The Koerner Centre for Research Training offers a number of resources and supports to research trainees. The aim of these initiatives is to support the next generation of leaders in mental health and substance use – through building key knowledge and skills within a dynamic community of learning. All initiatives are informed by current best practices in adult education and centred on the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion. Ongoing feedback and evaluation ensures that initiatives are responsive to the evolving needs of trainees.
Current resources and supports include:
Research Training Mentorship Program
Research Trainee Community of Interest
Research Trainee Seminar Series
Trainee Coffee & Writing Drop-in Café
Other resources include competency-based training in key topics such as sex-and-gender-based analyses plus (SGBA+), knowledge translation and exchange, and data science in research. Training complements existing university programs and addresses gaps in critical areas of research.
Trainee Mentorship Program
The Trainee Mentorship Program is a year-long program offering 1-on-1 meetings and quarterly events for mentees to facilitate career development. The meetings and events provide trainees with the opportunity to receive professional advice, network and develop goals.
The mentorship program allows mentors and mentees to interact 1-on-1, up to once per month, to discuss goals, advice, professional development, networking and progress. The program offers formally organized events in career-planning, grant-writing, leadership, professional development, and work-life balance and wellness.
The program hosts various speakers to further educate mentees on research topics, provide networking opportunities and enhance professional portfolios. Program events cover topics such as equity, diversity and inclusion in research, grant-writing, research with Indigenous Peoples, research organization tips and tricks, and career-planning.
Why participate?
For mentors, the program offers the opportunity to strengthen mentorship and leadership skills, as well as their understanding of available training and resources, which can ultimately enable career growth. Mentors may also expand their professional network by participating in program meetings and events.
Mentees will receive valuable advice and support on how to work toward their research career and professional goals. Mentees will also benefit from increasing their expertise and confidence in research practices through various training sessions. Finally, mentees can expand their professional contacts through networking sessions, ultimately supporting their career growth.
Quotes:
"This program connected me with a mentor who I would have never had the courage to reach out to on my own. We had wonderful monthly chats which always gave me just a little sprinkle of confidence to step out of my comfort zone. I loved meeting with my mentor and having the peace of mind knowing he was always reachable and happy to meet."
- Isabella Chawrun
"I would like to thank you for this amazing opportunity. I've learned so much from different researchers and their experiences; this definitely contributed to my personal growth and will help me in my career. No less importantly, I felt safe and embraced by other trainees and by my mentor, and I was able to share things about my professional trajectory in science that I had never talked about before.
- Ana-Paula Silva
"My goal for this mentorship program as a final year PhD candidate was to get a better understanding of what could be next for me career-wise. I am thankful to have had a mentor that was thorough, honest, and very knowledgeable of the wide range of career opportunities in research and how to best navigate these next milestones."
- Julia Tomasi
This program connected me with a mentor who I would have never had the courage to reach out to on my own. We had wonderful monthly chats which always gave me just a little sprinkle of confidence to step out of my comfort zone. I loved meeting with my mentor and having the peace of mind knowing he was always reachable and happy to meet.
Isabella Chawrun
Community of Interest
The Community of Interest includes an online platform for sharing resources, tools, milestones and accolades, as well as events on key topics in health research. Past events have welcomed internal and external speakers on topics such as sex and sex hormones in mental health; equity, diversity and inclusivity; Indigenous health; innovation and commercialization; healthcare ethics; patient and family engagement in research; grant proposal writing; career options outside academia; and reproducibility in research.
Purpose
Our goal is to foster an environment where research trainees and the broader CAMH research community can openly share and disseminate knowledge, while supporting learner recruitment, retention, productivity and wellness. We aim to increase linkages with local, national and international learner groups, and help address barriers to success, foster connections through informal networking opportunities and build a sense of community and belonging, which may aid in retention of learners from underrepresented groups.
How does it work?
While targeted to research trainees, our Community of Interest is open to the entire CAMH community and encourages open discussion among those who share a common interest in research. The Community of Interest provides opportunities to share knowledge and resources to support peer review and navigation of educational and career transitions, and the exchange of ideas, networking and collaboration.
"Excellent, exemplary talk. The speaker was personable and responsive while also delivering useful, nuanced information that gave me new things to think about and practical steps to take. Well-moderated by the organizers. Thank you."- Community of interest attendees
Excellent, exemplary talk. The speaker was personable and responsive while also delivering useful, nuanced information that gave me new things to think about and practical steps to take. Well-moderated by the organizers. Thank you.
Community of Interest attendees
Trainee Seminar Series
The Trainee Seminar Series provides trainees with an opportunity to showcase their research through seminars, rapid talks and panel discussions with peers and colleagues from across CAMH. The seminars facilitate cross-institutional connections and inform CAMH researchers of the unique research occurring across CAMH’s various centres, groups and divisions.
Competency-based training
Competency-based training offered by the centre addresses gaps in CAMH training programs for trainees and instructors. The training specifically targets priority areas identified by funding agencies, and ensures learners are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to conduct high-impact health research. Topics include engagement in research, sex-and-gender-based analysis, data science, and knowledge mobilization.
Past and Present Trainee Spotlights
Research Training at CAMH has a track record of providing growth and opportunities for research trainees, setting up trainees for success for a career in research. The following current and past trainees are examples of achieving research excellence in various areas of psychology, with more featured trainees here.
Sierra Anna-Maria Codeluppi
I am a 4th-year PhD student with a Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Guelph in Neuroscience and Philosophy. I am currently working in the Neurobiology of Depression and Aging lab group under the supervision of Dr. Mounira Banasr. Her work focuses on preclinical models of chronic stress and depression. More specifically, her interest is in astroglial dysfunction in chronic stress and depression.
My advice to new trainees just starting in research is to learn as much as you can. Constantly ask questions and inquire why. Sometimes it is hard when you feel like you know less than everyone else in the room but we all feel like that at times and you will never learn if you don't ask. I feel very lucky to work in an environment where I can always ask for help!
Davide Momi
I hold a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of G. d’Annunzio and have had the privilege of being a visiting PhD at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, supervised by the Whole Brain Modelling Group and Dr. Griffiths. My expertise encompasses a wide range of areas within neuroscience, including multimodal neuroimaging, electrophysiology, brain stimulation and whole-brain modeling. My primary research focus revolves around simulating brain dynamics and predicting outcomes of brain stimulation using multimodal data at a whole-brain modeling scale, with direct implications for clinical applications.
What I find most fulfilling in my research journey is the opportunity to mentor and collaborate with students. Engaging in brainstorming sessions and sharing knowledge with them brings me immense joy. Witnessing their growth and success in their research endeavors is truly gratifying and further ignites my passion for mentoring and for supporting my personal improvement as a person and neuroscientist.
Eunice Chen
I am currently pursuing a Master’s of Science in pharmacology at the University of Toronto and working under the supervision of Dr. Laurie Zawertailo in the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Nicotine Dependence Service, at CAMH. My research focus involves gaining deeper insights into nicotine addiction and investigating the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation as an intervention. What I find most rewarding in research is the process itself, which allows me to develop critical thinking skills, gain practical experience and collaborate with experts in my field of interest.
I personally love the research trainee program since my mentor has not only helped me with skill-set building and career planning but, most importantly, with personal growth. The things I have learned from her are invaluable.
Ramzi Halabi
I am a Postdoctoral Fellow with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering, and a PhD in signal-processing. I am pursuing research at the General Adult Psychiatry and Health Systems Division, supervised by Dr. Abigail Ortiz. I hold certifications in neural engineering, signal-processing and machine learning. I've received several research awards and co-authored a number of publications. I am the co-founder and CTO of a startup leading the design of a wearable, non-invasive glucometer.
My current research focuses on the analysis and modeling of mental illness trajectories using wearable sensor data (e.g., activity, sleep) in remote clinical studies. I am developing and implementing novel digital signal-processing and machine-learning algorithms for onset detection and early prediction of mood episodes in bipolar disorder.
Karolin Krause
I am a postdoctoral research fellow with the Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression under the supervision of Dr. Peter Szatmari. I received my PhD in Evidence-Based Child Mental Health Research from University College London (UK) in 2020. We recently published a commentary in Lancet Psychiatry. Following the publication, the commentary had quite a bit of traction on X (formerly Twitter), from many researchers outside my specific area of research. It was nice to see that what we observed for child and youth depression research could also be relevant in other fields.
My advice to beginning research trainees is to try to work in environments where you feel supported and respected, with supervisors, mentors and colleagues who can be role models to you, both on a personal and professional level. I believe such interpersonal aspects are critical for developing as a researcher and as a person, and for persevering in the face of challenges.
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