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Dr. Arlene MacDougall has been appointed as Director of Research and Innovation for mental health care at St. Joseph’s Health Care London and Lawson Health Research Institute.

She will oversee and facilitate all mental health care research at both Parkwood Institute and Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care, working to develop strong local and global partnerships, engage patients and their caregivers in research activities, and foster trans-disciplinary approaches to research.

Her goal is to build on existing research strengths in mood disorders, suicide and smart technology. She also will look to develop research links between Mental Health and Parkwood Institute’s other major research programs, Cognitive Vitality and Brain Health, and Mobility and Activity.

Dr. MacDougall joined Lawson and the Department of Psychiatry at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University in 2013 working with the Prevention and Early Intervention Program for Psychoses at London Health Sciences Centre. Last year she was cross appointed to the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Schulich.

“I come to this new role with a great deal of optimism, energy and enthusiasm. Parkwood Institute Research has a number of established strengths in the mental health care field as well as potential for new streams of research and innovation,” says Dr. MacDougall. “I look forward to working with researchers, staff, and patients and their supporters, as well as academic and community partners, to make Parkwood Institute a leading centre in Canada for mental health research.”

Parkwood Institute Research is a Lawson program that represents inter-disciplinary clinical research and focuses on the advancement of innovations and discoveries that directly improve patient care. 

Dr. MacDougall will continue her own program of research, which includes recovery-oriented interventions for people with serious mental illness locally and in Africa. She is leading local studies on the use of mindfulness meditation and participatory video interventions to promote recovery among youth with early psychosis. She is also leading a project based in Kenya using social businesses and a low cost psychosocial rehabilitation toolkit to create meaningful employment, promote social inclusion and support the overall functioning and recovery of people with serious mental illness in low income settings.

Most recently she has been involved in developing and leading initiatives that use social innovation approaches to tackle complex mental health system challenges both locally and globally.

At Western, she is the Director of Global MINDS (Mental Health Incubator for Disruptive Solutions) @ Western, an educational and research initiative that supports students, faculty and community stakeholders to create solutions that will reduce the global burden of mental disorders. Global MINDS is focused on innovating for low and middle income countries and for marginalized communities in Canada. Another initiative, MINDS of London-Middlesex, is working with multiple local stakeholders to collaboratively establish a social innovation lab and use collective impact approaches that will lead to solutions that address complex challenges in the local mental health system.

Dr. MacDougall began her new role on February 1, 2017 and joins Drs. Michael Borrie and Tim Doherty as Joint/Acting Beryl and Richard Ivey Research Chair in Aging, Mental Health, Rehabilitation and Recovery. She also joins Lawson’s Research Executive Committee as Assistant Director (interim) for Parkwood Institute Research, Mental Health.

From crafting a global definition of probiotics to developing novel therapies used by millions, Dr. Gregor Reid has significantly advanced our knowledge of how beneficial microbes, especially bacteria, contribute to health. Recognizing his role as a world leader in probiotics research, Dr. Reid has now been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada.

The Royal Society of Canada was established in 1883 as Canada’s National Academy of distinguished scholars, artists and scientists. With over 2,000 fellows, the primary objective of the Society is to promote learning and research through its three Academies – the Academy of Arts and Humanities, the Academy of Social Sciences and the Academy of Science. Dr. Reid has been elected by his peers to the Life Sciences division of the Academy of Science.

“Being elected to the Royal Society of Canada is a huge honour and a recognition that the concepts of probiotics and beneficial microbes, and the work we are doing, are appreciated by distinguished Canadians,” said Dr. Reid, Endowed Chair in Human Microbiome and Probiotics at Lawson Health Research Institute (Lawson) and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and Surgery at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University.

Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, provide health benefits to their host. Dr. Reid’s research in probiotics has made a global impact. He has held 28 patents, published 473 peer-reviewed papers and given over 560 talks in 54 countries.

In addition to his current role as Director of the Canadian Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotics Research, located at Lawson in St. Joseph’s Hospital, Dr. Reid has previously acted as President for the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics. In 2001 and 2002, he  chaired a United Nations/World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Panel and Working Group on Probiotics.

Dr. Reid is especially interested in how his research can benefit those in need. He helped to establish Western Heads East, a Western University program that has established community kitchens in Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda, and through partnerships has expanded this in Uganda to reach over 40,000 people each day.  The community kitchens are owned and operated mostly by local women and youth where they produce a probiotic yogurt that helps counter malnutrition, side effects of infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS and enhances immunity. The yogurt was developed by Dr. Reid and Dr. Sharareh Hekmat of Western's Brescia University College.

“My research was not mainstream until very recently, so being inducted to the Society signifies that they recognize what I have achieved first and foremost,” said Dr. Reid, “but I hope my appointment helps to further bring the concepts of beneficial microbes to the forefront of research.”

An induction ceremony will take place in Kingston, Ontario on November 17 and 18, 2016. To learn more about Dr. Reid’s research, please visit his Scientist Profile and Google Scholar. 

Dr. Manuel Montero-Odasso, Clinician Scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute and Director of the Gait and Brain Lab, has been named as one of the 10 most influential Hispanic Canadians for 2019. Presented by TD Bank, those on the list were honoured at an awards ceremony in Toronto, Ontario in November. 

A geriatrician at St. Joseph’s Health Care London, Dr. Montero-Odasso is recognized as a world expert in dementia and gait disorders. The main focus of his research is on the interaction of mobility and cognitive decline in aging. He is the team leader for the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA), a collaborative research program advancing dementia research, and leads the Mobility, Exercise and Cognition (MEC) Team in London, comprised of top researchers in the area of mobility, exercise and brain health.

Dr. Montero-Odasso says that one aspect of his career that he is most proud of is being able to collaborate with other researchers in his field and “contribute to new approaches to combat mobility and cognitive decline in aging.” This is evident through the clinical trials he pioneered by implementing an approach of “improving cognition to improve mobility.”

TD Bank’s “10 Most Influential Hispanic Canadians” is awarded to individuals from the Hispanic community across Canada to recognize their outstanding achievements. Dr. Montero-Odasso’s influence is displayed on a global scale as he has received over 100 invitations to give international lectures and has published over 200 manuscripts and book chapters. He has a close relationship with the Spanish-speaking community and has hosted visiting scientists from Argentina and Spain. 

 “I feel honoured and privileged, particularly this kind of award where you are nominated by your peers. I am also glad my work is reflecting the role that my Hispanic background plays,” says Dr. Montero-Odasso, who is also a professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics at Western University. “Additionally when you look at the other nominees, and those who have received the award in the past, it really gives you a sense of the amazing things Hispanics who live and work in this country are contributing to Canadian society.” 

Dr. Montero-Odasso emphasizes the value of diversity and learning from different backgrounds when seeking solutions. As he continues working in this important field as a physician and researcher, Dr. Montero-Odasso’s goal is to, “find effective ways to treat and delay aging disability in order to add, as they say, life to the years, and not only years to the life.”