News & Events
Dr. J Don Richardson - Tanna Schulich Chair in Neuroscience & Mental Health
Dr. J Don Richardson has been appointed as the Tanna Schulich Chair in Neuroscience & Mental Health at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, effective February 1, 2023 to January 31, 2028.
Dr. Rachel Plouffe - Robert S. & Mary Gay, Donald, James, and Helen (Taylor) Gay Endowed Fellowship in Vet Care
Dr. Rachel Plouffe, Postdoctoral Associate at the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre was awarded the Robert S. & Mary Gay, Donald, James, and Helen (Taylor) Gay Endowed Fellowship in Vet Care, valued at $30,000, from the Parkwood Institute Research Specific Endowments Awards 2022/2023 for a new study “Risk Factors for Moral Injury: The Light of Triad Personality”.
Dr. Jenny JW Liu & Dr. Rachel Plouffe - Parkwood Mental Health Travel Grant
Dr. Jenny Liu and Dr. Rachel Plouffe, Postdoctoral Associates at the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre was awarded the Parkwood Mental Health Travel Grant, valued at $500, from the Parkwood Institute Research Specific Endowments Awards 2022/2023 to provide travel funding support to enable successful applicants to present their own research.
Dr. J Don Richardson - Postdoctoral Supervisor of the Year Award
Dr. J Don Richardson, Scientific Director at the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre, received the 2022 Postdoctoral Supervisor of the Year Award at the Virtual Postdoctoral Research Forum. Dr. Richardson has been recognized as a postdoctoral supervisor who has demonstrated exemplary support for postdoctoral scholars at Western University by going above and beyond supervisory expectations. As a mentor, Dr Richardson has put forth extra effort to ensure a successful experience for postdoctoral scholars. He has unequivocally surpassed supervisory expectations to ensure his postdoctoral scholars' success as independent researchers and scholars. He is an exceptional role model and has provided unparalleled professional development opportunities in research, teaching, and service-related endeavours.
Dr. Jenny JW Liu & Dr. Rachel Plouffe - Placed Top 10 at the Virtual Postdoctoral Research Forum’s 3 Minute Research Competition (3MR)
Dr. Jenny Liu and Dr. Rachel Plouffe, Postdoctoral Associates at the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre, have placed in the Top 10 at the Virtual Postdoctoral Research Forum’s 3MR for overall excellence in communication skills and competencies describing their research. Specifically, Dr. Liu's presentation focused on developing a treatment algorithm for post-traumatic stress disorder in military and Veteran populations, and Dr. Plouffe presented her research on Veteran post-traumatic stress disorder and the Light Triad of personality.
Dr. Natalie Ein - Western Postdoctoral Fellowship Award
Dr. Natalie Ein, Postdoctoral Associate at the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre was awarded a two-year Postdoctoral Scholarship, valued at $90,000, from the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Western University. Dr. Ein’s research will focus on international comparisons of health outcomes across Veteran populations through the creation of an international dataset. Dr. Ein will work with our international collaborators to clarify the prevalence of mental health conditions such as PTSD and patterns of comorbidity between Veteran samples by nation.
Dr. Rachel Plouffe - LHRD Gold Postdoctoral/Resident/Fellow Award
Dr. Rachel Plouffe, Postdoctoral Associate at the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre is the recipient of a 2022 London Health Research Day Gold Postdoctoral/Resident/Fellow Award. Dr. Plouffe’s poster/presentation was selected for its scientific excellence or impact on the field.
Dr. Jenny JW Liu - CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship Award
Dr. Jenny JW Liu, Postdoctoral Associate at the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre is the recipient of a 2021 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Postdoctoral Fellowship Award. The two-year award, valued at $90,000 will allow Dr. Liu to examine the challenges and needs of CAF Veterans transitioning out of services and develop a digital resilience training program in response to needs. The INSPIRE program will support Veterans by increasing their individual resilience capacities and empowering them during their transition.
New Funding Award - CIMHVR / DND - Optimizing Canadian Armed Forces Mental Health and Resilience Program
We are excited to announce that the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre has been selected by the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMHVR) to work with Canada's Department of National Defence on research for Task Authorization 61 – Improving Canadian Armed Forces mental health and resilience training: understanding trainee preferences for the Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) Program.
New Funding Award - PHAC - Mental Health and Resilience Program for Health Care Workers
We are excited to announce that the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre has been selected by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) for “Promoting Resilience and Mental Health: Adapting Canada’s Department of National Defence Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) Program to Support Canadian Health Care Workers”.
New Funding Award - CIMHVR / DND - Developing and validating a measure of CAF psychological safety
We are excited to announce that the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre has been selected by the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMHVR) to work with Canada's Department of National Defence on research for Task Authorization 59 – Literature Review and Scale Development on “Psychological Safety in the Military”.
New Funding Award - CIMHVR / DND - Exploring challenges faced by personnel supporting disaster relief operations
We are excited to announce that the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre has been selected by the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMHVR) to work with Canada's Department of National Defence on research for Task Authorization 63 – Literature Review on “Challenges faced by military and public safety and security personnel supporting disaster relief operations”.
New Funding Award - Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans - Ketamine for the management of chronic pain
We are excited to announce that the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre has received funding support from the Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans to conduct research related to the effectiveness of ketamine for the management of chronic pain and related mental health conditions. We look forward to making an impact with our research to further optimize the management of chronic pain and improve the lives of Veterans.
New Publication - Characterizing Primary Care Patients with PTSD: Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study
Singer, A., Kosowan, L., Muthumuni, D., Katz, A., Zafari, H., Zulkernine, F., Richardson, J.D., Price, M., Williamson, T., Queenan, J., & Sareen, J. (2022). Characterizing primary care patients with posttraumatic stress disorder using electronic medical records: a retrospective cross-sectional study. Family Practice.
New Publication - The Effects Encountering Children During Military Deployments: Systematic Review
Ein, N., Liu, J.J.W., Houle, S.A., Easterbrook, B., Turner, R.B., MacDonald, C., Reeves, K., Deda, E., Hoffer, K., Baillie Abidi, C., Nazarov, A., & Richardson, J.D. (2022). The effects of child encounters during military deployments on the well-being of military personnel: a systematic review. European Journal of Psychotraumatology.
New Publication - Mental Health Services Use Among CAF Members and Veterans
St. Cyr, K., Liu, A., Plouffe, R. A., Nouri, M. S., Forchuk, C. A., Wanklyn, S. G., Bird, B. M., Fikretoglu, D., Mahar, A. L., Nazarov, A., & Richardson, J. D. (2022). Mental Health Services Use Among Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans: Data From the 2018 Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans Mental Health Follow-Up Survey (CAFMVHS). Frontiers in Health Services.
New Publication - Development and Validation of the Moral Injury Outcome Scale
Litz, B. T., Plouffe, R. A., Nazarov, A., Murphy, D., Phelps, A., Coady, A., Houle, S. A., Dell, L., Frankfurt, S., Zerach, G., Levi-Belz, Y. & the Moral Injury Outcome Scale Consortium. (2022). Defining and Assessing the Syndrome of Moral Injury: Initial Findings of the Moral Injury Outcome Scale Consortium. Frontiers in Psychiatry.
New Publication - Addressing Moral Injury in the Military
Phelps, A. J., Adler, A. B., Belanger, S. A. H., Bennett, C., Cramm, H., Dell, L., Fikretoglu, D., Forbes, D., Heber, A., Hosseiny, F., Morganstein, J. C., Murphy, D., Nazarov, A., Pedlar, D., Richardson, J. D., Sadler, N., Williamson, V., Greenberg, N., Jetly, R. & Members of the Five Eyes Mental Health Research and Innovation Collaborative. Addressing moral injury in the military. BMJ Military Health.
New Publication - Association between Positive Mental Health and exposure to PMIEs in CAF personnel
Hansen, K. T., Nelson, C. G., & Kirkwood, K. (2022). Association Between Self-Rated Positive Mental Health and Exposure to Potentially Morally Injurious Events in Deployed Canadian Forces Personnel. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma.
New Publication - Influences of moral injury in Canadian armed forces
Easterbrook, B., Plouffe, R. A., Houle, S. A., Liu, A., McKinnon, M. C., Ashbaugh, A. R., Mota, N., Afifi, T. O., Enns, M. W., Richardson, J. D., & Nazarov, A. (2022). Risk Factors for Moral Injury Among Canadian Armed Forces Personnel. Frontiers in Psychiatry.
New Publication - Validation of the Mental Health Continuum - Short Form
Plouffe, R. A., Liu, A., Richardson, J. D., & Nazarov, A. (2022). Validation of the mental health continuum: Short form among Canadian Armed Forces personnel. Statistics Canada.
New Publication - Protocol for COVID-19 Longitudinal Veteran Well-being Study
Forchuk, C. A., Nazarov, A., Plouffe, R. A., Liu, J. J., Deda, E., Le, T., Gargala, D., Soares, V., Bourret-Gheysen, J., St. Cyr, K., Nouri, M. S., Hosseiny, F., Smith, P., Dupuis, G., Roth, M., Marlborough, M., Jetly, R., Heber, A., Lanius, R., & Richardson, J. D. (2022). Well-being of Canadian Armed Forces Veterans and Spouses of Veterans During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Prospective Longitudinal Survey. JMIR Research Protocols, 11(1), e34984.
Newsletter
A curated collection of research, news, and events in Veteran and military mental health brought to you by the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre.
Upcoming Presentations
Parkwood Institute Research Day 2023
Event Description:
Research Day is a forum for highlighting research conducted by healthcare professionals, scientists, students, patients, and families at Parkwood Institute Research and affiliated research units. The theme of the 2023 Parkwood Institute Research Day is Trauma-Informed Approaches to Research, Care, & Practice.
American Psychiatric Association 2023 Annual Meeting
Event Description:
With 600+ educational sessions, 50+ topics and 20+ paid courses, APA’s 2023 Annual Meeting is the best place to connect with colleagues, learn the latest in effective clinical practice and research advancements, and earn up to 43 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies 17th Biennial Conference
Event Description:
This conference focuses on bringing together a broad multidisciplinary range of professionals who work to support those who have experienced trauma at some point during their life. The aim is to collectively share best practice in theoretical, empirical, and clinical advances through the presentation of cutting-edge research relevant to the field of traumatic stress. Equality, inclusion and diversity are at the very core of ESTSS values and therefore will hear from researchers across many geographical, disciplinary, and economic backgrounds in addition to those at a variety of different stages of their careers. Of special interest will be contributions closely related to the conference theme of Trauma and Resilience Through the Ages: A life course perspective. However, all submission that relate to the field of traumatic stress are welcome.
Canadian Psychological Association's 84th Annual Convention
Event Description:
The CPA’s 2023 Annual General Meeting and National Convention is scheduled to take place from June 23rd – 25th, 2023, at the Sheraton Centre in Toronto, ON. This year’s CPA Convention is being held in conjunction with the 5th North American Correctional and Criminal Justice Psychology Conference (NACCJPC). Numerous pre-convention events, including the CPA’s Pre-Convention Professional Development Workshops, will take place on June 22nd.
Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR) Forum 2023
Event Description:
With 71,500 Regular Force members in the Canadian Armed Forces, 30,000 Reserve Force members, 60,600 military families and 629,300 Veterans, Canada has a significant population with unique risks, exposures and experiences that demands new standards of protection, prevention and care for the ill and injured. Each year, CIMVHR works to engage existing academic and government research resources, facilitate new research, increase research capacity and foster knowledge translation. This work is showcased each year, when thought leaders from government, academia, industry and philanthropic sectors gather at Forum to present new research, exchange ideas, share insight, learn and collaborate.\
Canadian Psychiatric Association’s 73rd Annual Conference
Event Description:
The conference is a key opportunity to explore new perspectives, reconnect with colleagues and learn from the passions of others in the field of psychiatry. It promises interactive engagement with the best minds in psychiatry from across the country.
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies 39th Annual Meeting
Event Description:
The ISTSS Annual Meeting provides a forum for the sharing of research, clinical strategies, public policy concerns and theoretical formulations of trauma. The annual meeting is also where professionals get to see old friends and colleagues, meet new ones and develop and strengthen collaborative relationships in order to move the field of traumatic stress forward. It is an international assembly of professionals and students representing an array of disciplines, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, counselors, researchers, administrators, victim advocates, journalists, clergy and others with an interest in the study and treatment of traumatic stress.