Feeling welcomed: Creating space for Indigenous voices in brain and mental health
Presented by: Dr. Melissa Perreault, Associate Professor and Neuroscientist, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Guelph
Research on Indigenous communities has historically been conducted using a one-sided approach, with researchers having little knowledge of Indigenous culture, minimal concerns surrounding community needs or desires, and without giving back to the community. In this lecture intended for people from all backgrounds and professions, Dr. Perreault will discuss how this is the time to give Indigenous communities a voice in research on brain and mental health that is guided ethically and culturally.
Dr. Melissa Perreault is an Associate Professor and neuroscientist in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Guelph and a member of the College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists in the Royal Society of Canada. Her research is focused on the understanding of sex differences in the mechanisms that underlie neuropsychiatric disorders, and on the identification of brain wave patterns that can be used as biomarkers to identify brain and mental health disorders. Dr. Perreault is a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario, descended from the historic Métis Community of the Mattawa/Ottawa River. She has developed numerous Indigenous and equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives at institutional, national, and international levels. As a member of the Indigenous Knowledge Holders Group for the Canadian Brain Research Strategy, she continues to strive towards inclusivity in neuroscience and Indigenous community research.
BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit Website: https://www.injuryresearch.bc.ca/
The BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit (BCIRPU) is located at BC Children’s Hospital and is a core research program within the Evidence to Innovation theme at the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute.
With the goal to reduce the social and economic burden of injury in BC, the Unit was established as a strategic entity, supporting the development of policies and programs through research, surveillance, and the translation of evidence and knowledge to researchers, policy makers, practitioners, and the public. BCIRPU leaders are members of the faculty at The University of British Columbia, and train and mentor future health care professionals, researchers, policy makers, and injury prevention practitioners.