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It Doesn't Have to Hurt

Team

Our research team consists of trainees (undergraduate students, graduate students, medical residents, and fellows) and staff (research assistants, coordinators, and associates) who work together with parents and other partners to tackle the problem of poorly managed pain in children. We collaborate with a wide range of researchers across Canada and around the world who bring complementary expertise and experience.

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Join Our Team

We provide training opportunities for students from different disciplines and at different stages of training, including postdoctoral fellows, PhD students (primarily in clinical psychology), masters students, honours/undergraduate students, as well as medical students and residents.

We recognize and value diversity and equity and follow best practices for the inclusion of diverse and underrepresented populations to ensure that individuals feel valued, respected, and equally supported.

If you are interested in joining our team please contact Dr. Chambers directly to discuss opportunities.

Trainees


Dr. Justine Dol photo

Dr. Justine Dol

Post-doctoral Fellow

Dr. Dol’s research program focuses on empowering parents. Specifically, she focuses on equipping parents with the information, support, and confidence they need during the perinatal period, parenting transitions, and in the context of pain management. This work is done using evidence synthesis, knowledge generation, and cutting-edge digital health interventions.

Dr. Samantha Louie-Poon photo

Dr. Samantha Louie-Poon

Post-doctoral Fellow

Dr. Samantha Louie-Poon is a Registered Nurse, community activist, researcher, and poet. Her academic work focuses on anti-Asian racism, anti-racism, and radical imaginations in the areas of child health and Asian health and wellness. Samantha’s Postdoctoral Fellowship at Dalhousie University aims to understand the impacts of racism and pain management for Asian children in Canada and to develop an anti-racism framework for pain in Asian children.

Dr. Annemarie Dedek photo

Dr. Annemarie Dedek

Post-doctoral Fellow

Dr. Annemarie Dedek is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Dalhousie University. Her previous research used rodent and human tissue models to understand the pathological changes in the spinal cord that underlie chronic pain. Her PhD work identified a major sex difference in pain circuitry, which spurred her interest in sex hormones and equity in science. Her current research interests focus on pain in transgender and gender-diverse youth.

Yvonne Brandelli photo

Yvonne Brandelli

PhD Student, Clinical Psychology

Yvonne.Brandelli@dal.ca

Yvonne is a PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology at Dalhousie University. Her research, with an emphasis on patient engagement and knowledge translation, is focused on promoting resilience in the context of juvenile arthritis pain. She is supported by the Dr. Mabel E. Goudge Award (Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University) and an IWK Graduate Studentship. Previously she was supported by a Nova Scotia Research and Innovation Graduate Scholarship, a Maritime SPOR SUPPORT Unit Award, a PhD Award from The Arthritis Society and a Scotia Scholars Award from Research Nova Scotia.

Nicole MacKenzie photo

Nicole MacKenzie

PhD Student, Clinical Psychology

NMacKenzie@dal.ca

Nicole is a PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology at Dalhousie University. Her research is focused on knowledge mobilization and implementation science within pediatric pain management, with a specific interest in partner engagement. Nicole is supported by a Nova Scotia Research and Innovation Graduate Scholarship and a Maritime SPOR Support Unit (MSSU) Student Award. She was previously supported by a Killam Pre-doctoral Scholarship, Research Nova Scotia Scotia Scholars Award, a Maritime SPOR Support Unit (MSSU) Student award, a Nova Scotia Research and Innovation Graduate Scholarship, and a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Masters Scholarship.

Blair Irish photo

Blair Irish

PhD Student, Clinical Psychology

Blair is a student in the Clinical Psychology program at Dalhousie University. Her research is focused on understanding how experiences of pain-related stigma can lead to inequities in access to pain management and treatment among children and youth with chronic pain conditions.

Bianca Matthews photo

Bianca Matthews

PhD Student, Clinical Psychology

Bianca is a PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology at Dalhousie University. Her research is focused on knowledge mobilization and implementation science within pediatric pain management, with a specific interest in the contribution of unique minority stressors to chronic pain coping experiences. Bianca is supported by a Nova Scotia Graduate Scholarship and a Building Diversity in Clinical Psychology Award

Analyssa Cardenas photo

Analyssa Cardenas

Research in Medicine Student

Analyssa is a student in the Doctor of Medicine program at Dalhousie University. Her research is focused on the relationship between national child health research funding and pediatric health outcomes in Canada.

Meredith Otley photo

Meredith Otley

Research In Medicine (RIM) Student

Meredith is a student in the Doctor of Medicine program at Dalhousie University. Her research is focused on parents’ needs for pain management during their children’s medical procedures.

Staff


Dr. Jennifer Parker photo

Jennifer is a PhD-level Research Associate in the Centre for Pediatric Pain Research at IWK Health as well as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Dalhousie University. Her research interests include pain and child health, knowledge mobilization, and patient partnership in research.

Brittany Cormier photo
Alicia Reil photo

Alicia Reil

Research Assitant

Alicia.Reil@iwk.nshealth.ca

Isabel Jordan photo

Isabel Jordan

Strategic Lead, Patient Partnerships

IJordan@dal.ca

Isabel draws from her lived experience to provide leadership and guidance to trainees, staff, and patient partners within our program of research to support meaningful patient engagement practices and partnerships that are aligned with patient-oriented research.

Charlotte Langley photo

Charlotte Langley

Research Assistant
Tonya Darlington photo

Tonya Darlington

Executive Assistant to Christine Chambers

tonya.darlington@dal.ca

Collaborators


Dr. Melanie Barwick photo

Dr. Melanie Barwick

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT & #KIDSCANCERPAIN
Dr. Jackie Bender photo

Dr. Jackie Bender

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT
Dr. Katelynn Boerner photo

Dr. Katelynn Boerner

B-Positive
Dr. Fiona Campbell photo

Dr. Fiona Campbell

#KIDSCANCERPAIN & #ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT
Dr. Marsha Campbell-Yeo photo

Dr. Marsha Campbell-Yeo

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT & Risk and Resilience Study
Dr. Alexander J. Clark photo

Dr. Alexander J. Clark

Risk and Resilience Study
Leota Dickey photo

Leota Dickey

B-Positive
Emily Drake photo

Emily Drake

#KIDSCANCERPAIN
Erica Ehm photo

Erica Ehm

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT
Dr. Conrad Fernandez photo

Dr. Conrad Fernandez

#KidsCancerPain & PAIN IN CHILDHOOD CANCER SURVIVORS
Dr. Allen Finley photo

Dr. Allen Finley

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT
Dr. Ran Goldman photo

Dr. Ran Goldman

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT
Dr. Gregory Guilcher photo

Dr. Gregory Guilcher

PAIN IN CHILDHOOD CANCER SURVIVORS
Dr. Lauren Heathcote photo

Dr. Lauren Heathcote

PAIN IN CHILDHOOD CANCER SURVIVORS
Karen Irwin photo

Karen Irwin

#KIDSCANCERPAIN
Dr. Lindsay Jibb photo

Dr. Lindsay Jibb

#KidsCancerPain
Dr. Alfhid Larson photo

Dr. Alfhid Larson

B-Positive
Dr. Margot Latimer photo

Dr. Margot Latimer

Parenting with Chronic Pain Study
Chantal LeBlanc photo

Chantal LeBlanc

B-Positive
Dr. Mary Lynch photo

Dr. Mary Lynch

Risk and Resilience Study
Heather MacNeil photo

Heather MacNeil

B-Positive
Dr. Meghan McMurtry photo

Dr. Meghan McMurtry

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT
Dr. Jeffrey Mogil photo

Dr. Jeffrey Mogil

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT
Dr. Paul Nathan photo

Dr. Paul Nathan

#KidsCancerPain
Dr. Melanie Noel photo

Dr. Melanie Noel

PAIN IN CHILDHOOD CANCER SURVIVORS
Dr. Kathryn O'Hara photo

Dr. Kathryn O'Hara

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT
Dr. Lukas Propper photo

Dr. Lukas Propper

Parenting with Chronic Pain Study
Dr. Natalie Rosen photo

Dr. Natalie Rosen

Risk and Resilience Study & Parenting with Chronic Pain Study
Dr. Fiona Schulte photo

Dr. Fiona Schulte

PAIN IN CHILDHOOD CANCER SURVIVORS
Dr. Simon Sherry photo

Dr. Simon Sherry

Risk and Resilience Study
Dr. Bonnie Stevens photo

Dr. Bonnie Stevens

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT
Dr. Jennifer Stinson photo

Dr. Jennifer Stinson

#KIDSCANCERPAIN, #ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT, & PAIN IN CHILDHOOD CANCER SURVIVORS
Dr. Anna Taddio photo

Dr. Anna Taddio

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT
Dr. Robin Urquhart photo

Dr. Robin Urquhart

PAIN IN CHILDHOOD CANCER SURVIVORS
Dr. Holly Witteman photo

Dr. Holly Witteman

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT & #KIDSCANCERPAIN

Parent & Patient Partners


Jonathan Agin photo

Jonathan Agin

#KIDSCANCERPAIN

Steven Bradley photo

Steven Bradley

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT

Cheryl Campbell photo

Cheryl Campbell

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT

Becky Carey photo

Becky Carey

#KIDSCANCERPAIN
Tammie Cleary photo

Tammie Cleary

#KIDSCANCERPAIN
Sitara de Gagne photo

Sitara de Gagne

Jenny Doull photo

Jenny Doull

#KIDSCANCERPAIN

Holly Gillis photo

Holly Gillis

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT

Yarrow Gillis photo

Yarrow Gillis

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT

Isabel Jordan photo

Isabel Jordan

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT

Jennifer Langille photo

Jennifer Langille

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT

Jenn Lyster photo

Jenn Lyster

#KIDSCANCERPAIN
Robert MacCormick photo

Robert MacCormick

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT

Julia MacLeod photo

Julia MacLeod

Pain in Childhood Cancer Survivors
Sue McKechnie photo

Sue McKechnie

#KIDSCANCERPAIN
Brenda Murchison photo

Brenda Murchison

#KIDSCANCERPAIN

Dawn Norman photo

Dawn Norman

#KIDSCANCERPAIN
Calvin Pearce photo

Calvin Pearce

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT

Nicole Poplar photo

Nicole Poplar

#KIDSCANCERPAIN
Sameen Rehman photo

Sameen Rehman

#KIDSCANCERPAIN
Neal Rourke photo

Neal Rourke

#KIDSCANCERPAIN

Maya Stern photo

Maya Stern

#KIDSCANCERPAIN & Pain in Childhood Cancer Survivors
Patrick Sullivan photo

Patrick Sullivan

#KIDSCANCERPAIN

Lisa Thornbury photo

Lisa Thornbury

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT

Shannon Williams photo

Shannon Williams

#ITDOESNTHAVETOHURT

Volunteers


Due to COVID-19 we have temporarily suspended our volunteer program through the IWK Health Centre photo

Due to COVID-19 we have temporarily suspended our volunteer program through the IWK Health Centre

Trainee Alumni


Dr. Somayyeh Mohammadi photo

Dr. Somayyeh Mohammadi

Former Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Mohammadi is a postdoctoral fellow in the GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre, Rehabilitation Research Lab at the University of British Columbia.

Dr. Line Caes photo

Dr. Line Caes

Former Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Caes is a Lecturer of Psychology in the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Division of Psychology at the University of Stirling, UK.

Dr. Aimée Coulombe photo

Dr. Aimée Coulombe

Former Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Coulombe is a clinical psychologist at the IWK Health Centre.

Dr. Sara King photo

Dr. Sara King

Former Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. King is an Associate Professor at Mount Saint Vincent University and a coordinator of their School Psychology Program.

Dr. Perri Tutelman photo

Dr. Perri Tutelman

Former PhD Student

Dr. Tutelman graduated with her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Dalhousie University in 2022. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychosocial Oncology at the University of Calgary and Cancer Care Alberta with Dr. Fiona Schulte and Dr. Melanie Noel.

Dr. Kristen Higgins photo

Dr. Kristen Higgins

Former PhD Student

Kristen.Higgins@dal.ca

Dr. Higgins graduated with her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Dalhousie University in 2019. She is currently a Psychologist at the Nova Scotia Health (NSH) Operational Stress Injury Clinic.

Dr. Meghan Schinkel photo

Dr. Meghan Schinkel

Former PhD Student

Dr. Schinkel graduated with her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Dalhousie University in 2018. She is currently a Clinical Psychologist with Community Mental Health & Addictions and the Pediatric Complex Pain Clinic at IWK Health.

Dr. Katelynn Boerner photo

Dr. Katelynn Boerner

Former PhD Student

Dr. Boerner graduated with her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Dalhousie University in 2017. She is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at BC Children’s Hospital’s Research Institute in British Columbia.

Dr. Katie Birnie photo

Dr. Katie Birnie

Former PhD student

Dr. Birnie graduated with her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Dalhousie University in 2016. She is currently a clinical psychologist at Alberta Children’s Hospital and Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary and Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute. She leads the Partnering for Pain research lab and is the Associate Scientific Director of Solutions for the Kids Pain (SKIP)

Dr. Mark Petter photo

Dr. Mark Petter

Former PhD student

Dr. Petter graduated with his PhD in Clinical Psychology from Dalhousie University in 2014. He is currently a clinical psychologist working in private practice in Ontario.

Dr. Melanie Noel photo

Dr. Melanie Noel

Former PhD student

Dr. Noel graduated with her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Dalhousie University in 2013. She is currently a clinical psychologist, an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary, and a full member of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute. She leads the Alberta Children’s Pain Research lab.

Dr. Erin Moon photo

Dr. Erin Moon

Former PhD student

Dr. Moon graduated with her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Dalhousie University in 2011. She is a clinical psychologist at BC Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Nancy Bandstra photo

Dr. Nancy Bandstra

Former PhD student

Dr. Bandstra graduated with her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Dalhousie University in 2011. She is a pediatric psychologist and the program director of the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Intensive Feeding Program in Michigan.

Dr. Meghan McMurty photo

Dr. Meghan McMurty

Former PhD student

Dr. McMurtry graduated with her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Dalhousie University in 2010. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Guelph and leads the Pediatric Pain, Health, and Communication Lab.

Dr. Lindsay Uman photo

Dr. Lindsay Uman

Former PhD student

Dr. Uman graduated with her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Dalhousie University in 2009. She is a psychologist at the IWK Community Mental Health and Addictions clinic and the IWK Health Centre’s Complex Pain team.

Dr. Elizabeth (Job) Stanford photo

Dr. Elizabeth (Job) Stanford

Former PhD student

Dr. Stanford graduated with her PhD from the Clinical Psychology program at the University of British Columbia in 2007. She is a Clinical Psychologist and head of psychology for BC Children’s and BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre and Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, Vancouver, BC.

Rebecca MacNevin photo

Rebecca MacNevin

Former Masters student

Rebecca is a school psychologist working in Nova Scotia.

Tessa Craig photo

Tessa Craig

Former Masters student

Tessa is a Speech-Language Pathologist and a Provincial Trainer with the Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (EIBI) Program at the IWK Health Centre.

Funding & Support

We are grateful for the following funding and support:

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Leading the Charge

Dr. Christine Chambers

Dr. Christine Chambers

Dr. Chambers is an international leader in the study of children’s pain. She holds the Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Children's Pain and is a Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience & Pediatrics and at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Her research team is based in the Centre for Pediatric Pain Research at the IWK Health Centre. Her award-winning work spans research, training, knowledge translation, and advocacy.

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About Us
Our Work
IWK Health Centre
Centre for Pediatric Pain Research
Dalhousie University