Congratulations to all the APEAL students who participated in the uOttawa School of Epidemiology and Public Health annual Student Research Day! A particular bravo goes out to PhD Student Shannon Thompson, whose presentation on mental health outcomes of adolescent sexual victimization won first place in the PhD competition. Way to go, Shannon!
The Applied Psychiatric Epidemiology Across the Life course Lab (APEAL Lab), directed by Dr. Ian Colman, is seeking applicants for a PhD in Epidemiology in the area of child and youth mental health. Specific doctoral research topics could include working with data on the mental health of children in Canada, Norway, the U.K., and/or Brazil. International research visits may be possible. The position is funded for up to four years of study.
Note that applicants to the PhD in Epidemiology program at the University of Ottawa must have a master’s degree in epidemiology or a closely related discipline: https://catalogue.uottawa.ca/en/graduate/doctorate-philosophy-epidemiology/#Admissiontext
The PhD student will study under the supervision of Dr. Ian Colman at the APEAL Lab, in an enriching, supportive, and inclusive environment. The student will be expected to have the opportunity to publish multiple first-author papers, to present at conferences, and collaborate with other lab members on non-thesis research. Opportunities to gain teaching experience will be available.
Interested candidates should express interest by contacting Dr. Colman at icolman@uottawa.ca, and include a CV, transcripts, a sample of their writing, and the names of two individuals who can provide a reference.
The Applied Psychiatric Epidemiology Across the Life course Lab (APEAL Lab), directed by Dr. Ian Colman, is seeking applicants for a two-year post-doctoral fellowship, commencing in January, 2022. The fellow will conduct research on factors associated with suicide attempt in the 1993 Pelotas Birth Cohort. The 1993 Pelotas Birth Cohort comprises more than 4,000 individuals who have been followed since their birth in 1993 in Pelotas, Brazil (more details can be found at https://www.epidemio-ufpel.org.br/site/content/coorte_1993-en/index.php). This project is funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Requirements include experience in the area of child and youth mental health, with an emphasis on psychiatric epidemiology. Candidates with a PhD (or defence scheduled in the coming months) related to public health, epidemiology, quantitative psychology or similar are invited to apply.
The postdoctoral fellow will work under the supervision of Dr. Ian Colman at the APEAL Lab, in an enriching, supportive, and inclusive environment. Applicants wishing to work from a remote location will be considered. The postdoctoral fellow will be expected to publish multiple first-author papers, and to become involved in grant preparation, data analysis, and knowledge translation activities. The fellow may have the opportunity to visit Pelotas for a research stay.
Interested candidates should express interest by contacting Dr. Colman at icolman@uottawa.ca as soon as possible, and follow with their CV, research statement with summary of doctoral research and interests for future research, selected publications, and two reference letters.
Congratulations to APEAL’s latest graduate, Dr. Hugues Sampasa-Kanyinga. Hugues successfully defended his PhD dissertation, titled “Sleep duration, sedentary behaviour, physical activity, depression, and other mental health outcomes among children and adolescents”. Way to go, Hugues!
Congrats to recent APEAL graduate Nathan Cantor, whose first-author paper “Factors associated with driving after cannabis use in high school students” was accepted for publication in Preventive Medicine. The paper, based on data from the 2017 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, examined adolescents’ attitudes about cannabis use as predictors of driving after using cannabis. Notably, low perceived risk of cannabis use was associated with greater likelihood of driving under the influence of cannabis.
Congratulations to APEAL PhD candidate Zahra Clayborne, whose presentation Prenatal Maternal Stress, Child Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms, and the Moderating Role of Parenting won first prize at the School of Epidemiology and Public Health Student Research Day. Way to go Zahra!
New APEAL research, published in Computers in Human Behavior, suggests that different ways of using social media may be associated with mental health in different ways. The paper, authored by APEAL members Mila Kingsbury, Ian Colman, and Nathan Cantor, in conjunction with colleagues in Norway and New Zealand, finds that using social media privately to connect with friends is associated with reduced odds of suicidality and self-injurious behaviour, whereas using social media publicly (e.g., posting updates) is associated with increased odds of these outcomes. Well done, team!
Congratulations to APEAL PhD Candidate Hugues Sampasa-Kanyinga, who has recently published two papers on the links between adolescents’ adherence to Canada’s 24-hour movement guidelines and their mental health.The papers, published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry and the Journal of Adolescent Health, report that adolescents who met Canada’s 24-hour movement guidelines had lower internalizing problems, externalizing problems, depression, and anxiety than those who did not meet the recommendations.
Congratulations to APEAL graduate Shaezeen Syed, whose research has been published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. Her paper, ‘Adolescents’ knowledge of a peer’s non-suicidal self-injury and own non-suicidal self-injury and suicidality’ examines the contagion hypothesis for non-suicidal self-injury, with results suggesting that awareness of a friend’s self-injury is associated with adolescents’ own self-injury and suicidal behaviour. Great work, Shae!
With students and staff struggling to keep up morale during the pandemic, APEAL lab director Ian Colman organized a virtual event to boost everyone’s spirits. An evening of virtual trivia was just what the Professor ordered! The scores were so tight, we declared everyone a winner!
