Director

Dr. Tavis Campbell, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Oncology, University of Calgary
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Nursing, Dalhousie University
Associate Editor, Journal of Behavioural Medicine
Chair, Health Psychology Section, Canadian Psychological Association
Chair, Adherence Subcommittee, Canadian Hypertension Education Prog.

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Centre
Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, PQ
B.A. (Honours), Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, PQ

Email: t.s.campbell@ucalgary.ca
Phone: 403-998-0706

Post Doctoral Fellow

Gerald Giesbrecht, Ph.D., R. Psych.
Co-Supervised with Dr. Bonnie Kaplan
AHFMR Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary (Affiliated with the Behavioural Research Unit, Alberta Children's Hospital)

Ph.D., Psychology - Life Span Development, University of Victoria
M.A., Counselling Psychology, Trinity Western University
B.A. (Honours), Psychology, Trinity Western University

Clinical Interests: My clinical training is in family therapy and my clinical interests relate primarily to the development of self-regulation in young children.

Research Interests: My research interests include early determinants of mental health, temper tantrums in young children, the development of emotion regulation, the impact of temperament on the development of self-regulation, and the impact of maternal stress on fetal development. My current research focuses on investigating the potential for elevated glucocorticoid levels during gestation to impact on the neurodevelopmental trajectory of infants. In two related studies, I examine the links between maternal stress and circulating cortisol levels during pregnancy, and the plausibility of maternal cortisol as a biological mechanism responsible for transmitting the effects of maternal stress to fetal development.

Email: gerald.giesbrecht@albertahealthservices.ca

Ph.D. Students

Sandra N. Young, M.A.
Currently on pre-doctoral internship in Clinical Psychology
M.A., Clinical Psychology, University of British Columbia
B.Sc. (Honours), Biology, University of British Columbia

Research Interests: Medication adherence, motivational interviewing

Current Project Title: The effect of a brief motivational interviewing intervention on adherence to antihypertensive medications in uncontrolled hypertension

Email: youngs@ucalgary.ca

Laura Labelle, M.Sc.
Co-Supervised with Dr. Linda Carlson
M.Sc., Clinical Psychology, University of Calgary
B.A. (Honours), Psychology, University of Victoria

Research Interests: Currently I am interested in evaluating the effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on physiological and psychological outcomes in cancer patients. For my Master's thesis, I conducted a waitlist-controlled trial examining the impact of MBSR on blood pressure, acute stress responses (neuroendocrine and cardiovascular), and psychological functioning in women with cancer (the MASTER trial). For my Ph.D. dissertation, I am conducting a waitlist-controlled trial (the Mind In Motion study) to address the question, "How does MBSR improve psychological functioning for cancer patients"? More specifically, do increased mindfulness and improved emotion regulation mediate the impact of MBSR on mood and symptoms of stress in cancer patients and survivors?

Current Project Title: How does Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) improve psychological functioning in cancer patients?

Email: laura.labelle@ucalgary.ca

Avril Keller, M.Sc.
Co-Supervised with Dr. Elisabeth Sherman
M.Sc., Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Calgary
B.A. (Honours), Psychology, University of Saskatchewan

Research Interests: Neuropsychology, epilepsy, brain injury, imaging, pain, nervous system circuitry

Current Project Title: Cognition and brain circuitry in pediatric epilepsy

Email: akeller@ucalgary.ca

Sheila Garland, M.Sc.
Co-Supervised with Dr. Linda Carlson
M.Sc., Clinical Psychology, University of Calgary
B.A. (Honours), Psychology, University of Calgary

Research Interests: My research has thus far focused on the evaluation of psychosocial interventions with the potential to improve physical and psychological outcomes for cancer patients and their families. Specifically, I have investigated the impact of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for reducing sleep disturbances. I also compared the MBSR intervention to a creative arts program for facilitating spirituality and post-traumatic growth. My Master's research looked at how a psychosocial retreat called "Tapestry" could impact the quality of life, distress, marital satisfaction, and existential concerns of palliative cancer patients and their partners.

Current Project Title: I am currently conducting a randomized trial (I-CAN Sleep) comparing the effect of MBSR to CBT for the treatment of insomnia in individuals with cancer.

Email: sheilagarland@shaw.ca

Kristin Zernicke, M.Sc.
Co-Supervised with Dr. Linda Carlson
M.Sc., Clinical Psychology, University of Calgary
B.A. (Honours), Psychological and Brain Sciences, Minor in Human Development and Family Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington

Research Interests: Health psychology and behavioural medicine, mindfulness-based stress reduction, irritable bowel syndrome, motivational interviewing, cancer, behaviour change, online therapies and interventions

Current Project Title: The eCALM Study: An Online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program for Individuals Living with Cancer in Alberta. Please visit http://www.ecalm.ca for more details.

Email: k.zernicke@ucalgary.ca

Josh Rash, M.Sc.
M.Sc., Psychology, Unversity of Northern British Columbia
B.Sc. (Honours), Psychology, University of Northern British Columbia

Research Interests: Health psychology and behavioural medicine, pain mechanisms and expressions (examining the role of central hormones in the perception of pain and assessing the mediators and moderators of facial pain expressions), and cardiovascular physiology (cardiac vagal control and emotions).
My Master’s research looked at the relationship between change in cardiac vagal control during revivified sadness, emotional intelligence, and depressive symptomatology. My Honour’s research examined the psychological and physiological benefits of a gratitude intervention. I am also completing our soon to be published book which will be available in 2013.

Current Project Title: “Oxytocin facilitates analgesia for acute pain in humans” (Funded by the Canadian Pain Society).
Visit https://sites.google.com/site/joshrashucalgary/ for more details.

Email: jarash@ucalgary.ca

Codie Rouleau, B.A.
B.A. (Honours), Psychology, University of Calgary

Research Interests:

Current Project Title:

Email: crroulea@ucalgary.ca

Jill Johnson, B.Sc.
B.Sc. (Honours), Psychology, University of Calgary

Research Interests: blood pressure regulation, heart rate variability, rumination, sleep

Current Project Title:

Email: j.a.johnson@ucalgary.ca

Honours Students

May Luu

Email: maluu@ucalgary.ca

Geoffrey Szuszkiewicz

Email: gszus911@ucalgary.ca

Research Coordinator

Aldo Aguirre, B.A.

Email: aaguirre@ucalgary.ca

Alumni

Andrea Stevenson, M.Sc.
M.Sc., Clinical Psychology, University of Calgary (2010)
B.A. (Honours), Psychology, University of Calgary

Brenda Key, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, University of Calgary (2010)
M.Sc., Clinical Psychology, University of Calgary
B.A. (Honours), Psychology, York University