About Us

In Canada today, 1.2 million children and adolescents are affected by mental illness and 75 per cent of mental illnesses in adults begin before the age of 24. This reality has a profound impact on communities, families and people with lived experience. The Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education is leading research into mental illness across the lifespan with a focus on the mental health of children, youth and emerging adults.

As Director, I am excited to be leading our researchers and community partners in research that will revolutionize the early identification, treatment and prevention of mental illness.

We are the centre that serve as a collaborative hub for mental health research at the University of Calgary. With membership from six faculties within the university, we lead and provide a unifying direction for mental health research under the university’s Brain and Mental Health research strategy.

Our mission is to promote internationally recognized research and education on the early identification, treatment and prevention of mental disorders. It will have a key focus on youth mental health in order to ensure that youth remain productive contributors to society and that the personal, family and societal costs of mental disorders are reduced. The Centre will promote a multidisciplinary approach to early identification, treatment and prevention through translational research from basic science through to clinical, health services and population health

Launched in March 2012, the Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education was made possible by a $10 million investment from Ronald P. Mathison, president and chief executive of Matco Investments Ltd.  With a focus of research and training for child and youth populations, the Mathison Centre generates knowledge to improve our understanding of the brain changes associated with mental illness and the risk for, onset of, and treatments of serious mental illness. 

Poised to become a leader in mental health research and education, the Mathison Centre offers support and new hope to families in Calgary, throughout Alberta and around the world.