MIST Research Team
Meet the MIST team
The expert MIST team is comprised of a highly-skilled multi-disciplinary group of neuroscientists, physicians, and clinical researchers. Leaders in their respective areas of stress, trauma, concussion, depression and anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide, these experts work together to advance transdisciplinary research, lead public outreach and education efforts, and create impactful opportunities for community engagement. Welcome to the Mental Health Initiative for Stress and Trauma (MIST).
Dr. Matthew Hill, PhD
MIST Research Chair
Dr. Hill is steering MIST to explore how stress and trauma impact the brain, and what can be done to create healthier outcomes.
Dr. Leah Mayo, PhD
Parker Psychedelics Research Chair and Assistant Professor, Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry
Full Member, Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education
As a human behavioural pharmacologist, Dr. Mayo uses pharmacology (the study of drugs) to understand the brain mechanisms underlying stress and emotional processing — and their contributions to mental health. Her research group, The Psychedelics and Cannabinoid Therapeutics (PaCT) Lab, is particularly interested in discovering the mechanisms and therapeutic potential of psychedelics and cannabinoid-based drugs for patients with stress-related psychiatric disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder.
Dr. Araba Chintoh, PhD, MBBS, FRCPC
Assistant Professor, Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry
Full Member, Hotchkiss Brain Institute
Dr. Chintoh is dedicated to improving outcomes for patients who have persistent severe mental illnesses by understanding how psychiatric medications cause side effects and exploring ways to reduce these effects. She is also active in the global sports community – where managing head trauma, such as concussion, is a priority. She consults with international sporting federations to provide technical, scientific, and clinical guidance about athlete welfare issues including brain health and mental health.
Dr. Alex McGirr, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Associate Professor, Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry
Full Member, Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education
Dr. McGirr’s research aims to improve the lives of individuals with mood disorders such as major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. Specifically, he uses non-invasive brain stimulation techniques to understand the biology of mood disorders and develop new treatments. One of the main approaches involves transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and his research group is using TMS in conjunction with methods of measuring brain activity to understand how the brain is changed in depression, and then using that information to optimize how TMS can be used as a treatment. The McGirr lab also pursues fundamental science to understand how stress and trauma rewire the brain, with the goal of identifying new treatment targets and ultimately improving lives.
Dr. Alex Lohman, PhD
Associate Professor, Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy
Full Member, Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute
Dr. Lohman studies how the brain and immune system talk to one another, and he explores traumatic brain injuries (TBI) like concussions to better understand how immune cells influence cognition and mental health. He is particularly interested in neuroinflammation (ie. inflammation in the brain) following TBI, and how TBI influences our ability to recover from stress via the endocannabinoid system (our stress recovery system) with the goal of improving patients’ emotional outcomes following TBI.
Dr. Chantel Debert, MD, MSc, FRCPC
Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Division
Full Member, Hotchkiss Brain Institute
As a physician lead for the Calgary Brain Injury Program, Dr. Debert treats patients with concussion and acquired brain injury in outpatient and inpatient settings. Her research focuses on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of acquired brain injury with a focus on traumatic brain injury and concussion. The goal of the lab is to explore the underpinning of neurological injury to improve the lives of individuals living with acquired brain injury and concussion. She has a specific interest in evaluating novel treatments and biomarkers in brain injury with a particular interest in fluid biomarkers and transcranial magnetic stimulation.
Dr. Keith Yeates, PhD, ABPP, FCAHS, FRSC
Full Professor, Department of of Psychology
Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics and Clinical Neurosciences
Full Member, Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute
Dr. Yeates’ research focuses on the outcomes of childhood brain disorders, especially traumatic brain injury (TBI). Much of his research has looked at the psychosocial factors that help account for or modify concussion outcomes — such as mental health — in children and adolescents. Dr. Yeates is particularly interested in how stress (eg. stressful life events) and pre-existing mental health issues can influence TBI outcomes, because interventions for these factors may result in better outcomes.
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