Clinician Scientist Profiles: By Division
Adult Psychiatry and Health Systems
Erene Stergiopoulos
Erene Stergiopoulos completed her BSc in psychology and MA in history and philosophy of science at the University of Toronto. Her past work includes qualitative research on the experiences of medical students with disabilities, and uses a socio-cultural lens to study the effects of the hidden curriculum on their professional identity construction. Her current research uses mixed methods approaches to study barriers to physician health disclosure. She also works as a freelance health journalist translating psychiatric research and ethics for a general audience, with bylines in Nautilus, STAT News, and VICE.
Division of Geriatric Psychiatry
Rafae Wathra
I am a second year psychiatry resident at the University of Toronto. I am interested in the clinical and research implications of
differential placebo effects in late-life depression.
Helena Kim
Helena Kim completed her BSc in psychology and human biology and PhD in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University ofToronto. Her past work examined downstream targets of mitochondrial complex I dysfunction in patients with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression using post-mortem brain samples and animal and cell models. She completed her post-doctoral work at Queen’s University identifying microRNA markers of bipolar disorder and drug response in patients with MDD using clinical trial samples. Currently, her research interest includes identifying demographic, clinical, and molecular predictors of drug response in patients with mood disorders.
Supervisor: Dr. Benoit Mulsant
Division of Neurosciences and Clinical Translation
Brett Jones:
Dr. Brett Jones has an MSc from the Institute of Medical Science looking at novel biomarkers predicting treatment response in MDD. Currently he is a second year psychiatry resident working with Dr. Jeff Daskalakis with an interest in studying novel treatments and better understanding the placebo response for MDD and Treatment Refractory Depression.
Dr. Brett Jones on Research Gate
Enoch Ng:
During my MD-PhD studies under the supervision of Dr. J. Roder and Dr. A. Wong, I found a role for Neuronal calcium sensor-1 in motivated behaviour and dopamine signaling in mice. In my residency, I hope to apply my background in preclinical research on brain circuitry and behaviours to inform therapies for patients. Advances in brain stimulation provide many opportunities to translate knowledge about brain circuitry from human neuroimaging and preclinical rodent models into circuit-based treatments for psychiatric disorders. As a CSP resident, I plan to investigate the effectiveness of targeted brain stimulation (e.g. deep brain stimulation, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation) for treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=enoch+ng+university+of+toronto, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4505-8391, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Enoch_Ng
Helen Lee:
Prior to residency, I studied Health Sciences at McMaster University, followed by a graduate degree (MSc) in neuroscience at Queen’s University and medical school at Western University. Throughout my training, I have been involved in multiple research projects including cultural comparison of stigma and deep brain stimulation. My current research interests include novel therapeutic modalities for psychiatric disorders, specifically neurostimulation. As a part of the research team at the MRI-guided rTMS clinic (Toronto Western Hospital), I am currently looking at novel targets and optimization of parameters of rTMS treatment for various psychiatric disorders including personality disorders such as Borderline Personality Disorder.
Dr. Helen Lee on PubMed
Jennie Pouget:
I am fascinated by the biology underlying psychiatric disorders, and my research uses genomic data as a window into that biology. I am particularly interested in psychoneuroimmunology, the way the brain and immune system interact to influence behaviour and predispose to psychiatric disorders. Prior to residency, I completed MD/PhD training at the University of Toronto with a research specialization in statistical genetics. I co-developed a method (BUHMBOX) to identify biologically relevant groups of patients in genetic samples with limited clinical data (e.g. immune-driven subgroups). I have collaborated with international consortia on genome-wide association studies of schizophrenia and immune-mediated disorders, and identified significant genetic overlap between schizophrenia and certain immune-mediated disorders (those with a strong T-cell component). In my CSP research I am continuing to use big data to better understand similarities and differences in biology – including neuroimmune mechanisms – across psychiatric disorders.
Dr. Jennie Pouget on Google Scholar