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Our Team

Meet the HPRS Team

Our diverse and interdisciplinary research team is composed of top researchers from leading universities across Ontario.

Tracy Vaillancourt, PhD

Co-Leader

Tracy Vaillancourt, PhD

Co-Leader

Dr. Tracy Vaillancourt is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in School-Based Mental Health and Violence Prevention at the University of Ottawa where she is cross-appointed as a full professor in Counselling Psychology, Faculty of Education and the School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences.

Daphne Korczak, MD

Co-leader

Daphne Korczak, MD

Co-leader

Dr. Korczak is the SickKids' Chair in Child and Youth Medical Psychiatry, Director of the CLIMB Depression Program, and an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, leading research on the relationship between early onset depression and future cardiometabolic risk, child and adolescent suicide, and the mental health impact of COVID-19.

Amanda Krygsman, PhD

Study Manager

Amanda Krygsman, PhD

Study Manager

Dr. Amanda Krygsman is a Senior Research Associate managing the Health and Peer Relations Study (HPRS), supervised by Dr. Tracy Vaillancourt. Her research interests include developmental psychopathology, mental health and interpersonal relationships.

Heather Brittain, PhD

Team Member

Heather Brittain, PhD

Team Member

Heather Brittain is a PhD candidate (Vanier scholar; Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa) who is interested in the associations between bullying, mental health, and academic functioning relative to school transitions as well as identifying individual and contextual factors that protect students from negative outcomes or put others at risk.

Jean Clinton, MD

Team Member

Jean Clinton, MD

Team Member

Dr. Jean Clinton is a Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster, division of Child Psychiatry.

Ian Colman, PhD

Team Member

Ian Colman, PhD

Team Member

Dr. Colman is a Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa and the Canada Research Chair in Mental Health Epidemiology.

Wendy Craig, PhD

Team Member

Wendy Craig, PhD

Team Member

Dr. Wendy Craig (OC, O.Ont, FRSC) is a Professor of Psychology at Queen’s University. For over 30 years, she has studied the development of peer-to-peer aggression in children and youth.

Andrew Dane, PhD

Team Member

Andrew Dane, PhD

Team Member

Andrew Dane, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Brock University with research interests in aggression, bullying, peer victimization, and prosocial behaviour.

Eric Duku, PhD

Team Member

Eric Duku, PhD

Team Member

Dr. Eric Duku is a member of the Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, and his research focuses on research into the determinants of inequalities in early child development, and the factors associated with optimal child development.

Ann Farrell, PhD

Team Member

Ann Farrell, PhD

Team Member

Ann Farrell, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Child and Youth Studies at Brock University with research interests in youth development, bullying, mental health, and statistical analyses.

Katholiki Georgiades, PhD

Team Member

Katholiki Georgiades, PhD

Team Member

Dr. Katholiki Georgiades holds the David R. (Dan) Offord Chair in Child Studies and is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University and the Offord Centre for Child Studies. Her program of work seeks to improve child and vouth mental health and reduce inequities in access to effective mental health care.

Gary Goldfield, PhD

Team Member

Gary Goldfield, PhD

Team Member

Dr. Goldfield is a clinical psychologist, Senior Scientist at the CHEO Research Institute and Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, and cross-appointed to Schools of Psychology, Human Kinetics, and Population Health at UOttawa. His research focuses on behavioural determinants, treatments and prevention of obesity and mental health conditions in children and youth.

Scott Leatherdale, PhD

Team Member

Scott Leatherdale, PhD

Team Member

Dr. Scott Leatherdale, Professor in the School of Public Health Sciences and University Research Chair at the University of Waterloo, developed and lead the COMPASS System; the world’s largest and most comprehensive youth-focused prevention learning system.

Harriet MacMillan, MD

Team member

Harriet MacMillan, MD

Team member

Harriet MacMillan, CM, MD, MSc, FRCPC, is a retired psychiatrist and pediatrician who conducted family violence research for more than three decades and is now a Distinguished University Professor (Emerita) in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences and of Pediatrics at McMaster University.

Sachin Maharaj, PhD

Team Member

Sachin Maharaj, PhD

Team Member

Sachin Maharaj, PhD (Toronto), is an assistant professor of Educational Leadership, Policy and Program Evaluation at the University of Ottawa. His research focuses on student technology use in schools, the work of school boards/districts, teacher unions, and the equity implications of school choice.

Karen Patte, PhD

Team member

Karen Patte, PhD

Team member

Dr. Patte is the Canada Research Chair in Child Health Equity and Inclusion and an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Brock University.

Debra Pepler, PhD

Team Member

Debra Pepler, PhD

Team Member

Debra Pepler, a Distinguished Research Professor at York University, Officer of the Order of Canada, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, has spent over four decades conducting groundbreaking research on bullying, aggression, and healthy relationships in children.

Nicole Racine, PhD

Team Member

Nicole Racine, PhD

Team Member

Dr. Nicole Racine is an assistant professor at uOttawa, scientist at the CHEO Research Institute, and holds the CHEO Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health.

John Ranellucci, PhD

Team Member

John Ranellucci, PhD

Team Member

John Ranellucci is an Associate Professor in Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa. His research interests focus on antecedents and outcomes of achievement motivation among students and teachers.

Paula Robeson, RN

Team Member

Paula Robeson, RN

Team Member

Paula is a registered nurse and has been a certified knowledge mobilization professional since 2004. She modernized and continues to provide strategic leadership to improve Children's Healthcare Canada's SPARK knowledge mobilization (KMb) program.

Maria Rogers, PhD

Team Member

Maria Rogers, PhD

Team Member

Dr. Maria A. Rogers, Tier II Canada Research Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health at Carleton University, studies learning and school outcomes for youth with neurodevelopmental and mental health difficulties, bridging the disciplines of Psychology and Education.

Kevin Runions, PhD

Team Member

Kevin Runions, PhD

Team Member

Dr. Runions (PhD, Human Development & Education, UToronto) studies children’s social and emotional wellbeing, focusing on issues like bullying and school-based prevention efforts, and leads research and monitoring for School Mental Health Ontario.

Kanika Samuels-Wortley, PhD

Team Member

Kanika Samuels-Wortley, PhD

Team Member

Dr. Kanika Samuels-Wortley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology and Justice at Ontario Tech University. Her research explores the intersection of race, racism, victimization, and the criminal justice system.

Kathy Short, PhD

Team Member

Kathy Short, PhD

Team Member

Dr. Kathy Short is the Executive Director for School Mental Health Ontario, a provincial implementation team supporting the uptake and sustainability of evidence-informed mental health promotion and prevention programming in schools.

Peter Szatmari, MD

Team Member

Peter Szatmari, MD

Team Member

Dr. Szatmari is a child and youth psychiatrist and Director of the Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), a research centre dedicated to discovery, dissemination and global leadership in the field of child and youth depression.

Kimberley Tsujimoto, PhD

Team member

Kimberley Tsujimoto, PhD

Team member

Kimberley Tsujimoto, PhD, OCT, is a Research Associate in Neurosciences and Mental Health at the Hospital for Sick Children studying school-based supports for child and youth mental health, to inform policies and practices at the intersection of health and education.

Irene Vitoroulis, PhD

Team Member

Irene Vitoroulis, PhD

Team Member

Irene Vitoroulis is an Assistant Professor in Psychology at uOttawa, and interested in the prevalence and impact of general and ethnic bullying on migrant and racialized adolescents' outcomes.

Anthony Volk, PhD

Team Member

Anthony Volk, PhD

Team Member

Anthony Volk is a professor of Child and Youth Studies at Brock University. His work seeks to understand the development of prosocial and antisocial behavior and personality from an adaptive perspective.

Gita Wahi, MD

Team member

Gita Wahi, MD

Team member

Dr. Gita Wahi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at McMaster University and a Pediatrician at McMaster Children’s Hospital.

Jess Whitley, PhD

Team member

Jess Whitley, PhD

Team member

Jess Whitley is a Professor of Inclusive Education and University Research Chair in Inclusion, Mental Health and School Attendance in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa.

Student Members

Kamilla Bonnesen, PhD

post-doc student

Kamilla Bonnesen, PhD

post-doc student

Dr. Kamilla Bonnesen is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and epidemiologist for the HPRS. Her research utilizes advanced quantitative methodologies to examine the social and structural determinants of adolescent well-being.

Olivia Cooke, MPH

PhD student

Olivia Cooke, MPH

PhD student

Olivia Cooke is a PhD student in Education under the supervision of Dr. Vaillancourt and a research assistant on the HPRS. Her research focuses on indirect aggression and social media friendship jealousy.

Sarah Hobson, MA

PhD student

Sarah Hobson, MA

PhD student

Sarah is a M.A. (Ed) Counselling Psychology student under the supervision of Dr. Vaillancourt and a research assistant on the HPRS. Her research interests include aggression/violence as well as within group and intersectional differences in sexually and gender diverse mental health.

Aly Julien, MD

PhD student

Aly Julien, MD

PhD student

Aly Julien, MD, is a PhD student in Education at uOttawa. His research interests include the intersection of health and education, with a focus on Black communities, neurodivergent individuals, and the training and well-being of healthcare professionals.

Hossein Kalati, PhD

post-doc student

Hossein Kalati, PhD

post-doc student

Hossein Kalati is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at uOttawa. His research interests include educational equity, student well-being, learning loss, and the impact of social and contextual factors on academic achievement.

Maxime Lebeau, BCom

MA student

Maxime Lebeau, BCom

MA student

Maxime Lebeau is an MA student in communication at uOttawa. He is responsible for communications related to large-scale, high-impact research initiatives, including the HPRS.

Hadas Nir, MA

PhD student

Hadas Nir, MA

PhD student

Hadas Nir is an international Ph.D student in education at uOttawa. Her research interests focus on bullying, peer relations, and youth mental health.

Jonah Zwaigenbaum, BScN

MA student

Jonah Zwaigenbaum, BScN

MA student

Jonah Zwaigenbaum is a graduate student in Counselling Psychology at uOttawa. His research interests include preventative mental health care, school rules, and child development.

About the HPRS

We aim to monitor Ontario students in Grade 4 to 12 to provide accurate reports to schools and the school boards so that timely evidence-based decisions can be made to help promote health, reduce violence, and improve school climate.

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Address
uOttawa, Faculty of Education
145 Jean-Jacques Lussier Pvt.,
Ottawa ON, K1N 6N5
Email
healthpeerrelations@uottawa.ca

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