Mental Health Research Team

The Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health brings together over 20 world-class clinicians,

 neuroscientists, and data scientists affiliated with McGill University. 

 

Our diverse team is dedicated to advancing early intervention through innovation and lived experience collaboration.

For professional openings within our mental health group, please check our Opportunities page.

The Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health brings together over 20 world-class clinicians neuroscientists, and data scientists affiliated with McGill University. 

 

Our diverse team is dedicated to

 advancing early intervention through

 innovation and lived experience collaboration.

For professional openings within our mental health group, please check our Opportunities page. 

LEADERSHIP & OPERATIONS

Lena Palaniyappan, Director, Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, McGill University

Lena Palaniyappan

MD, PhD

Centre Director

lena.palaniyappan@mcgill.ca

Céline Villemus Operations director and research project manager at the center of excellence in youth mental health

Céline Villemus​

MSc Operations Director & Research Project Manager

celine.villemus.comtl@ssss.gouv.qc.ca 

SPECIALIST MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH TEAM

Adriana Redensek, academic lead and research coordinator for bloom project at the centre of excellence in youth mental health

Adriana
Redensek

Academic Lead &
Research Coordinator for BLOOM project

Melissa Palander, digital solutions specialist for bloom project at the center of excellence in youth mental health

Melissa
Palander

Digital Solutions Specialist for BLOOM project

Sanie Varela, research assistant and family navigator for bloom project at the center of excellence in youth mental health

Sanie
Varela

Research Assistant & Family Navigator for BLOOM project

Sophia Goertz, Research Assistant, Quebec Speech Bank

Sophia
Goertz

Research Assistant for Quebec Speech Bank and BLOOM project

John Read research assistant BLOOM project

John
Read

Research Assistant for BLOOM project

Olivia Bishop research assistant BLOOM project

Olivia
Bishop

Research Assistant for BLOOM project

Havana Hechavarria research assistant BLOOM project

Havana
Hechavaria

Research Assistant for BLOOM project

Evan Matthews research assistant BLOOM project

Evan
Matthews

Research Assistant for BLOOM project

Sophia Kebede research assistant BLOOM project

Sophia
Kebede

Research Assistant for BLOOM project

Mylane Merdas research assistant BLOOM project

Mylane
Merdas

Research Assistant for BLOOM project

Jihong Lee Bloom Eclos centre excellence sante mentale jeunes youth mental health

Jihong
Lee

Research Assistant for BLOOM project

Elsa Bernier, research assistant and youth navigator for bloom project at the center of excellence in youth mental health

Elsa
Bernier

Research Coordinator & Youth Navigator

Ranjini garani, research coordinator for the DIALOG project, Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health

Ranjini
Garani

Research Coordinator for DIALOG project

Portrait of Kelsey Davis, clinical coordinator for the DIALOG and BLOOM projects at the Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health

Kelsey
Davis

Clinical Coordinator for DIALOG project

Kayla Boktor, research assistant at the Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health

Kayla
Boktor

Research Assistant for DIALOG project

Roozbeh Sattari, Research Coordinator for the Quebec Speechbank Project at the Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health

Roozbeh
Sattari

Research Coordinator for Quebec Speech Bank project

Alban Voppel research coordinator, post doctorat student from Mcgill university at the center of excellence in youth mental health

Alban
Voppel

Research Coordinator for MOTS+ project

Marie-Ange Barthel, Assistante de recherche, Quebec Speech Bank et Mots+

Marie-Ange
Barthel

Research Assistant for Quebec Speech Bank and MOTS+ project

Nadine el-mufti research assistant for the centere of excellence in youth mental health

Nadine
El-Mufti

Research assistant for Voici Speech Bank

Tosh Watson, FT lived experience coordinator at the center of excellence in youth mental health

Tosh
Watson

FT Lived Experience Coordinator

Raven , lived experience assistant at the center of excellence in youth mental health

Raven
Hudon

Lived Experience Inclusion Rep.

Lea Rizk, Lived experience agent Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health

Léa
Rizk

Lived Experience Agent

Deven Parekh, Chief Data Scientist, Quebec Speech Bank

Deven
Parekh

Data Scientist

Saba Sagliker Kose, research associate in Sherif Karama research group

Saba Sagliker Kose, MD

Research Associate, Sherif Karama research group

Elissa Zavaglia, research associate, prevention and early intervention program for psychoses at PEPP Montreal

Elissa Zavaglia, Msc, PhD

Research Associate, Prevention and Early intervention Program for Psychoses (PEPP-Montreal)

Samuel Papp , Administrative Coordinator at the Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health

Samuel Papp

Administrative Coordinator

Aurore Lebourg, agente de communication scientifique au centre d'excellence en santé mentale des jeunes

Aurore Lebourg

Scientific Communication Coordinator

MCGILL TRAINEES & FUTURE MENTAL HEALTH INVESTIGATORS

Martin Sellier Silva, research assistant and research liaison for bloom project at the center of excellence in youth mental health

Martin Sellier
Silva

PhD Candidat, 
Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University

Jessica Ahrens McGill student

Jessica
Ahrens

PhD Candidate, Co-supervised with Clifford Cassidy
Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University

candice canonne student McGill university CEYMH CESMJ

Candice
Canonne

PhD Candidate, Co-supervised with Naguib Mechawar
Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University

Mona Dlikan McGill student

Mona
Dlikan

MSc Candidate, Co-supervised with David Rudko
Biological & Biomedical Engineering Program, McGill University

Fiona Meister, Research Assistant, Quebec Speech Bank

Fiona Meister,
Ma

PhD Candidate, Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University

Hsi Tiana Wei McGill University

Hsi (Tiana) Wei,
Ma, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University 

chaimaa McGill university

Chaimaa
El Mouslih

PhD Candidate, Co-supervised with Debra Titone
Clinical Psychology, McGill University

Farida Zaher McGill student university Montreal

Farida
Zaher

MSc Candidate, Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University 

Fernando Aste Gonzales McGill university Montreal

Fernando Gonzales Aster, MD

Psychiatry Resident,
McGill University

Laeticia Wang McGill University Montreal

Laetitia Yingqi
Wang

MD/PhD Candidate,
Western University

Emmanuel Olarewaju McGill university

Emmanuel Olarewaju

PhD Candidate,
Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University

Matt Parl McGill University Montreal

Matt Park,
MD

PhD Candidate, Co-supervised with Mallar Chakravarty
Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University

Photo profesionnelle

Juliette Thibaudeau,
MD

Resident in Psychiatry,
McGill University 

Freeha Anjum McGill University student Montreal

Freeha
Anjum

MSc candidate in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience at McGill University

Abhijit Chinchani Posdoctoral researcher at McGIll university and the Center of Excellence in Youth Mental Health

Abhijit
Chinchani

Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University

CIUSSS CLINICAL SERVICE LEADS & HEALTH PARTNERS

Our integration with the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal ensures that our research is directly implemented into the Quebec Healthcare System 

Our integration with the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal ensures that our

 researchis directly implemented into the 

Quebec Healthcare System 

chantal fournier CIUSSS de l'Ouest de l'île de Montréal

Chantal Fournier
TS, MAP

Assistant Director of Specialized Services, CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal

 

Amine Saadi CIUSSS de l'Ouest de l'île de Montréal

Amine Saadi
Inf.Clin., DESS

Director Mental Health and Addictions Programs, CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal

Susan Theberge CIUSS de l'Ouest de l'île de Montréal

Susan Theberge
MSW

Coordinator, Youth Mental Health Continuum, CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal

COMMITTEES : KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Media & Digital Presence

Aurore Lebourg

Melissa Palander

Tosh Watson

Communication

Aurore Lebourg

Ranjini Garani

Adriana Redensek

Celine Villemus

Event Planning

Adriana Redensek

Céline Villemus

Elsa Bernier

Léa Rizk

Workshop & Activities

Freeha Anjum

Elsa Bernier

Kelsey Davis

Melissa Palander

ALUMNI : GLOBAL RESEARCH IMPACT

Chelsea Cuffaro

Lived Experience Coordinator

Sept. 2024 – Sept. 2026

Etienne Barou-Laforie

Research Assistant 

DIALOG project

Sept. 2025 – Sept. 2026

Rukun Dou

MDCM Candidate

McGill University
May 2025 – July 2025

Danqing Huang, MSc

Visiting Graduate Trainee (PhD candidate), 
McGill University

Feb. 2024 – Nov. 2025

Angelica Sangiorgi

MD candidate at alma mater studiorum Univeristy of Bologna

March. 2026 – July. 2026

Forest Day de Larrañaga

Research Assistant

BLOOM project
Feb. 2024 – March. 2026

Luke Bregulla

Visiting MSc student, SRH Hochschule Heidelberg University
Sep. – Dec. 2024

Evan Su

Undergraduate summer student 

(T-CAIREM), 
University of Toronto
May – Aug. 2024

Huan Huang, MD, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow
McGill University
Jan. 2024 – Jan. 2025

Lydia Jiayan Xu

Undergraduate Research Trainee, Faculty of Arts, McGill University 

Sep. 2024 – Apr. 2025

Mengdi Zhu

Undergraudate Student
McGill University
Sep. 2023 – Apr. 2024

Anthony DiMaggio

Undergraduate Summer Student
University of Toronto
Jun. – Aug. 2024

Gleb Melshin, MDCM Cand.

Undergraduate Research Intern
McGill University
May – Aug. 2024

Leija Fan

Visiting PhD Scholar
Central South University, China
Aug. 2022 – May. 2024

Nanyu Kuang

Visiting PhD Scholar
Fudan University, China
Dec. 2022 – Jun. 2023

Théo Korchia, Md

Clinical Fellow
Psychiatry, McGill University
Jun. 2022 – Jun. 2023

Alexander Murray

Visiting PhD Scholar
University of Birmingham, UK
May – Aug. 2023

Evelyn Chan

Undergraduate Student
McGill University
Sep. 2023 – Apr. 2024