Faculty
One of the most important components of the Centre for Pediatric Pain Research is our world-class faculty. They bring a unique source of expertise in pediatric pain from a variety of disciplines, including psychology, anaesthesia, and nursing. We pride ourselves on providing a superior training environment for the next generation of researchers in pediatric pain. There are numerous research training opportunities available in our Centre for students at all levels (e.g., undergraduate, medical resident, graduate, and postdoctoral) and in a variety of degree programs at Dalhousie University (e.g., Clinical Psychology PhD program, Interdisciplinary PhD Program, masters and PhD programs in Nursing).
A brief description of each of our core Centre faculty appears below. Each faculty members leads their own research team and program. You can learn more about each faculty member’s team and research program by clicking on their name to visit their individual research pages. Following our core faculty, is a brief description of each of our associate faculty members.
Marsha Campbell-Yeo, PhD, NNP-BC RN |
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Dr. Marsha Campbell-Yeo, a certified neonatal nurse practitioner, is an Assistant Professor at the School of Nursing, Dalhousie University and a Clinician Scientist at the IWK Health Centre (cross appointment in the Department of Pediatrics). Dr. Campbell-Yeo’s program of research, primarily funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research, examines the effectiveness of maternally-led interventions to improve outcomes in at risk newborns specifically related to pain, stress and neurodevelopment. Dr. Campbell-Yeo has expertise in multi-site randomized controlled clinical trials and mixed methods. Her projects are interdisciplinary in nature and she has ongoing collaborations with nurses, neonatologists, psychologists, epidemiologists, obstetricians, and pharmacists. She has been the recipient of numerous training awards most notably a CIHR fellowship. To visit Dr. Campbell-Yeo’s page, please click here. |
Christine T. Chambers, PhD RPsych FCAHS |
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Dr. Christine Chambers is a clinical psychologist, Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Children’s Pain and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience & Pediatrics at Dalhousie University.
She is the Scientific Director of Solutions for Kids in Pain/Solutions pour la douleur chez l’enfant (SKIP), a national knowledge mobilization network with over 100 partners, whose mission is to improve children’s pain management by mobilizing evidence-based solutions through coordination and collaboration. Also serving as the current Scientific Director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health (CIHR IHDCYH), she supports research that ensures the best start in life for all Canadians and the achievement of their potential for optimal growth and development. Her research, based in the Centre for Pediatric Pain Research at the IWK Health Centre, is aimed at improving the management of children’s pain with a focus on the role of psychological and family factors in children’s pain. She has published nearly 200 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and and was identified as one of the top 10 most productive women clinical psychology professors in Canada. She is also the Principal Investigator of the #ItDoesntHaveToHurt social media initiative, in partnership with Erica Ehm’s YummyMummyClub.ca. Dr. Chambers is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. She is the recipient of many awards and was recognized by the Women’s Executive Network as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women. She gave a TEDx talk on children’s pain and developed a YouTube video for parents about how to manage needle pain. She is deeply committed to training. Dr. Chambers is the Assistant Director of the North American Pain School (NAPS) and has won awards for excellence in graduate supervision and mentorship. Christine is a leader and innovator in patient engagement, partnerships, and the mobilization of health research. She is also the proud mother of 4 children. To visit Dr. Chambers’ page, please click here. |
Jill Chorney, PhD, RPsych |
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Dr. Jill MacLaren Chorney is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University and a Clinical Psychologist and Advance Practice Leader with the Mental Health and Addictions Program at the IWK. Dr. Chorney’s current work is in the areas of shared decision-making, patient-provider interactions, and implementation science. Her work in interdisciplinary in nature and she routinely collaborates with clinicians, patients and families, and health systems administrators. Her work has an emphasis on research that is directly informed by, and contributes to, clinical practice and health system decision-making. Dr. Chorney’s current work is informed by her previous roles as an Associate Professor of Anesthesia and a Clinical Psychologist with the Complex Pain Team. She remains active in the fields of perioperative care and pain research. Dr. Chorney has published over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts and received research funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, United States National Institutes of Health, Nova Scotia Research Foundation/Research Nova Scotia, Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the IWK Health Centre. Dr. Chorney is the current lead for the BALANCE program (Building ALiances for Autism Needs in Clinical Encounters), an intervention designed to improve the healthcare experiences of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, their families, and their healthcare providers. For more information on BALANCE, click here.
To visit Dr. Chorney’s page, please click here. |
Allen Finley, MD, FRCPC, FAAP |
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Dr. Allen Finley is a pediatric anesthesiologist who has worked for more than 25 years in pain research and management. He is a Professor of Anesthesia and Psychology at Dalhousie University, and Medical Director of Pediatric Pain Management at IWK Health Centre in Halifax. He has published over 130 papers in peer-reviewed journals and has lectured widely, with more than 300 invited presentations on six continents. He started the PEDIATRIC-PAIN e-mail discussion list in 1993, bringing together pain researchers and clinicians from over 40 countries. His own research and educational projects have recently taken him to Jordan, Thailand, China, Brazil, and elsewhere. His main focus is advocacy for improved pain management for children in both developing and developed countries. To visit Dr. Finley’s page, please click here. |
Margot Latimer, RN, PhD |
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Dr. Margot Latimer completed her BSc in Nursing and a Masters of Nursing at Dalhousie University. She worked as a nurse at the IWK Health Centre for many years before completing her PhD in Nursing from McGill University (2006) and a post doctorate in neuroscience from Laval University (2010). Margot is an Associate Professor in Dalhousie University’s School of Nursing and holds research funding for several projects from the Canadian Institute of Health Research, and recently received the Early Career Research Excellence Award from Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Health Professions (2014).Dr. Latimer’s research interests are associated with children’s pain management and relief and clinician empathy for pain. More specifically her research is focused on exploring Indigenous children’s expression of pain and how the context of culture and tradition can impact pain expression and management. Dr. Latimer has been working to establish strong partnerships with Indigenous communities to learn from a ‘Two-Eyed’ Indigenous and Western perspective how to best assess and manage Indigenous children’s pain experience. Ultimately, she seeks to improve wellbeing and quality of life for Indigenous children through many avenues including the development of learning opportunities never before offered to students in the Faculties of Health Professions, Sciences and Medicine. Dr. Latimer is also interested in the role that empathy plays in health clinician’s management and treatment of pain and uses novel approaches like fMRI to examine this area. To visit Dr. Latimer’s page, please click here. |
Patrick McGrath, OC, PhD, FRSC |
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Dr. Patrick McGrath a clinical psychologist, Vice President Research, Innovation and Knowledge Translation for the IWK Health Centre and the Nova Scotia Health Authority, and Canada Research Chair and Professor of Psychology, Pediatrics and Psychiatry at Dalhousie University. He leads the Pain in Child Health Strategic training program that unites research trainees from around the world. His research on pain in child health has spanned a wide range of studies on measurement and psychosocial interventions in many different types of pain in infants, children and youth. He is a coeditor of the textbook, Pain in Neonates and Infants. His research has been recognized by being made an Officer of the Order of Canada and numerous other awards. He has published over 200 journal articles, 100 editorials, abstracts and comments, 50 book chapters, and 13 books. To visit Dr. McGrath’s page, please click here. |
Associate Members
Paula Forgeron, RN, PhD |
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Paula Forgeron is an Assistant Professor at the School of Nursing, University of Ottawa and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at Dalhousie University. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Ottawa she had a diverse clinical career including being a clinical nurse specialist on a pediatric complex pain team. Her program of research has two main foci using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. One focus is to examine the social functioning of adolescents with chronic pain, particularly their friendships as her research suggests that pain impacts friendships and friendships impact pain. The goal of this research is to better understand these relationships, define the mechanisms through which friendships and pain interact, and develop and test strategies to improve function and friendships for adolescents with chronic pain. The other focus of her research is to examine the processes and strategies needed to improve pain care for hospitalized children and families in low and middle-income countries. She received numerous training awards including a CIHR fellowship. Dr. Forgeron has received several grants to support her research. Contact: Paula.Forgeron@uottawa.ca |
Celeste Johnston, RN, DEd, FCAHS |
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Celeste Johnston is Emeritus Professor in the Ingram School of Nursing at McGill University, Montreal and Scientist at the IWK Health Centre, Halifax. She has associate appointments at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, Ste. Justine’s Hospital, Montreal. She is past-President of the Canadian Pain Society, past-Secretary of the Special Interest Group for Pain in Children of International Association for the Study of Pain and was elected Councillor to that association in 2008. During her term as President of the Canadian Pain Society from 2000-2003, she formed the Canadian Pain Coalition, a partnership of pain patient groups, health care professionals, and scientists. She is the recipient of several awards for her research on pain in children including, among others, the Distinguished Career Award of the Canadian Pain Society and Canadian Nurses Association Centennial Award. Her research, funded mostly by Canadian Institutes of Health Research, is focused on measurement and non-pharmacological management of pain in preterm neonates, animal models of neonatal pain, and changing health care professionals’ practices related to pain management. Contact: celestejohnston@me.com |
Sara King, PhD, RPsych |
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Sara King is an Assistant Professor and clinical psychologist in the Faculty of Education (School Psychology program) at Mount Saint University and Clinical Associate in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Dalhousie University. She obtained her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Dalhousie University and completed her predoctoral residency in the area of rehabilitation and developmental psychology at Bloorview Kids Rehab (now Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital) in Toronto. Sara completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Departments of Pediatrics and Psychology at the IWK Health Centre and Dalhousie University, where she held a Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program (CCHCSP) fellowship. She is broadly interested in understanding social functioning and peer relationships in various populations of children with special needs, including children with chronic pain, chronic illness, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Currently, she is interested in understanding and improving school functioning in children with chronic illness and chronic pain, with a focus on providing educators with accurate evidence-based information about these conditions, as well as improving communication between health care and education professionals to ensure academic and social success for this population of children. Contact: sara.king@msvu.ca. |
