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Final Student Advisory Committee and Clinical Advisory Committee Composition – Student & Youth Mental Health Research Initiative (PDAD&C #43)

From: Christine Allen, Associate Vice-President & Vice-Provost, Strategic Initiatives
Kristin Cleverley, Chair, Student & Youth Mental Health Research Initiative and Assistant Professor, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Date: February 4, 2021
Re: Final Student Advisory Committee and Clinical Advisory Committee Composition – Student & Youth Mental Health Research Initiative (PDAD&C #43)

In January 2020 the University of Toronto’s (U of T’s) Presidential & Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health released its final report. The administrative response to this report included an outline for a new partnership with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) that consists of four integrated elements:

  • redesign of campus-based services;
  • integrated care pathways between campus-based services and CAMH (and other Toronto hospitals);
  • enhanced clinical education programs on student mental health for trainees; and
  • research initiative on youth and student mental health.

Element 4 of the new partnership between U of T and CAMH will establish a network focused on research excellence in student mental health that provides research-informed, evidence-based solutions to the challenges identified by U of T’s Presidential & Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health.

The composition of the Student Advisory and Clinical Advisory Committees for the Student & Youth Mental Health Research Initiative have been finalized. The members have extensive experience in youth and/or student mental health and represent diverse perspectives from across the U of T community.

Student Advisory Committee – We received 271 undergraduate and graduate student applications from across the three campuses. Over the next several months, the Student Advisory Committee will provide input on the development of the overall strategic research direction and a student engagement strategy to meaningfully reflect the student voice throughout the research initiative.

Student Advisory Committee Members:

Mississauga Campus

  • Ka Wing Cheung, Master’s Student in Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto Mississauga
  • Assia Messaoudi, Undergraduate Student in English, Professional Writing & Communications, and Sociology, University of Toronto Mississauga

Scarborough Campus

  • Hareem Ashraf, Undergraduate Student in Mental Health and Molecular Biology, Immunology & Disease, University of Toronto Scarborough
  • Sylvia Romanowska, Master’s Student in Clinical Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough

St. George Campus

  • Catherine Clarke, Undergraduate Student in Psychology, Biology, and Physiology, Faculty of Arts & Science
  • Alex Erickson, Undergraduate Student in Economics and International Relations, Faculty of Arts & Science
  • Lexi Ewing, Doctoral Student in Developmental Psychology and Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
  • Akshay Mohan, Doctoral Student in Industrial Relations & Human Resources, Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources, Faculty of Arts & Science
  • Chen Yang, Undergraduate Student in Architectural Studies, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design

Clinical Advisory Committee – The Clinical Advisory Committee includes representatives with clinical expertise from all three U of T campuses and CAMH.

Clinical Advisory Committee Members:

  • Alison Freeland, Associate Dean, Medical Education (Regional); Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine; and Vice President, Education, Academic Affairs and Patient Experience, Trillium Health Partners
  • Andrea J. Levinson, Psychiatrist-in-Chief, Health & Wellness and Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
  • Tayyab Rashid, Clinical Psychologist, Health & Wellness Centre, University of Toronto Scarborough and Associate Faculty, Graduate Department of Psychological Clinical Science, University of Toronto Scarborough
  • Peter Szatmari, Chief, Child and Youth Mental Health Collaborative, The Hospital for Sick Children, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and the University of Toronto and Professor and Patsy and Jamie Anderson Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Both committees will support the Steering Committee to develop the overall research direction and objectives for this Institutional Strategic Initiative on Student & Youth Mental Health. For more information and initiative updates, you are encouraged to visit the Student & Youth Mental Health Research Initiative website at https://smhr.utoronto.ca/