Alan Buchanan

As a Clinician-Scientist, I have a strong interest in conducting translational research that bridges our understanding on the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders with the clinical applications of this knowledge. My clinical practice is actively focused in those most severely afflicted by such conditions, and my research interests are directed at finding novel therapeutic interventions within Non-Invasive Neurostimulation Therapies (NINETs) that can help mitigate the suffering of those with severe and refractory forms of psychosis and depression. I strongly believe that understanding NINETs’ mechanism(s) of action is a critical step towards translating research knowledge to clinical practice. More important, translating that knowledge to clinical practice will have a direct, immediate, and positive impact on the life’s of those who struggle and suffer the most devastating forms of mental illness and their families.

In the lab we actively investigate on all forms of NINET and we use a varied number of neurophysiological tools to research on biomarkers. The lab is also the only centre in Canada to host both simultaneous TMS-fMRI and tDCS-fMRI capability.

Peer-reviewed publications

Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar

VCHRI Investigator Award, 2017

@NinetLab

Dr. Vanderwal received her M.D. from Yale School of Medicine, and completed residency, fellowship and research training at the Yale Child Study Center. Her research mentors were Robert T. Schultz, Linda C. Mayes and F. Xavier Castellanos (and team). She also has a Master’s degree from Yale Divinity School, with a concentration in ethics. Dr. Vanderwal’s work combining neuroscience and art has been featured at the Imagine Science Film Festival and at MoMA Studios. She is currently the managing guest editor for the special issue/saga on Naturalistic Imaging for NeuroImage. She also continues to practice as a child psychiatrist, seeing kids in northern BC.

Source

The Naturalistic Neuroimaging Lab uses movies to study complex patterns of brain function in child psychiatric disorders. Using movies helps us study children who have a hard time staying still inside the MRI machine. The movies also enable us to study the brain as it processes complex, dynamic streams of information like it does in real life. This approach is similar to having a patient run on a treadmill while studying that person’s heart function. We design and test movies to evoke specific symptoms or types of cognitive processes, and are developing novel analyses to leverage the unique kind of data we acquire using movies in functional MRI.

Peer-reviewed publications

Contributing Editor (2014-2017), The Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Junior Investigator Award
• Resident Teaching Award, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine
• Yale Psychiatry Research Scholar, Yale School of Medicine

Dr. Evelyn Stewart is a tenured, academic-track Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia and is the founding director of the Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Clinic and Research Program as well as the Chair of the Child and Youth Mental Health Research at BC Children and Women’s Health Centre. She is a clinical, genetic and neuroscience researcher, as well as a child and adolescent psychiatrist.

Her research focuses on biologic, phenotypic, familial, and treatment aspects of childhood-onset neuropsychiatric disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Dr. Stewart has authored over 150 original papers, reviews, and chapters on genetic, clinical, and treatment aspects of OCD, Tourette’s Disorder, and related illnesses. She sits on the Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board of the International OCD Foundation and is the vice chair of the Research and Scientific Program Committee for Canadian Academic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

At BCCHR, her leadership contributions include being Research Director of the BCCH Mental Health program, the BCCH Mindfulness Centre and the BCCH Research Institute’s Brain, Behaviour and Development theme.

Source

Adjunctive Celecoxib in childhood-onset OCD (ACEOCD) study: The goal of this study is to determine the effects of the anti-inflammatory medication celecoxib – when added to participants’ usual treatment(s) – on OCD symptoms over 12 weeks. Celecoxib belongs to a medication class called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). A common NSAID that many children have taken previously is ibuprofen, but it requires several doses per day to effectively reduce inflammation whereas celecoxib is taken only twice daily. NSAIDs may improve the function of parts of the brain involved in OCD symptoms.

Genetic Architecture of Youth Anxiety Study (GAYA): Anxiety disorders can significantly interfere with youth’s lives, so it is important to better understand how and why these disorders develop through mechanisms like genetics. To better understand the development of anxiety disorders among youth, we need to include larger samples of youth in current genetic research. The GAYA study represents a Pan-Canadian effort of clinical and genetic experts with recruitment sites in Vancouver, Calgary, Hamilton, Toronto, and Halifax. The study is funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research.

Personal Impacts of COVID-19 Survey (PICS): In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, our team is interested in learning about the personal impacts it has made on families and individuals. We have created a survey to capture information about the effect COVID-19 has had on individuals’ thoughts, feelings and actions, along with their coping mechanisms and any resources available to them.

As PI:

• Adjunctive Celecoxib in childhood-onset OCD (ACEOCD)
• Personal Impacts of COVID-19 in child and adolescents
• Biomarkers of stress and inflammation in youth with OCD and their parents participating in Group-based Family Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Registry and DNA Repository
  Clinical Outcomes following Group-based Family Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy in Pediatric Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
• Mindfulness Training versus Peer Support Groups for Parents of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Youth OCD Diagnosis Disclosure

As Co-Investigator:

• Genetic Architecture of Youth Anxiety Study
• OCD genomics

View publications

• 2023 Awarded 2023 Faculty of Medicine Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Service to the University and Community, University of British Columbia
• 2023 Nominated for Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) fellowship.
• 2022 Nominated for YWCA Women of Distinction Award Program, YWCA Metro Vancouver
• 2022 Awarded Top Cited Article for, “An overview of the first 5 years of the ENIGMA obsessive-compulsive disorder working group: The power of worldwide collaboration,”
• Wiley Publication, USA
• 2021 Awarded BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute Geoffrey L. Hammond Lectureship, BC Hospital Research Institute
• 2021 Awarded Genius Bar Award, Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
• 2018 UBC Faculty of Medicine Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Clinical or Applied Research
• 2017 Norbert and Charlotte Rieger Award for Scientific Achievement American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry