Meet Our Research Team

Dr. Leslie E. Roos

Project Director

Dr. Leslie E. Roos is an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba. She aims to prevent the intergenerational transmission of stress-linked health inequities by developing scalable programs that promote parent mental health and family relationships.

Clinical Leads

Our clinical teams are a group of clinical psychology students at the University of Manitoba and the University of Calgary. They enhance our programs by providing evidence-based therapeutic techniques to help participants manage mental health and parenting concerns. You may see them in the telehealth group component of your program.

Lianne is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the Canada Research Chair in Mental Health and Intersectionality. Her research focuses on the psychological and social factors that promote or detract from optimal health trajectories. She aims to address patient-oriented research priorities for developing, testing and disseminating prevention and intervention programs that will improve parental and child mental health.  Her current program of research is influenced her role as a mother and her clinical work, which have led her to develop expertise in relational therapies, mindfulness, and self-compassion.

Dr. Anna MacKinnon is a Registered Psychologist and Assistant Professor at l’Université de Montréal. She is director of the Family, Adversity, and well-Being (F.A.B.) Lab at the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre, which aims to improve early childhood development by developing and implementing accessible programs that target risk and resilience factors including perinatal mental health and parenting.

Dr. Tasmia Hai is an Assistant Professor in the Educational and Counselling Psychology program at McGill University. She is also a school and clinical psychologist. Tasmia completed her post-doctoral fellowship under Dr. Leslie Roos’ supervision, supporting parent mental health programs and is currently one of the senior clinicians for the BRIDGE program. Her program of research is centered on the exploration of the neurobiological and behavioural correlates of childhood disorders.

Emily Cameron is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Departments of Psychology and Paediatrics & Child Health at the University of Manitoba. She completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Calgary and Clinical Residency in the Department of Clinical Health Psychology at the University of Manitoba. Emily’s research interests focus on biological, psychological and social influences on early child development. Her background is in parental factors in pregnancy and the postpartum that influence child development, with a particular interest in inclusive family-centred care for all caregivers. Her postdoctoral work in the Hearts and Minds Lab focuses on developing and implementing inclusive eHealth parenting and mental health interventions to support young parents.

Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen

Anna Mackinnon

Tasmia Hai

Emily Cameron

Clinical Team

Our clinical teams are a group of clinical psychology students at the University of Manitoba and the University of Calgary. They enhance our programs by providing evidence-based therapeutic techniques to help participants manage mental health and parenting concerns. You may see them in the telehealth group component of your program.

Bailin Xie

Amber Cook

Sandra Hunter

James Jung

Nicole Tongol

Sydney Levasseur-Puhach

Meghan Mollons

Makayla Freeman

Jessa Hogarth

Shaelyn Stienwandt

Kaeley Simpson

Lara Penner-Goeke

Parent Coach Lead

Parent Coaches play a vital role in our programs by offering invaluable support to both participants and the research team, helping to create a more successful and supportive environment for all involved.

Ashley Pharazyn

Project Coordinators

Our project coordinators are a team of students and staff who have a passion for research. You may see some of their faces in virtual visits before your program starts, during group telehealth sessions, or have a chat over email.

Pictured from left to right: Grace, Allyson, Rachel, Cynthia, Kyla, Kayley, Madi, Janelle

Co-Investigators

Our Co-Investigators include researchers from multiple universities across Canada. They have collaborated on the scientific direction of each of our research programs to ensure projects are grounded in best-practices. We are incredibly grateful for their interdisciplinary collaboration as it plays a vital role in shaping research programs

Dr. Tracie Afifi

Dr. Ana Hanlon-Dearman

Dr. Nicole Letourneau

Dr. Anna MacKinnon

Dr. Kristene Cheung

Dr. Jessica L. Schleider

Dr. Ashley Stewart-Tufescu

Dr. Maureen Zalewski Regnier

Dr. Cara Katz

Dr. Natalie Mota

Dr. Fiona Clement

Dr. Terry Klassen

Dr. Mandy Archibald

Dr. Emily E. Cameron

Dr. Gerald Giesbrecht

Dr. Laurence Y. Katz

Dr. Catherine Lebel

Dr. Melanie Soderstorm

Dr. Kristin Reynolds

Dr. Shannon Sauer-Zavala

Dr. Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen (Co-PI)

Dr. Ryan Giuliano

Dr. Lauren Kelly

Dr. Nathan Nickel

Dr. Aislin Mushquash

Dr. Philip Fisher

Funders & Friends

Our Funders

Our Friends

Hearts and Minds Lab

Healthy Families Lab