Tamara Williamson (above) and Ashley Felske (below) of the Behavioural Medicine Lab presented their research work involving bariatric surgery patients at Obesity Canada’s 6th Annual Canadian Obesity Summit in Ottawa last month.

Congratulations to Kirsti Toivonen for winning the Izaak Walton Killam Predoctoral Scholarship this year! We are all very proud of you Kirsti. The lab would also like to thank the Killam Trusts for supporting Kirsti’s important research in the Behavioural Medicine Lab.

The Behavioural Medicine Lab would like to congratulate Michelle Flynn on successfully defending her MSc. thesis today! Michelle’s thesis was titled: “Investigating the efficacy of intranasal oxytocin in reducing pain among women with chronic pelvic pain: A placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial.” Michelle is continuing on to the PhD. program in Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary starting the 2018-2019 academic year.

Congratulations on all of your hard work, Michelle! We wish you luck as you continue with your studies next year.

The Behavioural Medicine Lab is thrilled to announce that Jenna Thomas successfully defended her PhD dissertation entitled: “The intergenerational transmission of stress: Investigating mediators and moderators of the association between maternal adverse childhood experiences and child development” today! Jenna has accepted a residency placement at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, NS starting this September. Congratulations Jenna – we are so happy for you and wish you the best of luck in your next chapter!

This summer, the Behavioural Medicine Lab travelled to Montreal, QC to attend the Inaugural International Behavioural Trials Network (IBTN) Summer School. The IBTN is committed to training researchers and promoting adoption of best-practices in development, optimization, and testing of behavioural interventions for chronic disease. Graduate students Kirsti Toivonen, Michelle Flynn, and Tamara Williamson attended the summer school as students, and lab director Dr. Tavis Campbell served on the faculty, along with world-renowned experts in behavioral trial design and execution.

IBTN Summer School Closing Dinner

Kirsti, Michelle, and Tamara also had the opportunity to present original research protocols during the IBTN 2018 Conference.

Kirsti, Tamara, and Michelle at the IBTN poster sessions

Tamara Williamson presenting her research protocol for her MSc. thesis at the IBTN Conference

Tamara represented the Behavioural Medicine Lab this Spring at the Alberta Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) SUPPORT Unit’s annual summer institute.

2017 SPOR Graduate Studentship Awardees at the SPOR summer institute

Tamara is a 2017 recipient of the Alberta SPOR Graduate Studentship in patient-oriented research, and has been exploring the needs, perspectives, and preferences of patients with syncope (fainting). Specifically, through her work with the Community Alternatives for Syncope Management to the Emergency Room (CASMER) team, supported by the Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada (CANet), Tamara and the team are interested in patients’ reasons for accessing (or not) emergency medical assistance when they faint.