interventions to enhance the quality of life of others, a reason to become an independent researcher in the field of cardiac rehabilitation. She is also committed to addressing the under-representation of women in STEM as patients and scientists.

Joshua is a Master of Science student in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Calgary, under the supervision of Dr. Tavis Campbell and mentorship of patient partner Sondria Browne. He holds a BSc (Hons.) from Memorial University where his thesis work evaluated the psychosocial well-being of rural young adult cancer survivors. Joshua is broadly interested in the development and implementation of behavioural interventions to promote the quality of life of individuals with chronic illness, with specific interest in helping underserved populations such as rural Canadians. For his MSc dissertation, he is exploring needs and preferences for a peer-delivered insomnia intervention for individuals with cancer.

Kaela Cranston is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Diabetes Prevention Research Group at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus. Kaela’s research focuses on the development, implementation, and evaluation of a brief online cultural safety and inclusivity module for healthcare and fitness practitioners. Kaela is being mentored by Dr. Mary Jung and Dharshi Lacey.

Laura is an MA student in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program at York University. Laura previously completed her BSc (Hons) and MSc at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and has been engaged with mental health and substance use research for almost a decade. Laura is completing her MA research under the supervision of Dr. Jennine Rawana on co-designing a digital emotion regulation intervention to support the mental health and well-being of emerging adults. This work is grounded in behaviour change frameworks, theories, and techniques to support emerging adults in successfully enacting and sustaining adaptive emotion regulation behaviours.

Manuela (MSc) is a Ph.D. student at Concordia University in the department of Health and Exercise Sciences and she is a part of the Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre (MBMC) working with Dr. Simon Bacon. She has a background in psychology, and she has experience in qualitative research, and in emotion recognition and regulation. Her focus is to understand the role of ambivalence and hesitancy in the behaviour change process and to create AI driven strategies to overcome them. At the moment she is working closely with L'École de technologie supérieure (ETS) to develop a diverse data set and to produce annotated data to train and develop deep learning models for affecting computing in digital health.

Matea is a first year Master of Science student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Regina, where she also received her Bachelor of Arts Honours degree, situated on Treaty 4 and 6 lands. She is being supervised by Dr. Kristi Wright in the Child Health Learning Development (CHLD) lab and is researching the impacts of chronic illness on children and adolescents. Her master's thesis, funded by CBITN, looks at the effectiveness of an eHealth program designed for healthy siblings of children and adolescents with congenital heart disease. Outside of academia, Matea works at an autism center for young children. Upon completion of her master's program, Matea intends to enroll in the University of Regina's Doctorate in Clinical Psychology program and complete her training to become a registered, child clinical psychologist."

Megan Crooks is a second-year MA student in clinical psychology at the University of Manitoba supervised by Dr. Renee El-Gabalawy (CC’d). For her thesis, she am investigating the feasibility of a virtual reality treatment for phantom pain in the hospital within two months following lower limb amputation. She is interested in pursuing a career in intervention science, with a special interest in the clinical utility of virtual reality for psychological intervention. She will be pursuing her PhD next year with Dr. El-Gabalawy to continue to expand her skills in this area of expertise.

Nikita was trained to be a dentist (B.D.S. degree) in India, but pivoted her career towards population health research by pursuing a Master in Public Health (M.P.H. degree). Currently, Nikita is a third-year doctoral (Ph.D.) student in the Medical Sciences-Dentistry program at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada under the supervision of Dr. Maryam Sharifzadeh-Amin. Nikita is particularly interested in researching health promotion amongst different population groups using a variety of approaches and settings. Her doctoral research utilizes qualitative methods to understand how oral health can be integrated within existing school-based health programs. Findings from her doctoral research hold significant potential for advancing health promotion through schools. Alongside her doctoral studies, Nikita is also pursuing a research internship with Alberta Education (Ministry of Education) where she is helping evaluate a program on providing specialized learning supports to children studying in First Nation schools across Alberta.

Parres is a first-year MSc. student in Health & Exercise Sciences at The University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) in Kelowna. Parres graduated from UBCO with her Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology in 2023. Parres is completing her MSc. under the supervision of Dr. Heather Gainforth in the Applied Behaviour Change (ABC) Lab at UBCO. Her thesis research aims to co-develop a smoking cessation intervention for individuals living with spinal cord injury (SCI), working in partnership with her community mentor Dr. Chris McBride (Executive Director of SCI British Columbia). Parres is passionate about conducting research in behavioural science that will lead to implementation through meaningful partnerships with research users.

Salima is a PhD student in Psychology at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). She completed her bachelor's degree in psychology from Université de Montréal in 2022. Salima is affiliated with both the Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre and Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, where she works under the supervision of Dr. Kim Lavoie and Dr. Simon Bacon. Her research interests focus on behavioral interventions, NCDs and autoimmune diseases, motivational communication, and health promotion, with particular emphasis on doctor-patient relationships and public health interventions. As part of her CBITN doctoral research, she is conducting the MOTIVATOR© study, which examines the feasibility of a motivational communication training program designed to enhance healthcare provider-patient interactions and promote better health outcomes.