2024
January 8 - Publication! New findings published! 'Preferences for virtual versus in-person mental and physical healthcare in Canada: a descriptive study from a cohort of youth and their parents enriched for severe mental illness' is published by Dr. Raegan Mazurka et al. in BMJ Paediatrics Open.
2023
September 6 - Publication! New findings published! 'Depressive Symptoms in youth before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal investigation of patterns dependent on age, sex, and family history of mental illness' is published by Emily Howes Vallis et al. in Psychological Medicine.
June 15 - Achievement! Master's student Ross Langley successfully defends his thesis. Congratulations, Ross!
June 14 - Achievement! Master's student Daniel (Murage) Murage successfully defends his thesis. Congratulations, Murage!
Feb 24 - FORBOW Pictou site is opening soon! We are excited to announce that the FORBOW Pictou satellite site will be opening soon in New Glascow, with funding from the Aberdeen Health Foundation. You can read the full story here, 'Internationally Recognized Mental Illness Prevention & Early Intervention Program Launching in Pictou County'.
Feb 22 - Publication! New findings published! 'Polygenic Scores and Onset of Major Mood or Psychotic Disorders Among Offspring of Affected Parents' is published by Dr. Alyson Zwicker et al. in The American Journal of Psychiatry.
2022
July 12 - Publication! New findings published! 'Sex-Specific Transmission of Anxiety Disorders From Parents to Offspring' is published by Dr. Barbara Pavlova et al. in JAMA Network Open.
May 4 - Job Opportunity! We are currently hiring for a Youth Assessor. The job posting can be found here!
April 27 - Thank you! The FORBOW project reaches 600 youth participants! Thank you to the families who continue to work with us!
Feb 20 - Call for Action! The North American Launch of the Lancet Commission on Depression in response for the call for action! You can watch the panel here!
Feb 19 - Call for Action! Lancet-World Psychiatric Association Commission calls for united action on depression-an overlooked and underfunded crisis. You can read the article here!
2021
Nov 23 - Achievement! Dr. Uher is recognized in 2021 list of world's most cited researchers!
July 22 - Funding! We are very excited to announce that FORBOW has received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Research Nova Scotia to examine brain development and risk of depression!
July 8 - Achievement! Dr. Uher receives the Dr. Samarthji Lal Award from the Graham Boeckh Foundation for Mental Health Research!
July 2 - Achievement! Dr. Uher receives the 2021 J.M. Cleghorn Award for Excellence and Leadership in Clinical Research from the Canadian Psychiatric Association!
June 18 - Publication! New findings published! 'Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Offspring of Parents with Depression and Bipolar Disorder' is published by Dr. Lukas Propper et al. in Psychological Medicine.
June 15 - Goodbye! We are very sad to say goodbye to Alex Pizzo and Stephen Perkovic. We wish them both luck in their next chapters (Alex in Clinical Psychology and Stephen in his new research position). Thank you for all you have done!
May 27 - FORBOW has reached an exciting milestone. We now have 300 families participating in our study! Thank you to all our families, staff, and students.
March 5 - Poster presentation. Emily Howes Vallis presents “Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions on Parents Living with Mental Illness and their Offspring” at the 2021 Annual Meeting of the American PsychoPathological Association held virtually due to COVID-19.
January 28 - Thank you to our 400 participants who have completed assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic!
2020
November 18 - Achievement! For the third year in a row, Dr. Uher has been named a highly cited researcher by Clarivate and the Web of Science.
November 4 - Symposium presentation. Dr. Uher presents "COVID and Mental Health in Children and Families" to Members of Parliament at the Health Research Caucus.
October 22 - Symposium presentation. FORBOW team members Sheri Rempel, Dr. Alyson Zwicker, Dr. Barbara Pavlova, and Dr. Rudolf Uher present "Intergenerational Transmission of Psychopathology and Early Identification of Risk: New Insights From the Study of Child and Adolescent Offspring of Parents Living with Depression, Bipolar Disorder, and Schizophrenia" at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Virtual Annual Meeting.
September 23 - Achievement! PhD student Vladislav Drobinin successfully defends his thesis. Congratulations, Dr. Drobinin!
August 20 - Publication! New findings published! 'Cognition in offspring of parents with psychotic and non-psychotic severe mental illness' is published by Dr. Lynn E. MacKenzie et al. in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.
August 10 - New FORBOW team member! We are pleased to welcome Dara Liu, who will be working with FORBOW families full-time.
July 29 - Achievement! Master's student Alex Pizzo successfully defends his thesis. Congratulations, Alex!
July 17 - Goodbye! We are very sad to say goodbye to Dr. Alyson Zwicker as she moves on to start her education at Dalhousie Medical School. Thank you for all you have done and best of luck!
June 26 - Funding! We are very excited to announce that FORBOW has received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Research Nova Scotia to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Canadians living with mental illness, and their children.
June 23 - Publication! New findings published! 'Youth Experience Tracker Instrument: A self‐report measure of developmental antecedents to severe mental illness' is published by Victoria C. Patterson et al. in Early Intervention in Psychiatry.
June 20 - Poster presentation. Andrea Sandstrom presents “The Prevalence of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in People With Mood Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” at the 22nd Annual Conference of the International Society for Bipolar Disorder held virtually due to COVID-19.
June 15 - Achievement! Master's student Andrea Sandstrom successfully defends her thesis. Congratulations, Andrea!
June 8 - Poster presentation. Alex Pizzo presents "Parental Overprotection and Young Children's Sleep" at Dalhousie Graduate Research Day held virtually due to COVID-19.
May 25 - Summer student. Ruth Shelton is a recent psychology graduate from Saint Mary's University. This summer she will be working on a study examining parental anxiety and child temperament.
May 21 - Award! Forbow team member Qendresa Sahiti receives the 3M National Student Fellowship. Congratulations Qendresa!
April 2 - Award! Postdoctoral fellow Dr. Alyson Zwicker received the Wenda Greer Prize for her work on the role of genetics and environment in the development of mental illness. Congratulations Dr. Zwicker!
March 22 - Publication! New findings published! 'Visual memory and psychotic symptoms in youth' is published by Emily Howes Vallis et al. in Cognitive Neuropsychaitry.
January 31 - Publication! New findings published! 'Visual memory in offspring of parents with mental illness' is published by Emily Howes Vallis et al. in Psychiatry Research.
January 22 – Grant! The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funds FORBOW and Drs Benjamin Rusak and Martin Alda to study how sleep and activity patterns run in families and how they contribute to resilience or vulnerability in depression or bipolar disorder. We believe that sleep is an important part of healthy brain development. We thank the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for the support!
2019
November 26 – Publication! New findings published! 'Active behaviors and screen time in offspring of parents with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia' is published by Alex Pizzo et al. in Psychiatry Research.
November 20 – Publication! New findings published! 'Neurodevelopmental and genetic determinants of exposure to adversity among youth at risk for mental illness' is published by Alyson Zwicker et al. in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
November 1 – Publication! New findings published! 'Psychotic symptoms are associated with lower cortical folding in youth at risk for mental illness' is published by Vladislav Drobinin et al. in the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience. Check out the summary HERE.
September – 16 Recruitment Milestone! FORBOW has recruited over 500 youth participants. Thank you to the families, staff, and students who support our research!
August 26 – Achievement! PhD student Lynn MacKenzie successfully defends her thesis. Congratulations, Dr. MacKenzie!
August 1 – New FORBOW team member! We are pleased to be joined by Jenney Zhu, who will be working with FORBOW families full-time. Welcome to the team!
July 26 – Infographic! We have created an easy-to-read infographic of our published research paper 'Like father like daughter: sex-specific parent-of-origin effects in the transmission of liability for psychotic symptoms to offspring'. Head over to our 'Results' page to check it out!
July 18 – Achievement! Master's student Emily Howes Vallis successfully defends her thesis. Congratulations, Emily!
July 11 – Grant! The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funds FORBOW and partners to study an innovative approach to personalized treatment for depression using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze natural speech.
June 13 – Publication! New findings published! 'Basic symptoms offspring of parents with mood and psychotic disorders' is published by Alyson Zwicker et al. in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Check out the summary HERE.
June 10 – Grant! The Sutton Family generously donates $250, 000 to FORBOW through the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation to support us in our work with children and families.
June 6 – Publication! New findings published! 'Affective lability in offspring of parents with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia' is published by Alyson Zwicker et al. in European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Check out the summary HERE.
June 4 – Achievement! PhD student Alyson Zwicker successfully defends her thesis. Congratulations, Dr. Zwicker!
June 4 – Poster presentation. Emily Howes Vallis presents "Visual Memory in Youth at Familial Risk of Severe Mental Illness" at the 14th World Congress of Biological Psychiatry held in Vancouver, BC.
June 3 – New FORBOW team members! We are pleased to be joined by Stephen Perkovic and Akua Agyare, who will be working with FORBOW families full-time. Welcome to the team!
May 23 – Publication! New findings published! 'Observed Psychopathology in Offspring of Parents with Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia' is published by Andrea Sandstrom et al. in Psychological Medicine. Check out the summary HERE.
May 7 – Summer student. Ross Langley is an undergraduate student at Queens University, studying Life Sciences. This summer he will be working on analyzing speech samples that are collected from our youth participants.
April 30 – Summer student. Anna Minarik is an undergraduate student at Dalhousie University, studying Neuroscience. She will be taking the sleep and activity project forward. This project was started by Delainey Wescott, who published a paper on the initial results (see our Results page for a summary). Anna is also assisting with the brain imaging project within FORBOW.
April 29 – Summer student. Qendresa Sahiti is an undergraduate student at Dalhousie University, studying Neuroscience. She will be working on analyzing speech samples that are collected from parents, as well as working directly with FORBOW families. Qendresa will be continuing her work as an Honours Student in the upcoming school year.
April 8 – Publication! New findings published! 'Sleep in Offspring of Parents with Mood Disorders' is published by Delainey Wescott et al. in Frontiers in Psychiatry. Be sure to check out the Results page of our website for a summary of this publication as well as other FORBOW publications.
February 21 – FORBOW enters its seventh year. Today the first Year 7 assessment is completed with participants who have been in the study from the very beginning. We are so grateful that participants choose to come back each year. Your time is much appreciated!
February 2 – Poster presentation. FORBOW member Sheri Rempel presents "Sentiment, Affect, Worry and Criticism in Speech of Parents with Major Mood Disorders" at the CAN-BIND Depression in 2020: Biomarkers, Technologies and Novel Therapies conference, held in Toronto, Ontario.
November 20 – Publication! New findings published! 'Neurodevelopmental and genetic determinants of exposure to adversity among youth at risk for mental illness' is published by Alyson Zwicker et al. in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
November 1 – Publication! New findings published! 'Psychotic symptoms are associated with lower cortical folding in youth at risk for mental illness' is published by Vladislav Drobinin et al. in the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience. Check out the summary HERE.
September – 16 Recruitment Milestone! FORBOW has recruited over 500 youth participants. Thank you to the families, staff, and students who support our research!
August 26 – Achievement! PhD student Lynn MacKenzie successfully defends her thesis. Congratulations, Dr. MacKenzie!
August 1 – New FORBOW team member! We are pleased to be joined by Jenney Zhu, who will be working with FORBOW families full-time. Welcome to the team!
July 26 – Infographic! We have created an easy-to-read infographic of our published research paper 'Like father like daughter: sex-specific parent-of-origin effects in the transmission of liability for psychotic symptoms to offspring'. Head over to our 'Results' page to check it out!
July 18 – Achievement! Master's student Emily Howes Vallis successfully defends her thesis. Congratulations, Emily!
July 11 – Grant! The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funds FORBOW and partners to study an innovative approach to personalized treatment for depression using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze natural speech.
June 13 – Publication! New findings published! 'Basic symptoms offspring of parents with mood and psychotic disorders' is published by Alyson Zwicker et al. in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Check out the summary HERE.
June 10 – Grant! The Sutton Family generously donates $250, 000 to FORBOW through the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation to support us in our work with children and families.
June 6 – Publication! New findings published! 'Affective lability in offspring of parents with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia' is published by Alyson Zwicker et al. in European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Check out the summary HERE.
June 4 – Achievement! PhD student Alyson Zwicker successfully defends her thesis. Congratulations, Dr. Zwicker!
June 4 – Poster presentation. Emily Howes Vallis presents "Visual Memory in Youth at Familial Risk of Severe Mental Illness" at the 14th World Congress of Biological Psychiatry held in Vancouver, BC.
June 3 – New FORBOW team members! We are pleased to be joined by Stephen Perkovic and Akua Agyare, who will be working with FORBOW families full-time. Welcome to the team!
May 23 – Publication! New findings published! 'Observed Psychopathology in Offspring of Parents with Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia' is published by Andrea Sandstrom et al. in Psychological Medicine. Check out the summary HERE.
May 7 – Summer student. Ross Langley is an undergraduate student at Queens University, studying Life Sciences. This summer he will be working on analyzing speech samples that are collected from our youth participants.
April 30 – Summer student. Anna Minarik is an undergraduate student at Dalhousie University, studying Neuroscience. She will be taking the sleep and activity project forward. This project was started by Delainey Wescott, who published a paper on the initial results (see our Results page for a summary). Anna is also assisting with the brain imaging project within FORBOW.
April 29 – Summer student. Qendresa Sahiti is an undergraduate student at Dalhousie University, studying Neuroscience. She will be working on analyzing speech samples that are collected from parents, as well as working directly with FORBOW families. Qendresa will be continuing her work as an Honours Student in the upcoming school year.
April 8 – Publication! New findings published! 'Sleep in Offspring of Parents with Mood Disorders' is published by Delainey Wescott et al. in Frontiers in Psychiatry. Be sure to check out the Results page of our website for a summary of this publication as well as other FORBOW publications.
February 21 – FORBOW enters its seventh year. Today the first Year 7 assessment is completed with participants who have been in the study from the very beginning. We are so grateful that participants choose to come back each year. Your time is much appreciated!
February 2 – Poster presentation. FORBOW member Sheri Rempel presents "Sentiment, Affect, Worry and Criticism in Speech of Parents with Major Mood Disorders" at the CAN-BIND Depression in 2020: Biomarkers, Technologies and Novel Therapies conference, held in Toronto, Ontario.
2018
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November 27 – Recognition of distinction. Rudolf Uher is named a Highly Cited Researcher of 2018. This list recognizes world-class researchers selected for their exceptional research performance, demonstrated by production of multiple highly cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in Web of Science.
November 19 – Award! Alex Pizzo wins the award for "Best Graduate Presentation" at The Department of Psychiatry 28th Annual Research Day, for his poster entitled "Screen time and active leisure time pursuits in young people at familial risk for severe mental illness."
October 9 – Poster presentation. Victoria Patterson presents "A psychometric validation of a developmental psychopathology measure: The Youth Experience Tracker Instrument (YETI)" at the International Conference on Early Intervention in Mental Health, held in Boston, Massachusetts.
September 25 – Grant! Genome Canada awards a grant of $975,000 that will allow FORBOW investigators to apply genetic testing in early detection of risk and personalized selection of treatment for bipolar disorder. For more information click HERE.
September 17 – Poster presentations. FORBOW team members Emily Howes Vallis, Alyson Zwicker, and Vlad Drobinin present posters at the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CACAP) Annual Meeting in Halifax.
September 16 – Conference. FORBOW investigators Barbara Pavlova and Rudolf Uher team up with Dr Ashley Wazana of McGill University to present on Prediction and Prevention of Mental Health at the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CACAP) Annual Meeting in Halifax.
August 29 – Publication! New FORBOW finding published! 'Like father like daughter' published by Alice Aylott et al. in the Journal of Developmental Origin of Health and Disease.
August 24 – Farewell Corey! Corey Filiaggi is off to Toronto to pursue a Master's in Genetic Counselling. We will miss you but we know you'll flourish in your new role. All the best and good luck!
July 25 – Conference. FORBOW's Rudolf Uher gives a State of Art lecture on "What can we do to prevent severe mental illness" at the 23rd World Congress of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP 2018), Prague, 25 July 2018.
July 16 – FORBOW is growing! We are pleased to welcome a new FORBOW team member. Alexa Fine has come from Toronto to join FORBOW. She brings experience in depression and anxiety research.
July 5 – Summer studentship. FORBOW families have worked with Delainey Wescott to examine the role of sleep and activity in mental health. Delainey describes her summer studentship experience in her Dal blog: https://www.dal.ca/news/2018/07/05/discovering-dal-and-a-halifax-summer.html
March 16 – Recruitment milestone! Today we recruited our 400th youth participant. Thank you to all of our families, the team and everyone who continues to support our research!
February – New FORBOW members. Meg Stephens and Alex Pizzo join the team as youth assessors. Welcome!
January 31 – FORBOW enters its sixth year! We have now been assessing youth for six years - time flies! We are so grateful to be able to continue our research and hope to keep recruiting youth for a while to come.
January 11 – "Can we prevent mental illness?" Rudolf Uher delivers the Susan Sweeney Endowed Lecture at the Massachusetts General Hospital Rounds in Boston, MA.
November 19 – Award! Alex Pizzo wins the award for "Best Graduate Presentation" at The Department of Psychiatry 28th Annual Research Day, for his poster entitled "Screen time and active leisure time pursuits in young people at familial risk for severe mental illness."
October 9 – Poster presentation. Victoria Patterson presents "A psychometric validation of a developmental psychopathology measure: The Youth Experience Tracker Instrument (YETI)" at the International Conference on Early Intervention in Mental Health, held in Boston, Massachusetts.
September 25 – Grant! Genome Canada awards a grant of $975,000 that will allow FORBOW investigators to apply genetic testing in early detection of risk and personalized selection of treatment for bipolar disorder. For more information click HERE.
September 17 – Poster presentations. FORBOW team members Emily Howes Vallis, Alyson Zwicker, and Vlad Drobinin present posters at the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CACAP) Annual Meeting in Halifax.
September 16 – Conference. FORBOW investigators Barbara Pavlova and Rudolf Uher team up with Dr Ashley Wazana of McGill University to present on Prediction and Prevention of Mental Health at the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CACAP) Annual Meeting in Halifax.
August 29 – Publication! New FORBOW finding published! 'Like father like daughter' published by Alice Aylott et al. in the Journal of Developmental Origin of Health and Disease.
August 24 – Farewell Corey! Corey Filiaggi is off to Toronto to pursue a Master's in Genetic Counselling. We will miss you but we know you'll flourish in your new role. All the best and good luck!
July 25 – Conference. FORBOW's Rudolf Uher gives a State of Art lecture on "What can we do to prevent severe mental illness" at the 23rd World Congress of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP 2018), Prague, 25 July 2018.
July 16 – FORBOW is growing! We are pleased to welcome a new FORBOW team member. Alexa Fine has come from Toronto to join FORBOW. She brings experience in depression and anxiety research.
July 5 – Summer studentship. FORBOW families have worked with Delainey Wescott to examine the role of sleep and activity in mental health. Delainey describes her summer studentship experience in her Dal blog: https://www.dal.ca/news/2018/07/05/discovering-dal-and-a-halifax-summer.html
March 16 – Recruitment milestone! Today we recruited our 400th youth participant. Thank you to all of our families, the team and everyone who continues to support our research!
February – New FORBOW members. Meg Stephens and Alex Pizzo join the team as youth assessors. Welcome!
January 31 – FORBOW enters its sixth year! We have now been assessing youth for six years - time flies! We are so grateful to be able to continue our research and hope to keep recruiting youth for a while to come.
January 11 – "Can we prevent mental illness?" Rudolf Uher delivers the Susan Sweeney Endowed Lecture at the Massachusetts General Hospital Rounds in Boston, MA.
2017
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December 1 – Mental health education. FORBOW visits John Ilsley High School in Spryfield where students learn about Protecting Your Mental Health, Genetics, Cannabis Use, Mental Illness, and careers in science.
November – New FORBOW member! We are joined by Corey Filiaggi, who will be assessing youth of all ages. Welcome to the team!
September 16 – Conference. Rudolf Uher delivers the Distinguished Member Lecture at the Canadian Psychiatric Association Annual Conference in Ottawa.
September – Graduate studies. FORBOW team member Victoria Patterson starts her graduate studies in clinical psychology. Her research looks at how children recover from difficult life events.
June – Publication! "Etiology in psychiatry: embracing the reality of poly-gene-environmental causation of mental illness" published by Dr. Rudolf Uher & Alyson Zwicker. World Psychiatry Special Article.
April 27 – Publication! "Hot and cold executive functions in youth with psychotic symptoms" by Lynn MacKenzie et al. Psychological Medicine. It was found that impaired hot executive functions may be an indicator of risk and a target for pre-emptive early interventions in youth.
January 22 – Publication! "Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder in offspring of parents with depression and bipolar disorder" by Dr. Lukas Propper et al. The British Journal of Psychiatry. It was found that disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) was not specifically associated with a family history of bipolar disorder and may instead by related to parental depression.
November – New FORBOW member! We are joined by Corey Filiaggi, who will be assessing youth of all ages. Welcome to the team!
September 16 – Conference. Rudolf Uher delivers the Distinguished Member Lecture at the Canadian Psychiatric Association Annual Conference in Ottawa.
September – Graduate studies. FORBOW team member Victoria Patterson starts her graduate studies in clinical psychology. Her research looks at how children recover from difficult life events.
June – Publication! "Etiology in psychiatry: embracing the reality of poly-gene-environmental causation of mental illness" published by Dr. Rudolf Uher & Alyson Zwicker. World Psychiatry Special Article.
April 27 – Publication! "Hot and cold executive functions in youth with psychotic symptoms" by Lynn MacKenzie et al. Psychological Medicine. It was found that impaired hot executive functions may be an indicator of risk and a target for pre-emptive early interventions in youth.
January 22 – Publication! "Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder in offspring of parents with depression and bipolar disorder" by Dr. Lukas Propper et al. The British Journal of Psychiatry. It was found that disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) was not specifically associated with a family history of bipolar disorder and may instead by related to parental depression.
2016 |
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December 18-19 – Dr. Elsa Gilbert visits FORBOW. Elsa Gilbert from l'Université Laval has trained the FORBOW team to assess source memory as well as administer many of our measures in French. Thank you Elsa from us and our francophone participants!
December 15 – “Targeted prevention of mental illness in youth at risk" Dr. Uher speaks at Brain Repain Center's Research Day 2016 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
December 1 – “Can we prevent mental illness?” Dr. Uher speaks about FORBOW at an event held by the Department of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University to recognize his success and, in particular, being the recipient of the Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize for Mental Health Research.
October 28 – Conference. Victoria Patterson, Jill Cumby, and Lynn Mackenzie speak about the FORBOW study at the Schizophrenia Society of Canada National Conference in the World Trade and Convention Center, Halifax.
October 20 – Conference. Dr. Uher and Lynn Mackenzie present about FORBOW and some preliminary findings at the IEPA Early Intervention in Mental Health conference in Milan, Italy.
October 19 – Prize! Dr. Uher receives the Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize for Mental Health Research, an annual $100,000 prize given to a Canadian mental-health researcher. Read about it in the Globe and Mail, Dalhousie News, Ottawa Sun, Ottawa Citizen, & Le Lézard. Congratulations Dr. Uher!
December 15 – “Targeted prevention of mental illness in youth at risk" Dr. Uher speaks at Brain Repain Center's Research Day 2016 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
December 1 – “Can we prevent mental illness?” Dr. Uher speaks about FORBOW at an event held by the Department of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University to recognize his success and, in particular, being the recipient of the Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize for Mental Health Research.
October 28 – Conference. Victoria Patterson, Jill Cumby, and Lynn Mackenzie speak about the FORBOW study at the Schizophrenia Society of Canada National Conference in the World Trade and Convention Center, Halifax.
October 20 – Conference. Dr. Uher and Lynn Mackenzie present about FORBOW and some preliminary findings at the IEPA Early Intervention in Mental Health conference in Milan, Italy.
October 19 – Prize! Dr. Uher receives the Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize for Mental Health Research, an annual $100,000 prize given to a Canadian mental-health researcher. Read about it in the Globe and Mail, Dalhousie News, Ottawa Sun, Ottawa Citizen, & Le Lézard. Congratulations Dr. Uher!
October 14 – Award! Jill Cumby won the prize for the best psychiatry staff poster at the Dalhousie Department of Psychiatry Research Day for her project "Needs of Parents with Severe Mental Illness and their Offspring”. Congratulations, Jill!
October 13 – Café Scientifique! Come join a panel of experts including several FORBOW staff for an informal and public discussion of factors that promote mental and emotional health on October 13th at 7 pm in the Lord Nelson Hotel.
October 14 – Award! Jill Cumby won the prize for the best psychiatry staff poster at the Dalhousie Department of Psychiatry Research Day for her project "Needs of Parents with Severe Mental Illness and their Offspring”. Congratulations, Jill!
October 13 – Café Scientifique! Come join a panel of experts including several FORBOW staff for an informal and public discussion of factors that promote mental and emotional health on October 13th at 7 pm in the Lord Nelson Hotel.
September 13 – Award! We are proud of our Principal Investigator, Rudolf Uher, who has been awarded membership to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists. Read all about it here. Congratulations Dr. Uher!
August 25 – Goodbye! We are very sad to say goodbye to Jessica Morash and Elaine Skene who will both be continuing their education at the Master’s level. Elaine is pursuing a degree in Child Life, and Jessica is continuing her studies in School Psychology. Thank you for all you’ve done!
August 1 – FORBOW is growing again! We are joined by Niamh Campbell and Emily Howes Vallis who will both be assessing children of all ages. We’re so pleased you’ve joined the team. Welcome!
July 15 – FORBOW was funded for 5 more years! We are very excited to announce that the FORBOW project has been funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for the next 5 years. We were one of only two projects in the province of Nova Scotia to obtain a Foundation Grant from CIHR and we feel very lucky to be able to continue our research.
July 11-16 – FORBOW takes San Francisco! Two of FORBOW’s team members, Lynn MacKenzie and Victoria Patterson, attended a training workshop at the STAR centre at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Centre. This training will help us add a new piece to our study, which we will be calling our participants about soon. Stay tuned!
June 16 – Conference on Mental Health in Halifax will feature FORBOW. The Canadian Depression Research and Integration Network – Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology conference will take place on June 14-16 at the Prince George Hotel in Halifax. The conference will welcome a diverse audience including professionals as well as people who are living with mental illness. On June 16, progress in FORBOW will be presented, including a demonstration of the Skills for Wellness intervention. For details, see the CCNP website.
May 4 – Grant! Dr Rudolf Uher has been awarded the 2016 NARSAD Independent Investigator grant from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. This award will fund the development of a brain bio-marker that will tell us if a pre-emptive intervention like SWELL has been successful.
April 5 – Fellowship. Vlad Drobinin has been awarded a graduate research fellowship from the Canadian Institute of Health Research. This prestigious award will fund Vlad to study the developing brain, mental health and resilience. Congratulations!
January 15-16 – Lisa Currie, an Occupational Therapist and epidemiology researcher, has visited Halifax and provided training to the FORBOW team and volunteers. Thank you Lisa!
January 5 – New findings from FORBOW suggest that children taking stimulants should be monitored by their doctors. A study led by Lynn MacKenzie and published in the journal Pediatrics shows that children who take stimulant medication, such as Ritalin or Concerta, for ADHD [attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder] are much more likely to have unusual and frightening experiences, such as seeing things that others cannot see. The risk of these side effects may be higher if there is a history of mental illness in their family. This finding suggests that after prescribing stimulants, the doctors should meet again with the child or young person and check for unusual experiences. The new FORBOW research has been highlighted in several news articles including this one in Chronicle Herald.
May 4 – Grant! Dr Rudolf Uher has been awarded the 2016 NARSAD Independent Investigator grant from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. This award will fund the development of a brain bio-marker that will tell us if a pre-emptive intervention like SWELL has been successful.
April 5 – Fellowship. Vlad Drobinin has been awarded a graduate research fellowship from the Canadian Institute of Health Research. This prestigious award will fund Vlad to study the developing brain, mental health and resilience. Congratulations!
January 15-16 – Lisa Currie, an Occupational Therapist and epidemiology researcher, has visited Halifax and provided training to the FORBOW team and volunteers. Thank you Lisa!
January 5 – New findings from FORBOW suggest that children taking stimulants should be monitored by their doctors. A study led by Lynn MacKenzie and published in the journal Pediatrics shows that children who take stimulant medication, such as Ritalin or Concerta, for ADHD [attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder] are much more likely to have unusual and frightening experiences, such as seeing things that others cannot see. The risk of these side effects may be higher if there is a history of mental illness in their family. This finding suggests that after prescribing stimulants, the doctors should meet again with the child or young person and check for unusual experiences. The new FORBOW research has been highlighted in several news articles including this one in Chronicle Herald.
2015 |
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December 7 – Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation supports FORBOW. The FORBOW team has received two anonymous donations through the Dalhousie Medical Foundation. These donations will support the collection of genetic samples and brain measurement to help protect youth from cannabis-induced brain damage.
October 24 – Award! Lynn MacKenzie won the prize for the best presentation at the Dalhousie Department of Psychiatry Research Day.
Congratulations! October 23 – Cafe scientifique. Dr. Alexa Bagnell and Dr. Rudolf Uher (both FORBOW investigators) contributed to a public event on mental health. The Cafe Scientifique on New Treatments for Depression and Anxiety drew crowds of over 150 members of the public at the Royal Bank Theatre of the Halifax Infirmary.
October 14th – FORBOW team is growing again! We have a new team member. Elaine Skene comes to us from the Cognitive Health and Recovery research lab at Dalhousie University! She is interested in cognitive health and will be assessing participants of all ages. Welcome!
September 9 – FORBOW team members are moving on (and staying with us too). Jessica Morash is starting training as a school psychologist, Jackie Glover will study to become a clinical psychologist. Vlad Drobinin is starting graduate studies in Medical Neuroscience to find out how the brain develops and matures in a healthy way. Alyson Zwicker is starting graduate studies to explore the genetic contributions to mental health and illness. And the best news is that all four of them are staying connected with FORBOW. Congratulations!
July 31 – FORBOW has received funding! The Canadian Institutes of Health Research have awarded funding that allows us to continue the FORBOW study for another year. We love working with you so much, so we are grateful that we can go ahead.
July 16 – FORBOW team is growing! We have two new team members. Victoria Patterson will be assessing participants of all ages and Alyson Zwicker is in charge of genetic projects related to FORBOW. The more the merrier!
May 5 – FORBOW is taking in the little ones! We have completed a new space that allows families with children of all ages to participate in FORBOW. We have been enjoying seeing all the young people participate in FORBOW, and now we can even see babies and toddlers. And we have prepared a lot of fun things for all ages! It is great to start early.
February 26 – FORBOW has 200 youth participants – Less than 2 years from enrolling the first participant, there are 200 youth participating in FORBOW. Each of them has contributed a wealth of information and we are making sure we use it as well as we can to learn what keeps young people healthy and happy. Thanks for sharing!
January 26 – FORBOW BRAIN study starts – There is a brand new magnetic scanner at the QEII site. It makes a lot of noise, but it is completely safe and it takes beautifully accurate brain images. The FORBOW team is taking advantage of this exciting development, and the first 4 FORBOW participants will have a chance to see their brains on January 26! Have a look at the video of Vlad Drobinin, our brain expert, on the TEAM tab to find out more, or, visit FORBOW Brain .
October 24 – Award! Lynn MacKenzie won the prize for the best presentation at the Dalhousie Department of Psychiatry Research Day.
Congratulations! October 23 – Cafe scientifique. Dr. Alexa Bagnell and Dr. Rudolf Uher (both FORBOW investigators) contributed to a public event on mental health. The Cafe Scientifique on New Treatments for Depression and Anxiety drew crowds of over 150 members of the public at the Royal Bank Theatre of the Halifax Infirmary.
October 14th – FORBOW team is growing again! We have a new team member. Elaine Skene comes to us from the Cognitive Health and Recovery research lab at Dalhousie University! She is interested in cognitive health and will be assessing participants of all ages. Welcome!
September 9 – FORBOW team members are moving on (and staying with us too). Jessica Morash is starting training as a school psychologist, Jackie Glover will study to become a clinical psychologist. Vlad Drobinin is starting graduate studies in Medical Neuroscience to find out how the brain develops and matures in a healthy way. Alyson Zwicker is starting graduate studies to explore the genetic contributions to mental health and illness. And the best news is that all four of them are staying connected with FORBOW. Congratulations!
July 31 – FORBOW has received funding! The Canadian Institutes of Health Research have awarded funding that allows us to continue the FORBOW study for another year. We love working with you so much, so we are grateful that we can go ahead.
July 16 – FORBOW team is growing! We have two new team members. Victoria Patterson will be assessing participants of all ages and Alyson Zwicker is in charge of genetic projects related to FORBOW. The more the merrier!
May 5 – FORBOW is taking in the little ones! We have completed a new space that allows families with children of all ages to participate in FORBOW. We have been enjoying seeing all the young people participate in FORBOW, and now we can even see babies and toddlers. And we have prepared a lot of fun things for all ages! It is great to start early.
February 26 – FORBOW has 200 youth participants – Less than 2 years from enrolling the first participant, there are 200 youth participating in FORBOW. Each of them has contributed a wealth of information and we are making sure we use it as well as we can to learn what keeps young people healthy and happy. Thanks for sharing!
January 26 – FORBOW BRAIN study starts – There is a brand new magnetic scanner at the QEII site. It makes a lot of noise, but it is completely safe and it takes beautifully accurate brain images. The FORBOW team is taking advantage of this exciting development, and the first 4 FORBOW participants will have a chance to see their brains on January 26! Have a look at the video of Vlad Drobinin, our brain expert, on the TEAM tab to find out more, or, visit FORBOW Brain .
2014 |
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September 27 – FORBOW has 150 youth participants. It has been 18 months since we started, and we have just seen our 150th young participant. Thanks for coming and sharing with us! We are learning a lot from you. Actually, we need more. FORBOW will keep recruiting participants for at least another year.
September 18-19 – Joan Kaufman, a clinical psychologist and researcher from Yale University, has visited Halifax and provided training for the FORBOW team. You can learn more about her research and the CARE program here. And the training was great. Thank you Joan!
September 5 – Thank you for coming back! The first 50 FORBOW participants have come back for their second visit after 1 year. Every single one of them. We are thrilled that you like coming back to see us again. The value of the study depends on keeping in touch and Nova Scotia youth and families have been just great. A big Thank You from the FORBOW team!
September 3 – Dr Camille Piguet visiting Halifax. Dr Piguet works at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. She is looking at how young people’s brains are managing information that relates to oneself as opposed to neutral information.
August 22 – Dalhousie Initiative is busting the stigma of mental illness in youth. The Halifax-based Children and Youth in Challenging Contexts (CYCC) group has launched an on-line campaign Mental Health Heroes, where young people can share their experiences.
August 11 – Vlad Drobinin has joined the FORBOW team. Vlad has come from McMaster University. He is interested to find out how technology affects our emotional health. So next time you come to see us there will be a tall guy on the team. Welcome Vlad!
June 22 – Rudolf Uher is presented with the Max Hamilton Memorial Award at the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology conference in Vancouver, BC. http://cinp.org/congress/2014-world-congress-vancouver-canada/
May 16 – Rudolf Uher presents the FORBOW study at the Early Life Stress and High-Risk in Mood Disorders symposium in Geneva, Switzerland. http://www.nccr-synapsy.ch/symposium/mood-disorders
April 16 – Rudolf Uher appears on CBC, as part of the Mainstreet Nova Scotia with Stephanie Domet.
http://www.cbc.ca/mainstreetns/episodes/#
April 16 – The FORBOW team presents “Genes and Environment,” “Children and Youth at Risk,” and “Treatment and Prevention of Mental Health Problems,” in a Cafe Scientifique in Halifax.
April 7 – Rudolf Uher, principal investigator of FORBOW, presents the first results of the FORBOW study at the World Congress of Brain, Emotions and Behavior, in Montreal. www.brain2014.com/
March 1 – FORBOW has now assessed the first 100 youth participants.
February 18 – Rudolf Uher appears on CTV’s Mental Health Minute with Starr Dobson.
http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/mental-health-minute-1.1715544
February 4-6 – Helen Fisher is training the FORBOW team to assess environment. Helen has come from the University College London (England). She has taught the FORBOW team how to ask the right questions about what is happening to us and record events that may affect our health and well-being. You can check Helen’s research at her website.
September 18-19 – Joan Kaufman, a clinical psychologist and researcher from Yale University, has visited Halifax and provided training for the FORBOW team. You can learn more about her research and the CARE program here. And the training was great. Thank you Joan!
September 5 – Thank you for coming back! The first 50 FORBOW participants have come back for their second visit after 1 year. Every single one of them. We are thrilled that you like coming back to see us again. The value of the study depends on keeping in touch and Nova Scotia youth and families have been just great. A big Thank You from the FORBOW team!
September 3 – Dr Camille Piguet visiting Halifax. Dr Piguet works at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. She is looking at how young people’s brains are managing information that relates to oneself as opposed to neutral information.
August 22 – Dalhousie Initiative is busting the stigma of mental illness in youth. The Halifax-based Children and Youth in Challenging Contexts (CYCC) group has launched an on-line campaign Mental Health Heroes, where young people can share their experiences.
August 11 – Vlad Drobinin has joined the FORBOW team. Vlad has come from McMaster University. He is interested to find out how technology affects our emotional health. So next time you come to see us there will be a tall guy on the team. Welcome Vlad!
June 22 – Rudolf Uher is presented with the Max Hamilton Memorial Award at the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology conference in Vancouver, BC. http://cinp.org/congress/2014-world-congress-vancouver-canada/
May 16 – Rudolf Uher presents the FORBOW study at the Early Life Stress and High-Risk in Mood Disorders symposium in Geneva, Switzerland. http://www.nccr-synapsy.ch/symposium/mood-disorders
April 16 – Rudolf Uher appears on CBC, as part of the Mainstreet Nova Scotia with Stephanie Domet.
http://www.cbc.ca/mainstreetns/episodes/#
April 16 – The FORBOW team presents “Genes and Environment,” “Children and Youth at Risk,” and “Treatment and Prevention of Mental Health Problems,” in a Cafe Scientifique in Halifax.
April 7 – Rudolf Uher, principal investigator of FORBOW, presents the first results of the FORBOW study at the World Congress of Brain, Emotions and Behavior, in Montreal. www.brain2014.com/
March 1 – FORBOW has now assessed the first 100 youth participants.
February 18 – Rudolf Uher appears on CTV’s Mental Health Minute with Starr Dobson.
http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/mental-health-minute-1.1715544
February 4-6 – Helen Fisher is training the FORBOW team to assess environment. Helen has come from the University College London (England). She has taught the FORBOW team how to ask the right questions about what is happening to us and record events that may affect our health and well-being. You can check Helen’s research at her website.
2013
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September 7 - FORBOW has 50 youth participants. Thank you for coming!
March 1 - The FORBOW study starts recruiting participants. We have begun!
February 3-6 - Frauke Schultze-Lutter visits FORBOW. Frauke Schultze-Lutter from the University of Bern (Switzerland) has trained the FORBOW team in assessing basic symptoms. Frauke does a lot of important and interesting research on early detection of mental vulnerability. She also loves music and cats. We have had good training and a lot of fun. Thank you Frauke!
March 1 - The FORBOW study starts recruiting participants. We have begun!
February 3-6 - Frauke Schultze-Lutter visits FORBOW. Frauke Schultze-Lutter from the University of Bern (Switzerland) has trained the FORBOW team in assessing basic symptoms. Frauke does a lot of important and interesting research on early detection of mental vulnerability. She also loves music and cats. We have had good training and a lot of fun. Thank you Frauke!
2012 |
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November 27–30 – Carrie Fisher, RN, visits FORBOW. Carrie Fisher, RN, comes to Halifax to train the FORBOW team in using a key diagnostic instrument in the study, the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS).
October 26 - The FORBOW protocol is approved by the Capital Health Research Ethics Board.
July 20 - The FORBOW study is awarded funding by the Canada Institute of Health Research (CIHR) and the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation (NSHRF) under the Regional Partnership Program. Thank you!
October 26 - The FORBOW protocol is approved by the Capital Health Research Ethics Board.
July 20 - The FORBOW study is awarded funding by the Canada Institute of Health Research (CIHR) and the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation (NSHRF) under the Regional Partnership Program. Thank you!