2026 Graduate Studentships for Research in
Schizophrenia & Psychosis Winners Announced
The Schizophrenia Society of Canada Foundation (SSCF), the Canadian Network for Research in Schizophrenia and Psychoses, and EPI Canada are proud to announce the 2026 recipients of our graduate studentships. Ten exceptional graduate students have been awarded $15,000 each to pursue research aimed at identifying the causes of, or developing novel interventions for, schizophrenia and related psychosis.
Congratulations to all our 2026 winners!
For additional information, please contact us at admin@epicanada.org
2026
WINNERS
Colette Mahr, PhD
University of Western Ontario
Research Topic: Unraveling Sex Differences in Microglia: Interactions Between Prenatal Immune Insult and Cannabis Use in Schizophrenia Risk
Supervisor: Jibran Khokhar
Chaimaa El Mouslih, PhD
McGill University
Research Topic: From Words to Diagnosis: Testing the Reliability of Speech Markers of Schizophrenia
Supervisor: Lena Palaniyappan
Max Seward, MSc
Dalhousie University
Research Topic: Exploring the Mismatch Negativity and Anterior Cingulate Cortex Glutamate as Prospective Markers of Treatment Resistant Schizophrenia
Supervisor: Kara Dempster
Cal Rosete, MSc
The University of British Columbia
Research Topic: Immune Dysfunction and Blood-Brain Barrier Breakdown in Schizophrenia
Supervisor: Clare Beasley
Shannen Kyte, PhD
University of Toronto
Research Topic: The effect of non-invasive brain stimulation on treatment adherence in first-episode schizophrenia
Supervisor: Philip Gerretsen
Jess D'Arcey, PhD
University of Toronto Scarborough
Jean Addington Award
Research Topic: REFLECT: A Technologically-Supported Group CBTp Approach to Core Beliefs
Supervisor: Michael Best
Justin Graffi, PhD
McGill University
Research Topic: First episode psychosis in rural areas: Examining inequities in healthcare utilization and pathways to care
Supervisor: Jai Shah & Martin Rotenberg
Bing Cai, PhD
McGill University
Research Topic: Understanding Cognitive Aging in Schizophrenia and Advancing Accessible Cognitive Remediation
Supervisor: Martin Lepage
Nora Morrison, PhD
McGill University
Research Topic: Connecting the dots: who self-refers and how does it impact timely access to early psychosis intervention services?
Supervisor: Srividya Iyer
Samantha Aversa, MSc
Queen's University
Research Topic: What Drives Engagement in Cognitive Remediation Therapy for Psychosis? Identifying Patient- and System-Level Predictors
Supervisor: Christopher Bowie
PAST
WINNERS
Since 2023, we have supported exceptional graduate students advancing research in schizophrenia and psychosis. Explore previous recipients and their groundbreaking research projects below.
Thea Hendemann, MSc
University of Toronto
Research Topic: Adapting a Digital Dialectical Behavior Therapy (d-DBT) for Youth at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis
Supervisor: Dr M. Omair Husain
Erica Zeng, MSc
University of British Columbia
Research Topic: Assessing the Reliability of fMRI-CPCA for Single-Subject Detection of Task-Related Functional Brain Networks and its Application to Schizophrenia-Related Abnormalities
Supervisor: Dr Todd Woodward
Giuseppe D'Andrea, PhD
McGill University
Research Topic: Using an intersectional approach to understand health inequalities in incidence, pathways to care, and long-term outcomes in first--episode psychosis
Supervisor: Srividya Iyer
Fiona Meister, PhD
McGill University
Research Topic: Discourse Incoherence as a Predictor of Social and Occupational Functioning in First-Episode Psychosis: A Longitudinal Study Using Natural Language Processing
Supervisor: Dr Lena Palaniyappan