Dr. Jitender Sareen is part of a group of eight university psychiatry chairs who wrote to federal ministers and urged the committee not to expand MAID to include mental illness.

Sareen said practice standards to guide psychiatrists and clinicians are inadequate, and Canada is lagging behind other countries in mental health and addictions funding.

“Offering death when the person has not had the opportunity to get better, with or without treatment, is, in our opinion, not acceptable,” said Sareen, a professor and head of the department of psychiatry at the University of Manitoba.

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Proponents of the expansion, set for March 17, maintain that providing MAID to people with an incurable physical illness without giving the same right to those with an irremediable mental illness amounts to discrimination on the basis of a disability. Critics counter that there is insufficient evidence to predict whether or not someone will recover from a mental illness.

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Sareen said guidance is also lacking on how or whether doctors can distinguish between someone who is actively suicidal and someone who is making a rational request for MAID but who isn’t in a period of crisis.

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CRCs are world leaders in their field funded by the Government of Canada in the areas of natural sciences and engineering, health sciences, and social sciences and humanities. “These symposia were a wonderful opportunity for researchers to get to know each other’s specialties, and to spark new collaborations with students and the wider community,” says Mario Pinto, Vice-President (Research and International). “I thank all the CRCs for their groundbreaking contributions to address the issues faced by society today.”

This thought-provoking look at current UM research is available to view online, each featuring a brief presentation from the gathered CRCs followed by a question-and-answer period with the audience.

CRC Symposium 1, February 2, 2023 – Fort Garry Campus

Featuring presentations from: Heather Armstrong, Chair in Integrative Bioscience; Guozhen Zhu, Chair in Mechanical and Functional Design of Nanostructured Materials; Trust Beta, Chair in Grain-Based Functional Foods; Eric Collins, Chair in Arctic Marine Microbial Ecosystem Services; Britt Drögemöller, Chair in Pharmacogenomics & Precision Medicine; Ned Budisa, Chair in Chemical Synthetic Biology and Xenobiology; Lori Wilkinson, Chair in Migration Futures; Jason Kindrachuk, Chair in Epidemiology and Global Public Health; Sabine Mai, Chair in Genomic Instability and Nuclear Architecture in Cancer; Jörg Stetefeld, Chair in Structural Biology and Biophysics; Carl Ho, Chair in Efficient Utilization of Electric Power; and Nandika Bandara, Chair in Food Proteins.

CRC Symposium 2, February 27, 2023 – Bannatyne Campus

Featuring presentations from: Tracie Afifi, Chair in Childhood Adversity and Resilience; Robert Lorway, Chair in Global Intervention Politics and Social Transformation; Janilyn Arsenio, Chair in Systems Biology of Chronic Inflammation; Puyan Mojabi, Chair in Electromagnetic Inversion for Characterization and Design; Annette Desmarais, Chair in Human Rights, Social Justice and Food Sovereignty; Zulma Rueda, Chair in Program Sciences & Global Public Health; and Kathryn Sibley, Chair in Integrated Knowledge Translation in Rehabilitation Sciences.

CRC Symposium 3, March 28, 2023 – Fort Garry Campus

Featuring presentations from: Ties Boerma, Chair in Population and Global Health; Kiera Ladner, Chair in Miyo we’citowin, Indigenous Governance & Digital Sovereignties; Rotimi Aluko, Chair in Bioactive Peptides; Zahra Moussavi, Chair in Biomedical Engineering; Terry Klassen, Chair in Clinical Trials; and Galen Wright, Chair in Neurogenomics.

CRC Symposium 4, April 24, 2023 – Bannatyne Campus

Featuring presentations from: Lisa Lix, Chair in Methods for Electronic Health Data Quality; John Ataguba, Chair in Health Economics; Nicole Wilson, Chair in Arctic Environmental Change and Governance; Lorrie Kirshenbaum, Chair in Molecular Cardiology; Meghan Azad, Chair in Developmental Origins of Chronic Disease; and Kristine Cowley, Chair in Function and Health after Spinal Cord Injury.

CRC Symposium 5, May 16, 2023 – Fort Garry Campus

Featuring presentations from: Kristina Brown, Chair in Arctic Marine Biogeochemistry; Nicole Rosen, Chair in Language Interactions; Robert Mizzi, Chair in Queer, Community & Diversity Education; Samar Safi-Harb, Chair in Extreme Astrophysics; and Susan Logue, Chair in Cell Stress and Inflammation.

CRC Symposium 6, June 19, 2023 – Bannatyne Campus

Featuring presentations from: Andrew Halayko, Chair in Chronic Lung Disease Pathobiology and Treatment; Colin Gilmore, Chair in Applied Electromagnetic Inversion; James Blanchard, Chair in Epidemiology and Global Public Health; Marcelo Urquia, Chair in Applied Population Health; and Souradet Shaw, Chair in Program Science & Global Public Health.

Café Scientifique brings experts together with non-researchers for a discussion about the questions their work has raised for a non-research audience. Café is sponsored by the office of the vice-president (research and international) VPRIO and is a part of the Learning for Life Network.

“Our Café presentations this year were an engaging and insightful look into some of the extraordinary research breakthroughs that take place every day at UM,” says Annemieke Farenhorst, associate vice-president (research). “Researchers are working to improve the lives of people in our communities, and Café is a wonderful opportunity to share this progress with the public. I want to extend my gratitude to the researchers and content experts who presented this year, as well as everyone who joined us and asked questions in-person and online.”

All Café Scientifique presentations are permanently featured on the University of Manitoba Youtube channel:

Technology for Healthcare Service and Public Input, Feb.22, 2023 – Understanding patient experiences, perspectives, and outcomes is critical to improving healthcare services and how it is delivered. Today, input from patients informs new developments in technology that provide a more person-centered and accessible healthcare experience for all.

Featuring UM researchers: Alanna Baldwin, Gayle Halas, Jennifer Henzel, and special guest Sarah Kirby from the George & Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation.

Time is Brain: Preventing, Treating, and Recovering from Stroke, March 15, 2023 – As part of International Brain Awareness Week and in conjunction with the Manitoba Neuroscience Network, UM researchers highlighted new methods to identify those at highest risk, and innovative rehabilitation techniques to help patients recover from stroke, third leading cause of death in Canada.

Featuring UM researchers: Jillian Stobart, Jai Shankar, Amir Ravandi, & Ruth Barclay.

Racism and COVID-19: Understanding Racism during the pandemic in Canada, USA and Mexico, March 29, 2023 – During the COVID-19 pandemic, an international team of researchers led by experts at the University of Manitoba examined conditions that contributed to a rise of racism across North America.

Featuring UM researchers: Lori Wilkinson, Jeremy Patzer & Kiera Ladner.

Wellbeing in Youth: Supporting Teens with Higher Body Weight, April 26, 2023 – Teens with higher body weights face a significant risk of mental health difficulties, due to the complex intersections of weight-related stigma and other related adversities.

Featuring UM researchers: Leslie Roos, Jon McGavock, Emily Cameron, and special guest Mae Santos, Registered Dietitian.

Windows on the Universe, May 10, 2023 – We have entered a new era where astrophysicists and nuclear physicists can work in concert to piece together the puzzles that astrophysical observations present. Physicists and astronomers are exploring new frontiers in understanding the ultra-small and mega-large in this next era of precision astrophysics.

Featuring UM researchers: Kyle Shiells, Juliette Mammei, Samar Safi-Harb, and special guest Jorge Piekarewicz from Florida State University.

On a Shaky Podium, May 24, 2023 – To address recent allegations of abuse in sporting organizations in Canada, organizations receiving funding from Sport Canada must provide Safe Sport Training to help prevent maltreatment in sport. This extensive toxicity led Canada’s federal Minister of Sport to declare that we are experiencing a safe sport crisis. UM experts are working from legal, pedagogical, psychological, and sociological perspectives to make sport safe(r) for all Canadians.

Featuring UM researchers: Sarah Teetzel, Martine Dennie, Shannon Moore, Lori Wilkinson & Leisha Strachan.

Join us again for the next Café Scientifique season, planned to begin in November 2023.

Dr. Ji Hyun Ko, associate professor of human anatomy and cell science at the Max Rady College of Medicine, and his team plan to study the effects of non-invasive brain stimulation on participants enrolled in UM’s cognitive behavioural therapy with mindfulness (CBTm) class.

Dr. Ji Hyun Ko

CBTm is a five-week online class used to treat Manitobans with mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. The UM-run class covers areas like mindfulness, goal setting and realistic thinking. 

This research builds off one of the team’s previous studies. The team found the CBTm class increased the connections between two key brain regions – the posterior cingulate cortex and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex – of the study’s participants.

“Using an MRI, we identified key brain regions that seem to be important in explaining the benefit of cognitive behaviour therapy,” said Ko, the study’s principal investigator. “The connections between the two regions were improved after treatment and it seemed to be important for participants’ symptom reduction.”

The two brain regions play an important role in regulating self-referential memory and mindfulness, Ko said. Now, the team believes they can further boost the effects of cognitive behavioural therapy if they increase the connectivity between the two brain regions using non-invasive brain stimulation, called high definition transcranial direct current stimulation.

When someone is taking the CBTm class, they are practicing mindfulness and working on cognitive skill exercises. Ko said this strengthens the connectivity between the two brain regions, and if they introduce brain stimulation, this could further improve the results.

“When you’re training your muscles, if you have some assisted device like a weight, it can further improve your strength,” Ko said. “We believe this can be done using brain stimulation.”  

The study’s team members include co-principal investigators Dr. Shay-Lee Bolton, assistant professor of psychiatry and community health sciences, and Dr. Marcus Ng, associate professor of internal medicine. Dr. Jitender Sareen, professor and head of psychiatry, and Dr. Natalie Mota, associate professor of clinical health psychology, are collaborators on the study.

The project is a pilot study with a sample size of 30 people. The study participants will take part in the five-week CBTm class, and will undergo the brain stimulation each day on the Bannatyne campus.

“If the brain stimulation works, then we will have to think about how to make it more accessible because the stimulation device is pretty expensive,” Ko said. “If successful, the study will provide a novel approach to further enhance the clinical benefit of CBTm.”

Dr. Afifi studies the long-term physical and mental health effects of child maltreatment. Her goal is to help parents change their behaviour to promote healthy child development and well-being. Over the last 10 years she has created an innovative research program aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect, fostering resilience, and improving mental health.

She founded the Childhood Adversity and Resilience (CARe) Research team at UM, one of the most original and innovative research programs on child maltreatment and health worldwide, and is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Childhood Adversity and Resilience.

“Working in the area of child maltreatment, resilience and mental health can be difficult,” Dr. Afifi says. “But it’s important to provide better ways to respond when children and families need help. If we can intervene early and effectively, we can change the trajectory of a child’s life.”

Dr. Afifi’s work has informed health policy and legislative changes at the national and international levels, and led to collaborations with a number of prominent organizations. She serves on the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) advisory committee for the Canadian Reported Child Maltreatment Surveillance System and has been an invited external expert at the World Health Organization (WHO) Milestones meetings in a Global Campaign for Violence Prevention since 2015.

In 2019, she was an invited participant to the Finding our Path Toward Childhood Free from Violence in a Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children hosted by UNICEF Canada, and she is also a frequent collaborator with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States to study adverse childhood experiences. Her work with the CDC resulted in the 2017 Child Abuse & Neglect publication that won article of the year (out of 238 manuscripts) in the International Journal Child Abuse & Neglect.

A prolific author, Dr. Afifi has published 161 peer-reviewed journal publications and presented research at 160 national and international conferences. She also adopts innovative methods of sharing her research findings with a broader audience, including social media, infographics and her own website with easy-to-understand descriptions of her research and links to free open access academic publications.

“I was overwhelmed when I received the news that I had been selected for this award,” says Dr. Afifi. “It is so important to recognize the achievements of women in Canada, and for my work to be recognized among them is a true honour.”

Dr. Afifi has been recognized with numerous awards and prizes, including the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children “Children’s Rights Support Award,” the 2016 CBC Manitoba Future 40 award, the Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize for Mental Health Research, the Alexander Leighton Award and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Gold Leaf Prize for an Early Investigator, one of the highest honours given to an individual for excellence in health research and its translation into benefits for Canadians.

This year, seven UM community members have been named to the WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada.

Nearly two-thirds of Canadians 65 years of age and older are receiving five or more different prescription drugs, which can increase the risk of side effects and interactions, leading to patient burden, morbidity and hospitalizations.

Join us on Oct. 29 to learn about the latest research on the use of medication and potential harm, while we discuss how research can drive advancement of clinical knowledge and improve patient care of older adults.

Café Scientifique – Polypharmacy: Are we overmedicating older Canadians?

Oct. 29  – 7 p.m.
McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg

Moderator: Dr. I fan Kuo
Assistant Professor, College of Pharmacy, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

Panelists:

Dr. Silvia Alessi-Severini
Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

Dr. Jamie Falk
Assistant Professor, College of Pharmacy; Family Medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

Dr. Christine Leong
Assistant Professor, College of Pharmacy; Psychiatry, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba; Clinical Pharmacist, Family Medical Centre

To assist in planning seating, RSVP to: Research_Communications@umanitoba.ca or call 204-474-6689.

Jennifer Hensel, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Max Rady College of Medicine in the U of M’s Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, has been awarded the Gerry McDole Professorship to carry out the study.

She will implement a pilot project using remote communication strategies to connect adult patients with psychiatric and other mental health support, with the goal of scaling up this solution across rural Manitoba.

Manitobans in rural and remote communities have much more limited access to psychiatric consultation and other mental health services than urban dwellers, says Hensel, a practising psychiatrist who recently joined the U of M from the University of Toronto. 

“Virtual care strategies, such as videoconferencing between patient and psychiatrist via the MBTeleHealth secure network, offer great potential to create more equitable access,” says Hensel, who has been appointed medical director of adult telemental health services by the U of M psychiatry department.

“These strategies could improve the quality of care and mental health outcomes for individuals living in rural Manitoba.”

The Gerry McDole Professorship in Improved Healthcare Delivery to Rural, Remote and Underserved Populations of Manitoba, valued at $50,000 per year, is presented to a new faculty member in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences for research in health service delivery and/or health policy development. The award term is three years.

The professorship is funded through a U of M endowment of $1 million made by AstraZeneca Canada Inc., honouring the 2003 retirement of Gerald (Gerry) McDole as president of the company. McDole, a Manitoban who earned a bachelor of science degree at the U of M, understood the unique challenges of delivering health care to rural and remote populations of Manitoba.

“Each individual’s health-care journey is different, and your care is impacted by where you live. In many regions across the country, health-care issues faced by smaller, more remote communities are acute and require urgent attention,” says Dr. Neil Maresky, vice president, scientific affairs at AstraZeneca Canada.

“That’s why we’re proud to support important projects that help close the gap in care, such as Dr. Hensel’s pilot project using remote communication strategies to provide adult patients with psychiatric support.”

Brian Postl, dean of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences and vice-provost (health sciences), says one of the Rady Faculty’s priorities is to conduct research that translates into better health-care delivery for all Manitobans. “Dr. Hensel’s project furthers that mandate by studying ways to reduce barriers faced by those in underserved communities,” says Postl.

Virtual care is one of Hensel’s key research interests. She describes herself as an early adopter of e-psychiatry and e-mental health (also known as telepsychiatry and telemental health) and has conducted research on virtual care’s effectiveness in Ontario.

“Studies have shown that it is equally effective to in-person visits for the assessment and treatment of mental disorders, including serious mental illnesses like mood and psychotic disorders,” she says.

The Manitoba pilot project will test virtual care strategies in a small number of rural settings, including remote Indigenous communities. The services will be developed in consultation with local health-care providers and users, Hensel says.

The research team will gather feedback and modify the services during the pilot project. Services will be evaluated based on patients’ experience of care, provider satisfaction, population health outcomes and costs to the health-care system.

As part of the project, Hensel will develop a residency training opportunity to expose future psychiatrists to virtual care delivery.

She hopes to receive further funding to sustain the successful virtual care services and expand them to more communities.

Manitoba Opera decided to team up with Mood Disorders of Manitoba to promote discussion about the issue at a panel on Wednesday at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Titled Mental Illness, Suicide and the Media, the discussion featured panelists Dr. James Bolton of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba; Tara Brousseau Snider, executive director of Mood Disorders of Manitoba; and guest speakers Corinna Voth and Chelsea Hertzog, speaking about the power of music in healing and recovery.