Our research team is comprised of trainees and staff collaborating with a diverse group of researchers across Canada and around the globe.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Kelly Anderson
Director, Public Mental Health Research Group
Dr. Kelly Anderson is a Canada Research Chair in Public Mental Health Research, and an Associate Professor and Graduate Chair in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Western University. She received her PhD in Epidemiology from McGill University, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. Dr. Anderson is an Adjunct Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), as well as an Associate Scientist at the Children’s Health Research Institute and the Lawson Research Institute. She is the past recipient of an Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Science (2018), and a New Investigator Fellowship from the Ontario Mental Health Foundation (2015).
Dr. Anderson leads the Public Mental Health Research Group, and her research interests lie at the intersection of population health and health services research. She is interested in the risk, course, and outcome of mental illness for different population groups, as well as in the social determinants of health service access and utilization. She has a particular interest in the mental health of adolescents and young adults, and her research to date has typically focused on first-episode psychosis and early intervention services.
Dr. Anderson is a research leader on both the epidemiology of psychotic disorders, as well as health services research on early psychosis intervention. She is particularly skilled at identifying crucial questions of high clinical and public health relevance. This instinct for recognizing important research questions, combined with the vision and rigour she infuses into her research program, is leading to important breakthroughs in our understanding of the epidemiology of psychotic disorders and public health solutions.
Current Trainees
Joshua Wiener, PhD Student
Josh is a PhD candidate in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Western University under the supervision of Dr. Kelly Anderson. His doctoral thesis will explore the intersection of primary care and psychotic disorders, with respect to the role of family physicians in providing care to people after a first episode of psychosis in Ontario. He completed his Bachelor of Health Sciences at McMaster University, and has worked as clinical researcher in rehabilitation medicine, infectious diseases, and psychiatry. His current research interests include health services for mental illness, social determinants of mental health, and epidemiologic methods for causal inference.
Steve (Hun) Lee, PhD Student
Steve is a PhD candidate in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Western University under the supervision of Dr. Kelly Anderson and Dr. Dan Lizotte. He also holds a Master’s in Epidemiology, also from Western University, as well as a Master’s in Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences with a concentration in Economics from Columbia University. Additionally, he holds a Bachelor’s in Chemistry from McGill University. His doctoral thesis work will focus on a review of cluster analytic methods used in mental health research. His current research interests include health economics, Bayesian statistics, network analysis, machine learning, and mental health and mental health policy research.
Jared Wootten, PhD Student
Jared is currently pursuing his PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Western University. He completed a Bachelor’s in Biomedical Science at the University of Guelph in 2019, and a Master’s in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Western in 2021, under the supervision of Dr. Anderson. He is interested in the incidence and treatment of physical comorbidities among people with psychotic disorders.
Rebecca Rodrigues, PhD Student
Rebecca Rodrigues is a PhD student at Maastricht University under the supervision of Dr. Maurice Zeegers, Dr. Saverio Stranges, and Dr. Kelly Anderson, and the former research coordinator for the Public Mental Health Research Group. Her dissertation is focused on forensic hospitalizations among people with early psychosis. Rebecca also completed her MSc in epidemiology at Western University in 2017 under the supervision of Dr. Anderson, focusing on involuntary hospitalization in first-episode psychosis. She has worked on projects related to the role of primary care in early psychosis intervention, and the impact of cannabis legalization on psychotic disorder incidence and service use.
Jahin Khan, PhD Student
Jahin Ali Khan is a MSc. student interested in psychiatric epidemiology, language, and intersections between the social environment and health. She developed these interests while completing her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and English at the University of Toronto. In between her studies and thesis work under the mentorship of Dr. Anderson, Jahin likes to read, listen to podcasts, and visit parks.
Maliha Mamun, MSc Student
Maliha is a MSc student in epidemiology at Western University, and her thesis research is focused on the impact of cannabis legalization on psychotic disorders. She completed her BSc in Translational and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa. Her hobbies include hiking, nature sightseeing, and swimming.
Ramez Salama, MSc Student
Ramez is a MSc student in epidemiology at Western University, and his thesis research is using health administrative data to explore the association between adverse childhood experiences and the risk of psychotic disorders. He previously completed a BSc in Health Sciences at Wilfred Laurier University. Ramez enjoys the methodological and statistical portions of epidemiological research. His interests outside of his academic life include soccer, cars, and new technology.
Quiana Kumar, MSc Student
Quiana is a MSc Student in epidemiology at Western University. Her thesis research is focused on assessing unmet mental health needs among racialized immigrants in Canada. She previously completed a BSc at the University of Winnipeg double majoring in Biology and Human Rights. Her hobbies include exploring local coffee shops, spin, traveling, knitting and reading.
Diya Patel, MSc Student
Diya is a MSc student in epidemiology at Western University working under the co-supervision of Dr. Martin Rotenberg and Dr. Kelly Anderson. Her thesis is focused on the effects of ambient air temperature and on use of acute mental health services among people with psychotic disorders. Her interest in these topics developed while pursuing an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and Mental Health at Carleton University. When she’s not studying and doing thesis work, Diya likes to crochet, watch movies, and read.
Zachary Abraham, MSc Student
Zachary is a MSc student in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics program at Western University under the supervision of Dr. Kelly Anderson. He completed his BSc in Health Studies at the University of Waterloo in 2023, where he developed an interest for psychiatric epidemiology. Zach’s interests outside of research include cooking, sports, and motorcycles.
Ben (Yuelee) khoo, Medical Student
Ben is a second-year medical student at Western University. He is interested in mental health, from individual-level genetics to population-level epidemiology, as well as the research methods used in this field. He has previously obtained an MSc in Biostatistics from the University of Toronto and a BSc in Psychology from Western University. Under the mentorship of Dr. Kelly Anderson, he is examining the mental health of Canadian migrants using data from the 2022 Mental Health and Access to Care Survey.
Past Students
Tanvin Juneja, MSc (2023)
Thesis: Understanding the information needs of clients and caregivers regarding early psychosis: A conventional content analysis
Mikaela Wilson, BMSc (2023)
Thesis: Migrant status and psychosis: A systematic review of the pathways to care
Sarah Abdunnabi, MSc (Co-Supervision with Dr. Jason Gilliland, 2023)
Thesis: Social connectedness, adolescent mental health and well-being at the later stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed methods exploration
Abby Hensel, MSc (Co-Supervision with Dr. Noha Gomaa, 2023)
Thesis: Psychosocial stress and the oral-systemic health connection
Samina Idrees, MSc (Co-Supervision with Dr. Janice Tijssen, 2023)
Thesis: Sociodemographic factors and the risk of paediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
Brooke Carter, MSc (2022)
Thesis: Sex differences in the clinical presentation of early psychosis in a primary care setting
Jared Wootten, MSc (2021)
Thesis: Incidence of cancer and stage at diagnosis among people with recent-onset psychotic disorders
Rea Alonzo, MSc (Co-Supervision with Dr. Saverio Stranges, 2021)
Thesis: Interplay between shift work, psychological distress, sleep quality, and cognitive impairment
Olajumoke Ologundudu, MSc (Co-Supervision with Dr. Shehzad Ali, 2021)
Thesis: Risk stratification for treatment decisions in people at ultra-high risk for psychosis: A cost-effectiveness analysis
Eugene Law, MSc (2021) BMSc (2019)
Thesis: Long-term patterns of acute mental health services use after a first episode of psychosis: Examining ongoing psychiatric care beyond the critical period
Honours Project: Patterns of substance use in first-episode psychosis: A 10-year longitudinal study
Meghan Smith, MSc (2021) BMSc (2018)
Thesis: Ethnic and socioeconomic variations in psychiatric hospitalizations and 30-day readmission in Canada
Honours Project: Ethnic variations in psychiatric hospitalizations in Ontario
Branka Vujcic, MSc (2021)
Thesis: Correlates of positive mental health among migrants in Canada
Junayd Hussain, BMSc (2021)
Honours Project: Sleep difficulties and risky behaviors related to substance use in adolescents: An analysis of the Canadian National College Health Assessment (Canada-NCHA)
Jordan Edwards, PhD (2020)
Thesis: Mood and anxiety disorders, measurement, and migrant groups in Ontario
Myanca Rodrigues, MSc (2020)
Thesis: The prevalence of multimorbidity among people with non-affective psychotic disorders 10-years after first diagnosis
Thyna Vu, MSc (Co-Supervision with Dr. Sisira Sarma, 2020)
Thesis: Analysis of billings data to evaluate patterns of mental health services in primary care and emergency departments by blended fee-for-service and blended capitation models in Ontario, Canada
Majd Radhaa, BMSc (2020)
Honours Project: The incidence of cardio-metabolic disorders after a first diagnosis of psychotic disorder
Jun (Kevin) Liu, BMSc (2020)
Honours Project: Sociodemographic factors associated with willingness to seek
professional help for mental health concerns among Canadian College and University Students
Nicole Schoer, MSc (2019)
Thesis: Identifying service utilization patterns in primary care by young people with first-episode psychosis
Nima Gheisarzadeh, MSc (2019)
Thesis: Off-label use of second-generation antipsychotics in primary care: An exploratory study
Co-Supervision with Dr. Dan Lizotte
Samantha McRae, MSc (2019)
Thesis: 'Such a scary place for a kid': The impact of youth hospitalization on adult psychiatric units
Sahana Kukan, MSc (Co-Supervision with Dr. Arlene MacDougall, 2019)
Thesis: Examining the relationship between internal drivers of motivation and functional outcomes in a cross-section of individuals with psychotic disorders
Misbah Salim, MSc (2018)
Thesis: Use of psychotropic medications among pregnant women with bipolar disorder: Patterns, determinants, and impact on perinatal outcomes
Rebecca Rodrigues, MSc (2017)
Thesis: Factors associated with involuntary admissions among young people with early psychosis
Gina Bhullar, MSc (2016)
Thesis: Examining the relationship between duration of untreated psychosis and self-perceived recovery in clients of an early intervention program in London, Canada: A 10-year prospective cohort study