A Season of exceptional achievements at the CEYMH
As we move through the early months of 2026, trainees and staff from the Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health (CEYMH) have received an extraordinary wave of recognition — from major international research awards to competitive student mobility grants.
February and March 2026 have truly highlighted the strength, diversity, and momentum of our research community. These opportunities play a key role in strengthening the scientific development of our trainees and expanding the CEYMH’s international reach.
They enable young researchers to present their work, build new collaborations, and gain meaningful research experience within global scientific networks. Each award obtained helps broaden the opportunities available to our community and supports an even greater number of emerging researchers in their academic journey.
A record year for the SIRS Early Career Awards
This year marks a historic milestone for our centre: five of our researchers have been recognized with Early Career Awards from the Schizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS) — the highest number our team has ever received in a single year.
Award recipients:
- Alban Voppel (research coordinator MOTS+ project)
- Fatima Abboud (Data Analyst and statistician)
- Fernando Gonzales Aste (psychiatric resident, McGill University)
- Mona Dlikan (MSc candidate, McGill University)
- Chaïmaa El Mouslih (PhD candidate, McGill University)
These distinctions celebrate the creativity, dedication, and scientific excellence of our early career researchers, whose work spans cutting‑edge neuroscience, clinical psychiatry, and interdisciplinary approaches to schizophrenia research.
Their contributions are helping shape the future of mental health science worldwide.
Alban
Voppel
Fatima
Abboud
Fernando Gonzales Aste, MD
Chaïmaa
El Mouslih
Mona
Dlikan
Hsi (Tiana) Wei,
MA, PhD
Fiona Meister,
MA
Recognition from DISCOURSE in Psychosis
We are equally proud to congratulate Hsi (Tiana) Wei (postdoctoral fellow, McGill University), and Fiona Meister (PhD candidate, McGill University), who have received the Early Career Researcher Award from DISCOURSE in Psychosis.
These awards highlight outstanding contributions in mental health, developmental science, and open collaborative research.
Their innovative work reflects the CEYMH’s commitment to advancing rigorous, impactful, and accessible science.
Student mobility & training awards
Our trainees have also distinguished themselves through several highly competitive travel and mobility grants, enabling them to present their work internationally and build new collaborations.
- Chaïmaa El Mouslih — CRBLM Travel Award to attend scientific meetings in Florence and Pavia
- Fiona Meister — Travel Grant from the Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS and Graduate Mobility Award supporting upcoming research travel to Italy
Chaïmaa
El Mouslih
Fiona Meister,
MA
Fernando Gonzales Aste, MD
A grant for an upcoming internship
We are also pleased to highlight that Fernando Gonzales Aste has received a grant from the Interventions Axis of the Alliance en Santé Mentale du Québec to support his upcoming internship at the University of Nottingham this summer with Dr. Marcus Kaiser.
This opportunity will allow him to deepen his expertise in focused ultrasound neuromodulation.