2025

Project Title: The longer-term consequences of a service-related traumatic amputation in military, Veterans, and public safety personnel: A Veteran consultation and systematic review
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Joy MacDermid PhD; Pavlos Bobos PhD
University of Western Ontario
The War Amps
$102,000.00

Amputation (losing a limb) while serving in the military is a real risk. A challenging recovery follows an amputation. There is usually a lot of early support. Amputations can also lead to later health problems as the person adapts to new restrictions. Artificial limbs (called prostheses) improve function but can lead to wounds, which may not easily heal. Some health problems can occur because of difficulty maintaining healthy physical activities. Some people start new unhealthy habits to cope with pain or stress. These problems should be preventable.  Right now, the research on this topic is spread out in many small studies. Most research does not focus on military members, or even similar groups like firefighters and police. This makes it hard for Veterans, health care providers, disability managers, and policymakers to provide the right supports for longer-term health.

We will consult with Veterans to understand their concerns. Then we will bring together all the research on long-term health problems after traumatic amputations. We will focus on military members and Veterans but also compare research on firefighters and police officers. We will carefully study and judge the quality of the research. We will measure the rates of long-term health problems compared to civilians. We will check if these rates differ based on injury, personal, or work factors.

This information will help guide better long-term health plans for Veterans with amputations. It can lead to better follow-up care, health guidelines, and policies to support Veterans.

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2024

Project Title: Uncovering Barriers and Facilitators of Competitor and Caregiver Experience in a Winter Context: An Invictus Games Research Legacy Project
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
J. Don Richardson, MD
Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute
True Patriot Love Foundation
$85,000.00

For many military personnel, involvement in adaptive sports competitions confers positive outcomes such as connectedness, posttraumatic growth, and mental and physical health that extend beyond the duration of the Games; however, research outside of the Invictus Games indicates that barriers at interpersonal, national, and event-specific levels contribute to heterogeneity in experiences and outcomes. Optimizing positive outcomes and competitor performance necessitates supporting the experiences of competitors and their families/caregivers by identifying both drivers and barriers to self-determination. In 2025, the Vancouver-Whistler Games will be the first to include winter adaptive sports. Prior research on seasonal variations in Olympics games participation noted differences in appeal, resource constraints, and infrastructural demands. As such, the novel seasonal setting is expected to add a layer of complexity to our current understanding of the benefits and challenges of Invictus Games participation. Using the Self Determination Theory [1] as a framework for examining the quality of participant experience before, during, and following Invictus Games, we will conduct a review to identify gaps in our understanding of the experience of Invictus Games participation. We will explore the drivers and barriers to the sense of autonomy (i.e., determinants of individual choice and participation), competence (i.e., physical or mental components of training and competition), and social relatedness (i.e., sense of community and belonging) among both competitors and their caregivers in a winter context. Finally, we will engage an international team of experts to contextualize knowledge gaps identified and interpret findings with the goal of developing actionable recommendations that inform policy and programming.

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Project Title: An advanced virtual training system for multi-articulating prosthesis control
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Jacqueline Hebert, MD
University of Alberta
The War Amps
$197,577.00

One of the most severe and disabling military injuries is arm amputation. Technological advances have led to complex multiarticulating prostheses that can replace elbow, wrist, and hand movements and provide multiple grasp patterns. However, most persons with upper limb loss do not fully utilize these capabilities. A significant contributing factor to the lack of use is inadequate training on the control and function of the device components. To address this gap, we developed a virtual reality system that allows customized, early, intense training for myoelectric prosthesis control. Virtual reality is rapidly advancing but must be adapted for state-of-the-art myoelectric prosthesis control training. We have solved the problem of using muscle signals to operate the joints of a virtual prosthesis for simulated functional tasks. The next development steps are to add multi-grasp hand patterns and to expand virtual scenes to include more complex tasks with occupational relevance. This project will achieve these development tasks and pilot the virtual system with persons with upper limb loss to gather preliminary data on usability and training effects. We will implement the developed platform within a commercial take-home package that removes the geographical and personnel barriers to accessing intense training. Furthermore, the developed platform will advance our future ability to study the effect of immersive training on multi-joint control, phantom limb pain, and embodiment of prostheses. Understanding these crucial aspects will significantly improve the acceptance and usage of prosthetic devices for veterans and Canadians with upper limb loss.

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Project Title: Bone-anchored prostheses and the military: A review of literature and evaluation of their compatibility with military service in the Canadian Armed Forces
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Jacqueline Hebert, MD; Diana Zidarov, PhD
University of Alberta; University of Montreal
The War Amps
$50,000.00

This research project aims to synthesize the available scholarly evidence on the health outcomes, complications, and patient selection criteria for lower and upper-limb osseointegrated bone-anchored prostheses (BAP) in the limb loss population. This project will also evaluate the compatibility of BAP with military service by comparing the evidence from the scientific literature with current Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) military requirements. This evaluation will be enriched by perspectives from three patients and their caregivers and expert perspectives from two former senior CAF physicians who have treated military members with limb amputations, and experts with firsthand experience in working with individuals who use BAP in Canada. The synthesis and expert review proposed will allow us to identify the main gaps in the literature and determine priority areas for future research that will benefit military members, veterans and their families but also the civilian limb loss population.

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Project Title: Collaborative paths to understanding: Mental health and wellbeing impacts of participation in the IG2025
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Margaret McKinnon, PhD
McMaster University
IBM Canada Ltd.
$350,000.00

Outdoor sports and other types of physical activity are key components of mental and physical recovery. We will conduct a mixed method, biopsychosocial design to understand more specifically how the Invictus Games (IG) contributes to Veteran recovery. We will do this by gaining knowledge on the ways that competing in the IG, or not being accepted to compete in the IG, affects Veterans’ mental and physical health. We have brought together an international team of researchers with expertise and experience collecting data on mental health and physical health in both national samples and in previous large sporting venues (e.g., Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games). This team will work together to develop 1) a virtual mental health survey of psychological and wellbeing measures (e.g., PTSD, anxiety, depression, emotion regulation), 2) conduct virtual interviews to better understand the experiences and benefits/challenges with participation in the IG, and 3) virtually collect biometric data (i.e., aerobic fitness, sleep quality, heart rate). This data will be collected from IG participants and from individuals who were unsuccessful in their application to participate in the IG. Data will be collected during training, during the IG competition, and after the IG. Data from this study will allow us to develop guidelines for the creation, development, delivery and maintenance of adaptive military sports programmes that ultimately support the post-traumatic growth and recovery of Veterans and their families.

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Project Title: Literature Review: Military and Veteran Volunteerism in Canada
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Alyson Mahar, PhD
Queen's University
True Patriot Love Foundation
$50,000.00

Volunteering in the community may help Canadian military members transition to civilian life. We will read and summarize research studies that focus on volunteering for military Veterans. We will try to learn why Veterans volunteer, who does and doesn’t volunteer, what could create barriers to volunteering, and write recommendations for how organizations could support Veterans in volunteering in the future. This summary could help Canadian military, Veterans and their families if it could direct programs and services to enhance volunteering opportunities. 

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2023

Project Title: Assessing the needs of Canadian Veterans with amputations and the individuals who care for them
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
J. Don Richardson, MD
Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute
The War Amps
$100,000.00

Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Veteran amputees and their caregivers experience complex needs that differ from others, including requiring additional support for daily tasks, accessibility-related needs in housing and employment, and additional barriers such as applying for status in order to receive disability benefits. In order to ensure their needs are met with appropriate services by the organizations that intend to serve them, a deeper understanding of the landscape of services and resources available and their use by Veteran amputees and caregivers is necessary. This research project seeks to use qualitative (e.g., interviews) and quantitative (e.g., surveys) approaches to explore how Veteran amputees and their caregivers access and use resources and services to support different areas of their lives, including housing, finances, employment, sociocultural, mental, and physical health needs. We will use a collaborative approach in this research by creating an advisory committee composed of Veteran amputees, their caregivers, and leaders and service providers from stakeholder organizations. The advisory committee will aid in the co-design of research tools, engagement of Veterans and their caregivers, the interpretation of research findings, and the dissemination and translation of findings. This approach will maximize the impact of research in championing real change in the types of services that are developed, offered, and implemented across Canada and ensure they are serving the unmet needs of Veteran amputees and their caregivers.

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2022

Project Title: Literature review on "Challenges faced by military and public safety and security personnel supporting disaster relief operations" (Task 63)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
J. Don Richardson, MD
Lawson Health Research Institute
Director General Military Personnel Research and Analysis
$81,635.08
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Project Title: Analysis of data of a lab study on alternative torso-borne armour and load carriage equipment on female varsity-level athletes (Task 67)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Michele Oliver, PhD
University of Guelph
Defence Research and Development Canada
$69,896.73
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Advancing research on servicewomen and women Veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Maya Eichler, PhD
Mount Saint Vincent University
IBM Canada Ltd.
$30,000.00

There is a historic lack of research on women in the defence sector as a result of systemic legacy biases rooted in the historic assumption of the male military and Veteran norm. This proposed research will synthesize as well as update and strategically expand existing scoping and literature reviews of research related to Canadian servicewomen and women Veterans. Based on this work, we will identify and prioritize key research gaps and develop a proposal for future research on servicewomen and women Veterans in the Canadian context. We will validate our proposed research agenda in consultation with knowledge holders (women Veterans and their organizations), relevant contacts at the Department of National Defence/Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF), Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and other researchers in the field. This project will help advance Canadian research on the needs, health, and well-being of military and Veteran women.

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Project Title: Environmental Scan: Military Creative Arts Initiative
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Eric Li, PhD
University of British Columbia
IBM Canada Ltd.
$40,000.00

Every year, thousands of CAF members released from their services and re-joined the civilian world. However, a good portion of the Veterans suffered from various forms of injury during their training and/or service in the military. Creative arts therapies have been proven in assisting physical and mental rehabilitation. In this environmental scan, our research team will explore what are the existing creative arts therapeutic approaches in Canada. In the second half of this study, we will interview a small group of stakeholders to understand how we can meaningfully adopt create arts therapies to support CAF members and Veterans’ health and well-being. The ultimate goal of this environmental scan is to develop a set of recommendations that can support CAF members and Veterans’ physical and mental rehabilitation as well as to co-create a support network to connect CAF members and Veterans with a wider group of community members that embrace creative arts and personal well-being.

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2021

Project Title: Literature Review and Scale Development on Psychological Safety in the Military (Task 59)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
J. Don Richardson, MD
Lawson Health Research Institute
Director General Military Personnel Research and Analysis
$69,830.37
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Project Title: Sharing of Military Veterans' Mental Health Data Across Canada: A Scoping Review
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Abraham Rudnick, MD, PhD
Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Health Authority-Operational Stress Injury Clinic
True Patriot Love Foundation
$10,000.00

This research project aims to address a gap with a standardized review of several sources to understand the current state of (military) Veterans' mental health data in Canada and how it is currently shared across the country. The research team will review both formal academic research sources (published journal articles) as well as non-academic sources (e.g. government reports, policy papers). The information obtained from these sources will be summarized in four key areas: 1) what are the existing Canadian databases that include information about Veterans' mental health, 2) how do these data sources share information with other organizations, 3) what are the existing provincial/federal policies related to sharing health data, and 4) what are the key challenges that impact national-level data sharing within Canada. This summary would then be shared with key partners who may have the ability to promote change and improve data sharing practices in Canada.

Related Scholarly Activities

Rudnick, A., Nolan, D., and Daigle, P. (2024). Reflecting on JMVFH’s most popular article of 2022: “Sharing of military Veterans’ mental health data across Canada: A scoping review”. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, 10(4‑EN). https://doi.org/10.3138/jmvfh-0718-0018

Rudnick, A., Nolan, D., and Daigle, P. (2024). Réflexion sur l’article le plus populaire du JMVFH en 2022:«Le partage des données sur la santé mentale des vétéran (e) s militaires dans tout le Canada: une étude de portée». Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, 10(4-FR), 123-125. https://utppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3138/jmvfh-0718-0039

Rudnick, A., Nolan, D., and Daigle, P. (2022). Sharing of military Veterans’ mental health data across Canada: A scoping review. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, 8(2), 7–17. https://doi.org/10.3138/jmvfh-2021-0064

 

Project Title: Investigation of the thermoregulatory implications of varying soft armour torso coverage during prolonged physical activity in a hot environment (Task 58)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Daniel Gagnon, PhD
Montreal Heart Institute
Defence Research and Development Canada
$69,727.33
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Project Title: Literature review on vision requirements for emerging display technologies in military aviation (Task 66)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Laurie Wilcox, PhD
York University
Defence Research and Development Canada
$54,161.69
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Improving Canadian Armed Forces mental health and resilience training: understanding trainee preferences for the Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) Program (Task 61)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Anthony Nazarov, PhD
Lawson Health Research Institute
Defence Research and Development Canada
$83,058.82
Related Scholarly Activities

 

2020

Project Title: Literature Review on "Experiences of Persons with Disabilities in the Military" (Task 51)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Antonio Miguel-Cruz, DrSc
University of Alberta
Director General Military Personnel Research and Analysis
$58,212.28
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Project Title: Understanding and Treating COVID-19-Rapid Therapeutic Approaches (Task 54)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Ori Rotstein, MD
St. Michael’s Hospital
Defence Research and Development Canada
$1,504,440.36
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Literature Review on "Military to Civilian Transition: The Importance of GBA+ for the Canadian Armed Forces" (Task 50)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Maya Eichler, PhD
Mount St. Vincent University
Director General Military Personnel Research and Analysis
$69,896.73
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Qualitative study of financial well-being of survivors who married or entered into a common-law relationship with a Veteran who was aged 60+ (Task 46)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Eric Li, PhD
University of British Columbia
Veterans Affairs Canada
$291,983.58
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Impact of sexual trauma during military service on Canadian female-identifying military members and veterans
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Margaret McKinnon, PhD
McMaster University
IBM Canada Ltd.
$100,000.00

Sexual trauma during military service refers to any type of sexual assault or harassment experienced while enlisted in military service. It is a compounding risk factor for the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in service members. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that military members having experienced potential moral injury (MI), which may include incidents of sexual trauma during service, are more likely to develop PTSD than their non-exposed counterparts. In order to develop effective prevention and intervention strategies for sexual trauma during military service and moral injury among Canadian, female-identifying military members and veterans, it is necessary to first characterize this population. Therefore, our primary objectives are: 1) to analyze the 2018 Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans Mental Health Follow-up Survey (CAFVMHS) to determine whether sexual trauma during military service is an independent risk factor for MI; and 2) to conduct individual interviews with Canadian servicewomen and female-identifying veterans exposed to sexual trauma during military service to capture their unique experiences. 

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Lade, S., Brown, A., Ritchie, K., Milman, H., Park, R., Heber, A., ... and McKinnon, M. (2025). The Impact of Military Sexual Misconduct on the Deployment Experiences of Woman-Identifying Canadian Veterans. Armed Forces & Society. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0095327X241312206

Brown, A., Millman, H., Tam-Seto, L., Imre-Millei, B., Ibbotson, A., Buchart, L., ... and McKinnon, M. C. (2024). Increasing understanding of the barriers to military sexual trauma-related reporting and treatment seeking in Canada. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, 10(1), 101-106. https://utppublishing.com/doi/pdf/10.3138/jmvfh-2023-0021 

Project Title: Leveraging Technology to Improve Mental Health Outcomes: Machine Learning Analysis of Homewood Post-Traumatic Stress Recovery (PTSR) Unit Clinical Database and University of Western Ontario PTSD Research Unit Data
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Margaret McKinnon, PhD
McMaster University
IBM Canada Ltd.
$100,000.00

The proposed study will utilize clinical outcome and assessment data by leveraging machine learning computational methods and technology among Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and veterans, with a particular focus on subtyping of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and treatment response (e.g., recovery; suicidal behaviour). Critically, approximately 13% of CAF members and veterans will be diagnosed with a deployment-related mental disorder including PTSD and depression [1; Department of Defence]. Our group has already demonstrated the predictive validity of machine learning, where we were successful in classifying with over 90% accuracy: i) PTSD; ii) the dissociative subtype of PTSD; and iii) healthy individuals [2; Nicholson et al., 2018]. Here, we anticipate developing a machine learning tool that will enhance personalized medicine by identifying individualized prevention and treatment approaches, thus preventing illness, improving outcomes, and reducing suicidality among CAF members and veterans. 

Related Scholarly Activities

Park, A. H., Patel, H., Mirabelli, J., Eder, S. J., Steyrl, D., Lueger-Schuster, B., ... and Nicholson, A. A. (2023). Machine learning models predict PTSD severity and functional impairment: A personalized medicine approach for uncovering complex associations among heterogeneous symptom profiles. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2024-28593-001.html

Project Title: Initial Testing of a Guided, Internet-delivered Couple Intervention for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Relationship Enhancement: Couple HOPES
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Candice Monson, PhD
Ryerson University
True Patriot Love Foundation
$100,000.00

PTSD is a common and disabling condition among Canadian military and veterans, and associated with intimate relationship problems and partners’ own mental health problems. Recognizing the need to improve access to evidence-based treatments for military personnel/Veterans and their families, our team is developing a Guided, Internet-delivered intervention to improve PTSD, enhance relationships, and improve partners’ mental health: Couple HOPES. The proposed two-phase project involves providing the intervention to 10 couples in Phase 1 to pilot and refine the assessment processes, intervention, and Coaching manual. Phase 2 involves a RCT with 70 couples across Canada testing Couple HOPES against a delayed intervention group (all couples will be treated within 2 months) to assess safety, desirability, and efficacy. Gold-standard methodology will be used to improve access to psychological interventions for military/Veterans and their families. Barriers to our study to mitigate include: adequate recruitment, retention in the intervention, and minimizing dropout from assessment.

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Xiang, A., Monson, C. M., Fitzpatrick, S., Wagner, A. C., Valela, R., Collins, A. M., ... and Crenshaw, A. O. (2024). Partner accommodation associations in intimate couples with posttraumatic stress disorder. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice.
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2023-81997-001?doi=1

Fitzpatrick, S., Crenshaw, A. O., Donkin, V., Collins, A., Xiang, A., Earle, E. A., ... and Monson, C. (2024). We Have Spent Time, Money, and Effort Making Self-Help Digital Mental Health Interventions: Is Anyone Going to Come to the Party?. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 26, e58198. https://www.jmir.org/2024/1/e58198/

Crenshaw, A. O., Whitfield, K. M., Collins, A., Valela, R., Varma, S., Landy, M. S., ... and Monson, C. M. (2023). Partner outcomes from an uncontrolled trial of Couple HOPES: A guided online couple intervention for posttraumatic stress disorder and relationship enhancement. Journal of traumatic stress, 36(1), 230-238.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jts.22878

Monson, C. M., Wagner, A. C., Crenshaw, A. O., Whitfield, K. M., Newnham, C. M., Valela, R., ... and Fitzpatrick, S. (2022). An uncontrolled trial of couple HOPES: A guided online couple intervention for PTSD and relationship enhancement. Journal of Family Psychology, 36(6), 1036.
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2022-41008-001

Fitzpatrick, S., Wagner, A. C., Crenshaw, A. O., Varma, S., Whitfield, K. M., Valela, R., ... and Monson, C. M. (2021). Initial outcomes of couple HOPES: A guided online couple intervention for PTSD and relationship enhancement. Internet Interventions, 25, 100423.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214782921000634

Project Title: Contribution of Posttraumatic Stress Symptomatology to the Establishment and Maintenance of Chronic Pain
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Tim Salomons, PhD
Queen's University
True Patriot Love Foundation
$41,930.00

There is a high co-occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain in military personnel. Unfortunately, the mechanisms behind this relationship are poorly understood, leading to poor treatment outcomes for patients. Beyond occurring together, research suggests that PTSD and chronic pain might interact and aggravate each other through a common vulnerability: one’s susceptibility to fear and avoidance responses. To illuminate this interaction, this project will examine the relationship between pain and traumatic stress symptoms (especially fear and avoidance) in the Canadian military. We will also investigate the role that fear responses play in triggering and facilitating pain by examining “pain flashbacks,” a phenomenon in which individuals report re-experiencing the physical pain they experienced during trauma. If particular symptoms of PTSD prove to be contributing factors to chronic pain, it may be possible to prevent the development or exacerbation of chronic pain through interventions targeting both pain and PTSD. 

Related Scholarly Activities

Maunder, L., Marriott, E., and Salomons, T.V. (2025). Associations of chronic pain and PTSD factors among military personnel: An exploration of the mutual maintenance model. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, 11(1), 75-89. https://utppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3138/jmvfh-2024-0010

Maunder L., Marriott E., Katz J., and Salomons T.V. (2022). Mechanisms of increased pain-related disability in Canadian Armed Forces servicemembers and Veterans with comorbid chronic pain and PTSD. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, 8(3), 32-44. https://utppublishing.com/doi/10.3138/jmvfh-2022-0011

Project Title: The impact of trauma on the brain: Making the invisible wound of trauma visible
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD
Western University
Green Shield Canada
$66,000.00

The aim of this study is to examine the first-person lived experience of patients with PTSD in combination with imaging data to allow us to better capture different clinical presentations of PTSD and their unique neural signatures in the brain. By allowing us to identify the many different ways PTSD affects brain functioning, this research will help clinicians to better decide which treatment approach they will use to assist individual patients with PTSD, thus improving clinical care and patient outcomes. This is very important given the devastating impact of PTSD on patients, their families and the economy (e.g., absence from work, lost productivity). Such an approach has the potential to revolutionize PTSD treatment and could therefore affect thousands of individuals.   

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Project Title: Innovative Delivery of the Road to Mental Readiness Program - Recommendations on how to complement current Road to Mental Readiness Program in operational contexts. (Task 52)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Anthony Nazarov, PhD
London Heath Research Institute
Defence Research and Development Canada
$118,915.90
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Literature review on the impacts of COVID-19 on well-being as well as an integrated knowledge translation and exchange (iKTE) process on implications for the Veteran population and VAC programs and services. (Task 55)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
William Montelpare, PhD
University of Prince Edward Island
Veterans Affairs Canada
$99,568.65
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: A window into military and public safety personnel homelessness in Alberta: Understanding root causes through a realist program evaluation. A qualitative exploration of the Legacy Place Society (LPS) key stakeholder perspectives
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Suzette Brémault-Phillips, PhD
University of Alberta
IBM Canada Ltd.
$101,125.98
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Evaluate CounterFlow for Abdominal and Pelvic Hemorrhage in Swine Models of Non-Compressible Intra-Abdominal Hemorrhage (Task 60)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Joao Rezende-Neto, MD, PhD
St. Mike’s Hospital
Defence Research and Development Canada
$462,926.43
Related Scholarly Activities

 

2019

Project Title: Prevalence and Correlates of White Matter Hyperintensities in RCAF Aircrew and Related Aviation Trades (Task 33)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Sandra Black, MD
Sunnybrook Hospital
Defence Research and Development Canada
$342,381.18
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Literature review and knowledge gap analysis on "Combat Casualty Care in Cold Environments" (Task 47)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Luis da Luz, MD
Sunnybrook Hospital
Defence Research and Development Canada
$51,967.31
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Thermal Comfort Testing of Canadian Armed Forces Operational Uniforms (Task 39)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Stephen Cheung, PhD
Brock University
The Directorate of Soldier Systems Program Management
$54,298.42
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Literature Review on "Optimal Strategies to Mitigate and Treat Cold Weather Injuries" (Task 45)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Francois Haman, PhD
University of Ottawa
Defence Research and Development Canada
$33,053.04
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Upgrade and validation of a suite of objective load carriage assessment tools for the objective biomechanical assessment of soldier torso-borne clothing and individual equipment (Task 49)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Joan Stevenson, PhD; Quingguo Li, PhD
Queen's University
Defence Research and Development Canada
$765,174.02
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: First Generation Smallpox Vaccine Potency Testing (Task 53)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
David Evans, PhD
University of Alberta
Canadian Forces Health Services
$141,906.71
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Understanding the experience of parents caregiving for adult veterans injured through service
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Heidi Cramm, PhD
Queen's University
True Patriot Love Foundation
$35,000.00

Programs for military families are targeted towards the needs of young families with young children, emphasizing needs for spouses and children; programs for veteran families are geared towards the ageing veteran. However, for many young serving members who do not have a significant other, ageing parents may need to step into a caregiving role should the member be injured in the line of duty. These parents, who may have their own health, work, and financial concerns, can find themselves unexpectedly navigating a complicated caregiving situation without the benefit of support available through programming, compounding their stress and experience of isolation. We will interview 20 to 30 parents of ill and injured veterans who are providing ongoing caregiving to their adult children. These in-depth interviews will yield new insights into the experiences and needs of ageing parents that can inform the development of relevant and inclusive policy and programming.

Plain Language Summary
Lay Summary
Related Scholarly Activities

Tam-Seto, L., Norris, D., Richardson, M., Gribble, R., Fear, N. T., and Cramm, H. (2024). ‘There’s no club, absolutely nothing’: Experiences of parents of Veterans living with illnesses and injuries in Canada. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, 10(2), 130-139. https://utppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3138/jmvfh-2023-0061

Project Title: LeveRaging routinEly collected heAlth data to enhanCe veteran and family Health (REACH)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Alyson Mahar, PhD
University of Manitoba
True Patriot Love Foundation
$59,200.00

The well-being of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) after they leave the military is a national priority. Yet, we do not know very much about the health of Canadian Veterans or how they access the public healthcare system. We want to know if Canadian Veterans use the healthcare system in ways that are similar or different to civilians, and if they have similar patterns of different diseases. We also want to compare health and healthcare use of male and female Veterans, and explore if the length of military service has an impact on health and health use. To answer these questions, we will analyze information that is being routinely collected within the Ontario healthcare system. We will work closely with government, healthcare, and service provider stakeholders to ensure that our findings feed directly into policy for improving health and well-being of Canadian veterans and their families.

Plain Language Summary
Lay Summary
Related Scholarly Activities

St Cyr, K., Saunders, J., Cramm, H., Aiken, A., Kurdyak, P., Sutradhar, R., Mahar, A. (2025). Primary Care Visit Rates Among Canadian Veterans in Ontario: A Retrospective Cohort Study of Sex-and Length of Service-stratified Comparisons With Nonveterans. Military Medicine, usaf072. https://academic.oup.com/milmed/advance-article/doi/10.1093/milmed/usaf072/8071731#508007288

Cyr, K. S., and Mahar, A. L. (2024). Sex-Based Differences in Mental Health Service Use Between Canadian Veterans and Non-Veterans Residing in Ontario. Healthcare Quarterly (Toronto, Ont.), 27(1), 6-9. https://europepmc.org/article/med/38881477

St. Cyr, K., Smith, P., Kurdyak, P., Cramm, H., Aiken, A. B., Mahar, A. (2024). A Retrospective Cohort Analysis of Mental Health-Related Emergency Department Visits Among Veterans and Non-Veterans Residing in Ontario, Canada: Une analyse de cohorte rétrospective des visites au service d’urgence liées à la santé mentale parmi les vétérans et non-vétérans résidant en Ontario, Canada. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 69(5), 347-357. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/07067437231223328

St Cyr, K., Aiken, A. B., Cramm, H., Whitehead, M., Kurdyak, P., and Mahar, A. L. (2023). Sex-specific differences in physical health and health services use among Canadian Veterans: a retrospective cohort study using healthcare administrative data. BMJ Mil Health, 169(5), 430-435.
Retrieving data. 
https://militaryhealth.bmj.com/content/169/5/430

Saunders, J., St. Cyr, K., Cramm, H., Aiken, A. B., Kurdyak, P., Sutradhar, R., and Mahar, A. L. (2023). Investigating the association between Veteran status and rate of emergency department visits. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, 9(4), 63-76.
https://jmvfh.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/jmvfh-2023-0007

Cyr, K. S., Kurdyak, P., Smith, P. M., and Mahar, A. L. (2023). Mental health service use among Canadian veterans within the first 5 years following service: methodological considerations for comparisons with the general population. Occupational and environmental medicine, 80(8), 462-468. https://oem.bmj.com/content/80/8/462

Mahar, A. L., Cyr, K. S., Enns, J. E., Aiken, A. B., Whitehead, M., Cramm, H., and Kurdyak, P. (2022). Canadian Veteran chronic disease prevalence and health services use in the five years following release: a matched retrospective cohort study using routinely collected data. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1678. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-022-14053-4

Mahar, A. L., Aiken, A. B., Cramm, H., Cyr, K. S., Shellenberger, J., and Kurdyak, P. (2022). Cancer incidence among Canadian Veterans: A matched cohort study. Cancer Epidemiology, 79, 102199.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1877782122001047

Mahar, A. L., Cyr, K. S., Enns, J. E., Aiken, A. B., Whitehead, M., Cramm, H., and Kurdyak, P. (2022). Canadian Veteran chronic disease prevalence and health services use in the five years following release: a matched retrospective cohort study using routinely collected data. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1678. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-022-14053-4#Ack1

Mahar, A. L., Aiken, A. B., Whitehead, M., Tien, H., Cramm, H., Fear, N. T., and Kurdyak, P. (2019). Suicide in Canadian veterans living in Ontario: a retrospective cohort study linking routinely collected data. BMJ open, 9(6), e027343. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/6/e027343.abstract

Project Title: Workplace Well-Being of CAF members and DND personnel
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Alexandre Morin, PhD
Concordia University
IBM Canada Ltd.
$44,113.00

In May 2018, DGMPRA launched the DWWS Initiative, a comprehensive, proactive, and systematic approach to addressing the workplace well-being of CAF members and DND employees. This novel initiative will support the Total Health and Wellness Strategy and the Federal Public Service Workplace Mental Health Strategy, and help the CAF/DND maintain its prominent role in this domain within the Federal Public Service. CAF members – and, potentially, their families via spillover effects – will benefit from the proposed research project in that it will ascertain their well-being and pinpoint organizations and groups of individuals in need of attention, including those with high levels of burnout and psychological distress. These results will inform the design and implementation of positive actions where needed, and a future iteration of the DWWS will assess the impact of these actions.

Related Scholarly Activities

Blais, A. R., Gillet, N., Houle, S. A., Comeau, C. A., and Morin, A. J. (2020). Work fatigue profiles: Nature, implications, and associations with psychological empowerment. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 596206.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.596206/full

Project Title: Project Trauma Support: Addressing Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Moral Injury in Military Members at risk of Medical Release
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Suzette Brémault-Phillips, PhD
University of Alberta
True Patriot Love Foundation
$60,000.00

Military members can experience trauma as a result of combat duties, being in a war zone, or peacekeeping under difficult conditions. It is estimated that up to 10% of those who have been in war zones will experience PTSD. Regarding Moral Injury (MI), of members deployed from 2001-2013, 58% were exposed to events that heightened their risk of engaging in or witnessing (in)actions that violated their deeply held values/beliefs. Feelings of shame, guilt, anxiety, depression and anger, together with loss of relationships, self-worth, and quality of life can manifest, as well as self-harming behaviour and suicide. The recent passage of Bill C-211 - Federal Framework on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Act - highlights Canada’s commitment to addressing PTSD among those who serve. This project aims to study the effectiveness of Project Trauma Support - an innovative, physician-led, community-based, 6-day, residential program focused on the treatment of PTSD/MI.

Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Addressing Moral Injury in Canadian Armed Forces Personnel: A Mixed Methods Pilot of Adaptive Disclosure Therapy
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Suzette Brémault-Phillips, PhD
University of Alberta
IBM Canada Ltd.
$49,740.00

Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members are exposed to stressors while in garrison, or on deployment that can result in Operational Stress Injuries (OSIs) (e.g., Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety). Exposure to morally injurious events (MIEs) (i.e.., engaging in or witnessing (in)actions that violate deeply held beliefs/values) that results in development of Moral Injury (MI) has been found to: increase feelings of shame, guilt, and anger; compromise relationships, trust, and hope; perpetuate PTSD, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse; and strongly predict suicide in military personnel and veterans. Of CAF members deployed from 2001-2013, over 50% were exposed to potentially MIEs. Recent studies have examined Moral Injury (MI) and applicable interventions. Developing and testing interventions that address MI is apt and timely. This project aims to study the effectiveness of Adaptive Disclosure Therapy (ADT) as a treatment for MI. 

Related Scholarly Activities

Smith-MacDonald, L., VanderLaan, A., Kaneva, Z., Voth, M., Pike, A., Jones, C., and Bremault-Phillips, S. (2022). “Putting Down and Letting Go”: An Exploration of a Community-Based Trauma-Oriented Retreat Program for Military Personnel, Veterans, and RCMP. Trauma Care, 2(2), 95-113. https://www.mdpi.com/2673-866X/2/2/9

Smith-MacDonald, L., Pike, A., Jones, C., and Bremault-Phillips, S. (2022). Exploration of trauma-oriented retreats: Quantitative changes in mental health measures for Canadian military members, veterans and Royal Canadian mounted police with posttraumatic stress disorder and moral injury. Trauma Care, 2(2), 114-130. https://www.mdpi.com/2673-866X/2/2/10

2018

Project Title: Using Advanced Analytics to Understand PTSD in Family Practice and Specialty Care
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Don Richardson, MD; Alexander Singer, MB BAO BCh
Lawson Health Research Institute, University of Manitoba, Queen’s University, The Centre for Advanced Computing, Calian
IBM, Mitacs
$361,200.00
  • Researchers will apply algorithmic and natural language processing techniques to establish a validated definition to identify PTSD within electronic medical records (EMR) and to identify key features related to suicide attempts and moral injury.
  • This research will benefit CAF members, Veterans, and their families through the identification and clinical application of predictors of moral injury, suicidal behaviours, and patterns of comorbidity.
  • The research team anticipates that the findings will provide much needed insight into the primary care experiences of patients with PTSD including a cohort of Veteran and related family members, as well as be generalizable to similar treatment-seeking military and veteran populations.
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Special Issue or Supplement of a mental health research journal on Research Task Group (NATO) investigations in how best to leverage technology to advance mental health care (Task 48)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
CIMVHR
Queen's University
Defence Research and Development Canada
$23,911.33
Project Title: Fibrinogen in the Initial Resuscitation of Severe Trauma (FiiRST) 2: Physiological outcomes (Task 40)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Luis Da Luz, MD
Sunnybrook Research Institute
Defence Research and Development Canada
$50,135.02
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Evaluation Remote Ischemic Conditioning (RIC) for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Shock and Brain Injury- A Randomized Controlled Trial (Task 42)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Ori Rotstein, MD
St. Michael's Hospital
Defence Research and Development Canada
$409,814.11
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Using fMRI machine learning as a predictor of PTSD phenotype and treatment outcomes among treatment-seeking CAF members, veterans, and civilians
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD; J Don Richardson, MD; Nicholas Coupland, MD
Western University; Lawson Health Research Institute; University of Alberta
IBM, True Patriot Love, Mitacs
$218,000.00
  • The study will utilize brain imaging data (fMRI) to determine if neurobiological machine learning algorithms can predict psychiatric symptomatology and treatment outcomes in CAF members, Veterans, their families, and civilians.
  • This research will benefit CAF members and Veterans through the identification and clinical application of novel avenues to personalized medicine.
  • Researchers anticipate developing a tool that can aid in the diagnosis of PTSD and its various subtypes, as well as inform treatment guidelines.
Related Scholarly Activities

Nicholson, A. A., Densmore, M., McKinnon, M. C., Neufeld, R. W., Frewen, P. A., Théberge, J., ... and Lanius, R. A. (2019). Machine learning multivariate pattern analysis predicts classification of posttraumatic stress disorder and its dissociative subtype: a multimodal neuroimaging approach. Psychological medicine, 49(12), 2049-2059. https://bit.ly/3KaJZYi

Project Title: Defining the Longitudinal Course, Outcomes and Treatment Needs of Vulnerable Canadians with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Jitender Sareen, MD
University of Manitoba
True Patriot Love Foundation
$300,000.00

Although stress is a recurring and omnipresent problem, there are major gaps in knowledge about the hallmark condition related to traumatic stress (i.e. posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD}). Over 70% of Canadians are exposed to traumatic events (e.g. physical injury, accidental death of loved one) in their lives. Although most are resilient, a substantial minority experience subsequent emotional problems. Major gaps exist in the literature on the incidence, longitudinal course, impact, and treatment needs of PTSD in Canadians. In particular, we know very little about the long-term impact of trauma exposure and PTSD among our Canadian soldiers. It is essential to understand the trajectory of PTSD within Canada’s unique demographic, sociocultural, and health care system influences.

The objectives of this research project are to: 
1. Define the incidence and longitudinal course of PTSD in Canadian samples.
2. Develop prediction tools to identify those at risk for incident and persistent PTSD.
3. Define the impact of PTSD on subsequent risk for negative health outcomes
4. Describe health care use and treatment needs among people with PTSD. 
In the short term, this program of research will determine predictors of PTSD, the impact of PTSD on health outcomes, and treatment needs of civilians, active soldiers, and veterans with PTSD in Canada. In the long term, understanding these important questions will improve recognition and treatment of PTSD across health sectors, and will ultimately improve the lives of people with PTSD. 

Related Scholarly Activities

Asmundson, A. J., Paluszek, M. M., Sommer, J. L., Bolton, S. L., Sareen, J., Afifi, T. O., ... and Asmundson, G. J. (2025). Longitudinal course of posttraumatic stress disorder and chronic pain conditions: A population-based study of Canadian military personnel over 16 years. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 113, 103025. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887618525000611#sec0070

Afifi, T. O., Taillieu, T., Salmon, S., Stewart-Tufescu, A., Sareen, J., Enns, M. W., ... and VanTil, L. (2024). Child maltreatment history, deployment-related traumatic events, and past 12-month cannabis use among veterans in Canada. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 69(2), 116-125.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/07067437231192740

Mota, N., Sommer, J. L., Bolton, S. L., Enns, M. W., El-Gabalawy, R., Sareen, J., ... and Afifi, T. O. (2023). Prevalence and correlates of military sexual trauma in service members and veterans: Results from the 2018 Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans Mental Health Follow-up Survey. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 68(9), 682-690.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/07067437221125292

Sommer, J. L., Mota, N., Thompson, J. M., Asmundson, G. J., Sareen, J., Bernstein, C. N., ... and El-Gabalawy, R. (2022). Associations between courses of posttraumatic stress disorder and physical health conditions among Canadian military personnel. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 87, 102543.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0887618522000160
 

Pankratz, L., Sommer, J. L., Bolton, S. L., Sareen, J., Enns, M. W., Afifi, T. O., ... and Mota, N. (2022). Prevalence and predictors of anxiety disorder courses in the Canadian Armed forces. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 92, 102612. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887618522000858

Gill, G. K., Sommer, J. L., Mota, N., Sareen, J., and El-Gabalawy, R. (2022). Illness-induced post-traumatic stress disorder among Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 86, 102472.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887618521001195

Mota, N., Sommer, J. L., Bolton, S. L., Enns, M. W., El-Gabalawy, R., Sareen, J., ... and Afifi, T. O. (2023). Prevalence and correlates of military sexual trauma in service members and veterans: Results from the 2018 Canadian armed forces members and veterans mental health follow-up survey. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 68(9), 682-690. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/07067437221125292

Perera, E., Thompson, J. M., Asmundson, G. J., El-Gabalawy, R., Afifi, T. O., Sareen, J., and Bolton, S. L. (2021). Chronic pain: The Canadian Armed Forces members and Veterans mental health follow-up survey. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, 7(S2), 29-42.
https://jmvfh.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/jmvfh-2021-0051

Bolton, S. L., Afifi, T. O., Mota, N. P., Enns, M. W., de Graaf, R., Marrie, R. A., ... and Sareen, J. (2021). Patterns of attrition in the Canadian armed forces members and veterans mental health follow-up survey (CAFVMHS). The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 66(11), 996-998.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/07067437211002697

Sareen, J., Bolton, S. L., Mota, N., Afifi, T. O., Enns, M. W., Taillieu, T., ... and Logsetty, S. (2021). Lifetime prevalence and comorbidity of mental disorders in the two-wave 2002–2018 canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans Mental Health follow-up survey (CAFVMHS): Prévalence et Comorbidité de Durée de vie Des troubles Mentaux Dans l’Enquête de Suivi Sur la Santé Mentale Auprès des Membres des Forces Armées Canadiennes et Des ex-Militaires (ESSMFACM) en deux cycles de 2002 à 2018. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 66(11), 951-960. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/07067437211000636

Mota, N., Bolton, S. L., Enns, M. W., Afifi, T. O., El-Gabalawy, R., Sommer, J. L., ... and Sareen, J. (2021). Course and Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the Canadian Armed Forces: A Nationally Representative, 16-Year Follow-up Study: Cours et prédicteurs du trouble de stress post-traumatique dans les Forces armées canadiennes: une étude de suivi de 16 ans nationalement représentative. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 66(11), 982-995. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0706743721989167

Afifi, T. O., Sareen, J., Taillieu, T., Stewart-Tufescu, A., Mota, N., Bolton, S. L., ... and Jetly, R. (2021). Association of child maltreatment and deployment-related traumatic experiences with mental disorders in active duty service members and veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces: Association de la Maltraitance des Enfants et des Expériences Traumatisantes Liées au Déploiement Avec les Troubles Mentaux Chez les Membres du Service Actif et Les Anciens Combattants des Forces Armées Canadiennes. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 66(11), 961-970. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0706743720987086

Enns, M. W., Mota, N., Afifi, T. O., Bolton, S. L., Richardson, J. D., Patten, S. B., and Sareen, J. (2021). Course and Predictors of Major Depressive Disorder in the Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans Mental Health Follow-up Survey: Cours et Prédicteurs du Trouble de Dépression Majeure Dans l’Enquête de Suivi Sur la Santé Mentale Auprès Des Membres des Forces Armées Canadiennes et des ex-Militaires. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 66(11), 971-981. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0706743720984677

Afifi, T. O., Bolton, S. L., Mota, N., Marrie, R. A., Stein, M. B., Enns, M. W., ... and Sareen, J. (2021). Rationale and methodology of the 2018 Canadian armed forces members and veterans mental health follow-up survey (CAFVMHS): a 16-year follow-up survey: raison d’être et méthodologie de l’enquête de suivi sur la santé mentale des membres des forces armées Canadiennes et des anciens combattants, 2018 (ESSMFACM). The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 66(11), 942-950. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0706743720974837

Project Title: An Analytic and Predictive Risk Model to Assess Dental Readiness in the Military Population (Task 34)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Alyson Mahar, PhD
University of Manitoba
Canadian Forces Health Services
$103,994.90
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Broad Spectrum Antivirals against RNA Viruses which Block Cellular Entry (Task 38)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Frederick West, PhD
University of Alberta
Defence Research and Development Canada
$221,442.69
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Towards Reducing Musculoskeletal Injuries in the Canadian Armed Forces (Task 41)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Phil Bigelow, PhD
University of Waterloo
Defence Research and Development Canada
$57,950.21
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Literature Review on “The Utility of Melatonin Interventions in PTSD” (Task 43)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Lili Liu, PhD
University of Alberta
Defence Research and Development Canada
$19,961.06
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: HERE4U Military Version
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Heather Stuart, OC, PhD
Queen's University, The Centre for Advanced Computing, SOSCIP, IBM Global Business Services
IBM, Mitacs
$415,000.00
  • Researchers will develop the IBM HERE4U Military Version, an instant messaging smartphone application to connect military family members to a mental health counselling solution.
  • The application will be enabled by the IBM Watson cognitive platform using an advanced "Chat Bot" conversation system.
  • Watson will engage with the client to identify a presenting problem and when clinically serious, triage to a counselor for guidance and referral.
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Using advanced analytics to develop a multimodal signature of concussion and post-concussive syndrome
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Michael Cusimano, MD, PhD
St. Michael’s Hospital (University of Toronto), Toronto Metropolitan University, SOSCIP
IBM Canada Ltd.
$205,440.00
  • Concussions are extremely common in deployment and in military and civilian activities. The diagnosis of concussion and “post-concussive syndrome” (PCS) is currently based on a patient’s report of their symptoms and a physical exam.
  • In this study, researchers will utilize a dataset collected over the last four years (which contains MRI, neuropsychological, eye-movement, imaging and free text data) to apply complex analytical methods to define more sensitive and specific tests.
  • These tools may be used in both a military and civilian setting, allowing for more personalized treatment and recovery programs, thereby lessening the burden of concussion and PCS.
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Using machine learning to investigate sympathetic activation of the autonomic nervous system during treatment of mild traumatic brain injury, chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
James Green, PhD; Adrian Chan, PhD
Carleton University; SOSCIP
IBM Canada Ltd.
$230,000.00
  • The goal of the research project is to further our understanding and clinical management of Canadian Forces service members and Veterans suffering from a complex medical triad of traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
  • Using a Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN) this research will collect and consolidate a series of non-invasive whole-body biological measurements from patients during immersive therapy sessions in the CAREN Virtual Reality facility.
  • High-performance computing and machine learning will be used to develop and deploy real-time estimators of sympathetic neural activation of the autonomic nervous system (SAANS).
  • These systems will allow clinicians to create individualized treatment plans for patients, thereby maximizing rehabilitation benefits and avoiding costly setbacks in patient treatment.
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Safe Harbour for Military, Veteran and Family Health Research Data
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Patrick Martin, PhD
Queen's University, The Centre for Advanced Computing
IBM Canada Ltd.
$204,000.00
  • CIMVHR, affiliated research partners, and IBM have identified a significant and universal issue facing health researchers that applies to MVFH research and health research for the Canadian population at large.
  • Comprehensive and complete medical records for any given population are generally not available for research purposes due to access challenges and strict privacy protection practices.
  • This project proposes to explore a safe harbour environment that includes secure data extraction and linking components and adheres to the strict policies that protect the access to the source data while facilitating creation of properly de-identified linked datasets from different sources to facilitate more complete future MVFH research.
Related Scholarly Activities

Martin, P., Rakha, M. S., and Whitnall, J. (2021). Data safe haven for military, Veteran, and family health research. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, 7(1), 102-107.
https://jmvfh.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/jmvfh-2020-0035

Project Title: Soutien en santé mentale aux familles militaires et aux vétérans du Québec : une étude de faisabilité
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Dave Blackburn, PhD
Université du Québec en Outaouais
IBM Canada Ltd.
$47,999.59

Ce project de recherche se fera en deux phases. La première phase consistera à produire une revue de l'état actuel des programmes et des services existant en santé mental au Québec destinés aux familles militaires et aux vétérans.

Quatre catégories de programmes et de services seront présentées par région du Québec:

  1. programmes fédéraux;
  2. programmes provinciaux;
  3. programmes communautaires et sans but lucratif; et ;
  4. services privés.

La seconde phase consistera à développer et à administrer un questionnaire qui sera destiné aux familles militaires et aux vétérans afin de cerner leurs besoins/leurs évaluations/leurs utilisations en matière de programmes et de services en santé mentale. Les deux phases de ce project de recherche se feront avec l'aide de partenaires comme les Centres de la famille du Québec et les organisations de vétérans. Un rapport complet sera produit afin d'exposer les résultats des deux phases du project de recherche et afin de soumettre des recommandations.

Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: The implementation of remotely supervised home-based intensive exercise interventions to improve balance, mobility and physical activity for military who suffered a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Heidi Sveistrup, PhD
University of Ottawa, Bruyère Research Institute
True Patriot Love Foundation
$47,516.00

The overall objective of this study is to increase accessibility of physical rehabilitation to military or Veterans who have suffered a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury.

The primary objective of this study will be to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of remotely supervised intensive home-based exercise interventions. The secondary objectives will be to: 1) identify the differences between daily and weekly remotely supervised home-based intensive exercise intervention on program implementation measures as well as rehabilitation outcomes (i.e. balance, functional mobility and physical activity levels) for moderate and severe TBI survivors; and 2) identify key strategies for the use of remote supervision and home-based exercise intervention.

This study could have national impact on accessibility of supervised exercise interventions since it looks at integrating participants from rural communities and minority communities including francophones.

Related Scholarly Activities

O’Neil, J. (2021). Home-based telerehabilitation exercise programs for people living with moderate or severe traumatic brain injury. [Doctoral Dissertation]. University of Ottawa.
 

O’Neil, J., Egan, M., Marshall, S., Bilodeau, M., Pelletier, L., and Sveistrup, H. (2022). Remotely supervised exercise programs to improve balance, mobility, and activity among people with moderate to severe traumatic brain Injury: Description and feasibility. Physiotherapy Canada. Published online. https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/ptc-2021-0039.

O'Neil, J., Egan, M., Marshall, S., Bilodeau, M., Pelletier, L., and Sveistrup, H. (2019). Remotely supervised home-based intensive exercise intervention to improve balance, functional mobility, and physical activity in survivors of moderate or severe traumatic brain injury: protocol for a mixed methods study. JMIR research protocols, 8(10), e14867.

O’Neil, J., Egan, M., Marshall, S., Bilodeau, M., Pelletier, L., and Sveistrup, H. (2023). The impact of two telerehabilitation supervision schedules on physical activity, mobility, and balance among people with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury: A mixed-method single-subject design. Physiotherapy Canada. 75(2), 118-131. https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/ptc-2021-0040. 

O’Neil, J., Pelletier, L., Bilodeau, M., Egan, M., Marshall, S., and Sveistrup, H. (2023). A physiotherapist’s perception of their own behavior compared to the perception of their behavior by persons with TBI within the context of telerehabilitation: A self-determination theory perspective. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 39(8), 1650-1661.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09593985.2022.2046219.

Project Title: Exploring the Experiences of Adult Children of CAF Veterans: Implications for Program and Policy Development
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Deborah Norris, PhD
Mount Saint Vincent University
True Patriot Love Foundation
$34,100.00

Military service challenges the stability and functioning of military family members, including children. For some children, however, the stresses associated with mobility, separation and risk build capacity, fostering a sense of belonging, enhanced self-confidence, increased family and community cohesion, and comfort with the unfamiliar. It is not known if these capacities are sustained through adulthood. We will interview 20-30 adult children of Canadian Armed Forces veterans who served from the Korean War through to the Cold War. This is an understudied group whose childhood experiences occured before formal supports were available to military families. Capturing their stories will address two gaps in Canadian military family research, specifically, the inclusion of retrospective accounts from adult children of their experiences growing up in military families and a focus on positive outcomes of military service for family members. This research will provide new insights that will inform policy and program development.

Plain Language Summary
Lay Summary
Related Scholarly Activities

Norris, D., Cox, M., Cramm, H., and Mahar, A. L. (2024). Adult children in Canadian military families (1950–91): Balancing demands with capabilities. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, 10(2), 140-149. https://utppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3138/jmvfh-2023-0060

Project Title: After the War: Investigating 20th Century Post-Conflict Re-Establishment and Rehabilitation Best Practices to Empower 21st Century Veterans
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Lee Windsor, PhD and Cindy Brown, PhD
University of New Brunswick and The Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society
IBM Canada Ltd.
$25,000.00

Preliminary research into 1940s post-war Canadian veterans’ policy indicates that efforts to foster sense of purpose, self-reliance, and to create opportunities for meaningful employment, affordable homes, and sense of community contributed to successful post-war transitions, thereby reducing the ill effects of combat service for injured and non-injured Canadian veterans alike. The original Veterans Charter emphasised re-establishment over compensation so as to better reintegrate Veterans in to civil. University education, vocational training and assistance with business creation and farming stood among priority services. This focus appears to have been successful but to date there has been no scholarly research to measure their performance. This project aims to do that by employing historical case studies on the returned men of 1945 to better understand how some become active and contributing members of their community and others required long-term treatment and compensation. These findings will inform today's Canadian veterans' public policy discussions.

Related Scholarly Activities

 

2017

Project Title: Social Cognition, Moral Injury and Suicidality in Canadian Armed Forces Personnel and Veterans (Task 27)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD
Western University
Canadian Forces Health Services
$1,307,609.60
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Next Generation Sequencing (Task 30)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Stephen Scherer, PhD
The Hospital for Sick Children
Defence Research and Development Canada
$87,806.35
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Psychiatric EEG Evaluation Registry or PEER (Task 32)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Verner Knott, PhD
The Royal Hospital
Canadian Forces Health Services
$188,339.10
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Multimodal Neuroimaging in the Evaluation of Mental Disorders: Application of PET and MRS for the Assessment of Neuroinflammation in Military PTSD (Task 37)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Isabelle Boileau, PhD
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Defence Research and Development Canada
$1,676,815.18
Related Scholarly Activities

 

2016

Project Title: Development of a Performance Assessment Tool for the Computer-Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (Task 28)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Jacqueline Hebert, MD
University of Alberta
Canadian Forces Health Services
$197,228.62
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Mental Health Expert Panel Knowledge Translation (Task 29)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Jitender Sareen, MD
University of Manitoba
Canadian Forces Health Services
$135,370.09
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Metabolomic Analysis of Brain Injury (Task 19)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Douglas Fraser, PhD
Western University
Defence Research and Development Canada
$184,349.83
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Health and Lifestyle Information Survey 2013/14- Reserve Force Data Analysis and Report Writing (Task 20)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Xiangfei Meng, PhD
McGill University
Canadian Forces Health Services
$110,895.27
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: A pilot study to understand how equine-assisted therapy may assist Veterans in living with mental health conditions (Task 22)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Dave Blackburn, PhD
Université du Québec en Outaouais
Veterans Affairs Canada
$160,763.12
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Longitudinal Qualitative Study on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Military Veterans during Canadian Military to Civilian Transition (Task 23)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Maya Eichler, PhD; Heidi Cramm, PhD; Dave Blackburn, PhD
Mount St. Vincent University, Queen's University, Université du Québec en Outaouais
Veterans Affairs Canada
$568,702.28
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Qualitative Study on the Health and Well-being of Families of Canadian Armed Forces Veterans with Mental Health Problems (Task 24)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Deborah Norris, PhD; Heidi Cramm, PhD; Kelly Dean Schwartz, PhD
Mount St. Vincent University, Queen's University, University of Calgary
Veterans Affairs Canada
$246,137.95
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Research Validation and Analysis of a Standardized Neck/Shoulder Program in Canadian Armed Forces Aircrew and It’s Impact on Neck Pain, Impairments and Functional Limitations/Restrictions (Task 25)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Luc Hébert, CD, PhD
Université Laval
Canadian Forces Health Services
$64,075.58
Related Scholarly Activities

 

2015

Project Title: Special Issue or Supplement of a Mental Health research Journal on Key Findings from the 2013 Canadian Armed Forces Cross-Sectional Mental Health Survey (Task 2)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
CIMVHR
Queen's University
Canadian Forces Health Services
$100,608.76
Project Title: National Canadian Armed Forces Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN) Coordinator-For Physical and Mental Health Rehabilitation (Task 6)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Emily Sinitski, MASc
The Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre
Canadian Forces Health Services
$228,604.74
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: A Comparison of Two Viscoelastic Testing Systems for Goal-Guided Administration of Fibrinogen Concentrate in Severe Trauma: TEG® and ROTEM® (Task 5)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Barto Nascimento, MD
Sunnybrook Research Institute
Defence Research and Development Canada
$147,037.76
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Specific Analyses of the 2013 Canadian Armed Forces Mental Health Survey Data on Suicidality, Child Abuse Victimization, Anxiety Disorders beyond PTSD, Income and Mental Disorders and Chronic Pain
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Jitender Sareen, MD
University of Manitoba
Canadian Forces Health Services
$389,090.33
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Bionic Limbs for Improved Nautral Control (BLINC)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Jacqueline Hebert, MD
University of Alberta
True Patriot Love Foundation
$100,000.00
Related Scholarly Activities

Schoepp, K. R., Dawson, M. R., Schofield, J. S., Carey, J. P., and Hebert, J. S. (2018). Design and integration of an inexpensive wearable mechanotactile feedback system for myoelectric prostheses. IEEE Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine, 6, 1-11.
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8443368

Project Title: Analyses of the 2013 Canadian Armed Forces Cross-Sectional Mental Health Survey Data (Task 11)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Ian Colman, PhD, Jitender Sareen, MD
University of Ottawa, University of Manitoba
Canadian Forces Health Services
$265,107.11
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Post-Deployment Gene Expression Profiling (Task 4)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Daniele Merico, PhD
The Hospital for Sick Children
Defence Research and Development Canada
$13,761.27
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: The Determinants of Successful Transition from Military to Civilian Life (Task 9)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Elizabeth VanDenKerkhof, PhD
Queen's University
Veterans Affairs Canada
$21,017.92
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Grant Submission Canada-Israel Health Research Program (Task 13)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Margaret McKinnon, PhD
St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton
Canadian Forces Health Services
$56,169.81
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Environmental Scan of Administrative Elements and Support Programs for Canadian Armed Forces Veterans during Military to Civilian Transition (Task 17)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Deborah Norris, PhD; Heidi Cramm, PhD
Mount St. Vincent University, Queen's University
Veterans Affairs Canada
$40,972.41
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Literature Review and Analysis on the Mental Health and Well-being of Military Veterans during Canadian Military to Civilian Transition (Task 18)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
David Kuhl, PhD
University of British Columbia
Veterans Affairs Canada
$54,615.95
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Mental Health and Mental Health Services Use in the Canadian Armed Forces: Statement of Work for Analysis of the 2013 Canadian Armed Forces Cross-Sectional Mental Health Survey Data (Task 3)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Ian Colman, PhD
University of Ottawa
Canadian Forces Health Services
$519,838.27
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Health Care Inflation for Age and Sex Matched Cohort (Task 8)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Eric Tchouaket, PhD
Université du Québec en Outaouais
Canadian Forces Health Services
$35,077.22
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Effectiveness of Neurofeedback: Therapy for Military Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (Task 1)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD
Western University
Canadian Forces Health Services
$1,762,915.30
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Understanding Concussion: From Injury to Return-to-Work (Task 7)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Michael Hutchison, PhD
University of Toronto
Defence Research and Development Canada
$1,183,855.35
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Colour Vision Assessment and Operational Requirements for Military Aircrew (Task 12)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Jeffery Hovis, PhD
University of Waterloo
Defence Research and Development Canada
$308,286.81
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: A Pilot Study on the Potential Effectiveness of Psychiatric Service Dogs Used by Veterans with PTSD in Canada (Task 14)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Claude Vincent, PhD
Université Laval
Veterans Affairs Canada
$298,950.11
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Operational Requirements for Stereopsis and Binocular Visual Processing in Military Aviation (Task 15)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Laurie Wilcox, PhD
York University
Defence Research and Development Canada
$327,570.40
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Longitudinal Follow-Up Study of a Military PTSD patient Cohort using Magnetoencephalography (Task 16)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Margot Taylor, PhD
The Hospital for Sick Children
Canadian Forces Health Services
$255,754.45
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Development of a field-based quantitative method for the evaluation of brain injury
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
D.J. Cook, MD, PhD
Queen's University
IBM Canada Ltd.
$126,000.00
Related Scholarly Activities

 

2014

Project Title: Effect of Whole Body Exposure to Primary Blast in Mice
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Ibolja Cernak, PhD
University of Alberta
Defence Research and Development Canada
$81,798.62
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Review of Existing Evidence and Development of Options for a Future Research Proposal Regarding the Effectiveness of Psychiatric Service Dogs in Treating PTSD in Veterans.
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
James Gillett, PhD
McMaster University
Veterans Affairs Canada
$16,408.26
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Investigating Cellular Reprogramming as a Tool for Identifying Neural Based Assays for PTSD
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
James Ellis, PhD
The Hospital for Sick Children
Defence Research and Development Canada
$88,315.64
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Analysis of Electromyography (EMG) and Motion Capture (MOCAP) Data for Aircrew Neck Strain
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Jack Callaghan, PhD
University of Waterloo
Defence Research and Development Canada
$55,387.60
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Interactions Between Sleep Disorders and Military PTSD
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Harvey Moldofsky, PhD
Toronto Psychiatric Research Foundation
Defence Research and Development Canada
$95,957.86
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Development of Rat Concussion Model of TBI and Comparative Behavioural Effects to Blast-Induced TBI
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Michael Esser, PhD
University of Calgary
Defence Research and Development Canada
$22,978.81
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Elastomer-Based Helmet System Prototype to Address Aircrew Neck Strain
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Steven Fischer, PhD
Queen’s University
Defence Research and Development Canada
$68,935.40
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Comparative Effects of Concussion Versus Blast-Induced Traumatic Brain Injury
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Michael Esser, PhD
University of Calgary
Defence Research and Development Canada
$79,988.47
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Development of a Psychiatric Service Dog Pilot Study
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Claude Vincent, PhD
Laval University
Veterans Affairs Canada
$273,476.04
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: MEG Study Protocol
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Margot Taylor, PhD
The Hospital for Sick Children
Canadian Forces Health Services
$9,630.67
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Operational Stress Injuries Review
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Deborah Norris, PhD; Heidi Cramm, PhD
Mount St. Vincent University, Queen’s University
Veterans Affairs Canada
$23,970.24
Related Scholarly Activities

 

2013

Project Title: Effectiveness of CAREN Treatment for Chronic Non-Specific Low Back Pain
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Jacqueline Hebert, MD
University of Alberta
Canadian Forces Health Services
$73,356.00
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Near-Term Ideas to Address Aircrew Helmet Systems-Induced Neck Pain
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Steven Fischer, PhD; Geoff Fernie, PhD
Queen’s University, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute
Canadian Forces Health Services
$149,920.67
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Investigating the Effects of Exposure to a Shared Traumatic Event in a Group of Mental Health Employees
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Margaret McKinnon, PhD
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
Defence Research and Development Canada
$20,340.69
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Evaluation of Disordered Sleep Physiology, Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain, Fatigue and Psychological Disturbances in Canadian Military Personnel with and without PTSD
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Harvey Moldofsky, PhD
Toronto Psychiatric Research Foundation
Defence Research and Development Canada
$20,176.94
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Preconditioning Against Blast-Induced Neurotrauma-Phase 1
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Andrew Baker, PhD
St. Michael’s Hospital
Defence Research and Development Canada
$33,774.66
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Novel Biomarkers for the Early Diagnosis and Management of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI)-Phase 1
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Sandro Rizoli, PhD
Sunnybrook Research Institute
Defence Research and Development Canada
$32,740.06
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Live Tissue TRG and Mannequin Simulators- Epidemiological Data Analysis
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Diane Groll, PhD
Queen’s University
Canadian Forces Health Services
$17,459.81
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Going Places: Does the Two-minute Walk Test Predict the Six-minute Walk Test in Lower Extremity Amputees?
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Lauren Reid, PhD
Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre
Canadian Forces Health Services
$13,697.01
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Efficacy of Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) Program in Recruits
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Alain Brunet, PhD
Douglas Mental Health University Institute
Defence Research and Development Canada
$166,582.07
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Measuring Spatial Abilities Using Behavioural and Neuroimaging Approaches
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Giuseppe Iaria, PhD
University of Calgary
Defence Research and Development Canada
$96,685.23
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Default Connectivity as a Predictor of PTSD Symptomatology and Bio-Behavioural Correlates of Autobiographical Memory in Military PTSD Requirement
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD
Western University
Canadian Forces Health Services
$185,874.14
Related Scholarly Activities

 

2012

Project Title: Canadian Psychiatric Association Military-Related PTSD Educational Module
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Don Richardson, MD
Canadian Psychiatric Association
Defence Research and Development Canada
$47,493.99
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: The Study of Comorbid Physical Health Conditions and Anxiety in a National Sample of Veterans
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Jitender Sareen, MD
University of Manitoba
Veterans Affairs Canada
$17,676.59
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: The Study of Income, Mental Disorders and Suicide in a National Sample of Veterans
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Jitender Sareen, MD
University of Manitoba
Veterans Affairs Canada
$12,355.00
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Development of Mental Health Grant Proposal
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Jitender Sareen, MD
University of Manitoba
Defence Research and Development Canada
$45,217.59
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Barriers to Employment Coping Efficacy Scale – Veteran Version (BECES-V) Research Project
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Marc Corbière, PhD
Université de Sherbrooke
IBM Canada Ltd.
$34,330.00
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Neurofeedback Study
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD
Western University
Canadian Forces Health Services
$152,174.23
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Biological Correlates of Military-Related PTSD – a Feasibility Study
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD
Western University
Defence Research and Development Canada
$158,953.16
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Understanding the Biological Basis of Mental Illness –Translational Clinical Research Protocol Development
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Rohan Ganguli, PhD
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Defence Research and Development Canada
$9,947.49
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Pain and Well-being Study: Analysis of Data from the Life After Service Study (LASS) - Survey on Transition to Civilian Life
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Elizabeth VanDenKerkhof, PhD
Queen’s University
Veterans Affairs Canada
$18,027.49
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Biological Correlates of Military-Related PTSD
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD
Western University
Defence Research and Development Canada
$0.00
Project Title: Expression Profiling in Soldiers Returning from Tour in Afghanistan-A Genome Pilot Project
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Daniele Merico, PhD; Stephen Scherer, PhD
The Hospital for Sick Children
Defence Research and Development Canada
$4,757,127.00
Related Scholarly Activities

 

Project Title: Biostatistician Services for Mental Health Research Initiatives (Task 10)
Principal Investigator(s)
Institution(s) and Partner(s)
Funder(s)
Award Amount
Alain Brunet, PhD
McGill University
Defence Research and Development Canada
$382,158.62
Related Scholarly Activities