Department of Psychology
August 1, 2008
New Faculty Colleagues Arrive on Campus
by Jean-Paul Boudreau
On behalf of colleagues in Psychology, I am pleased to announce the arrival of four new faculty colleagues— Dr. Carney, Dr. Dyson, Dr. Koerner, and Dr. McShane. Collectively, these four hires add significantly to the ascent of the Department of Psychology and the Faculty of Arts, contributing over 50 publications and over 3.2 million of life-time grant funding as Principle or Co-Investigators. They expand the department’s research reach by representing innovative areas that complement the department’s vision for excellence in scholarship and student training. Short biographies of our new colleagues follow below. Please join me in welcoming our new department colleagues to Ryerson.
To learn more about our entire faculty team, please click on the Faculty link.
Ψ
On June 1st, 2008, the Psychology Department welcomed Dr. Colleen Carney as an Assistant Professor. Most recently, an Assistant Professor in the Insomnia and Sleep Research Program at Duke University Medical Center, she holds a PhD (2003) and an MA (2001) in Clinical Psychology from Louisiana State University, as well as a postdoctoral fellowship (2004) in Cognitive Therapy and Research for Mood Disorders from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (Toronto). The recipient of prestigious grants such as the National Sleep Foundation’s Pickwick Fellowship, she is also the principal investigator on two National Institutes of Health grants (1.7 Million); she is transferring $1 million in funding to Ryerson, representing Ryerson’s first NIH funding (NIH is the premier Medical Research Agency of the US).
Dr. Carney is known for her publications in the area of sleep and depression. Her publications include the co-authored book Insomnia: A Cognitive Behavioural Insomnia Approach (Oxford University Press); 14 peer-reviewed papers in such journals as Sleep, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, Behavioural Sleep Medicine, Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, and the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry; and 2 book chapters in Innovations in Clinical Practice: Focus and Adults and Families & Textbook of Mood Disorders. She has over 50 research presentations at (inter)national conferences.
The President of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Insomnia and Special Interest Group, Dr. Carney is also on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Behavioural Analysis in Health, Sport, Fitness, and Medicine. Her awards include the Early Career Distinguished Research Award from the Journal of Behavioral Sleep Medicine.
At Ryerson, she directs the new Sleep and Depression Lab in the department, where she is conducting randomized controlled clinical trials for persons suffering from insomnia with comorbid depression. Our students will benefit from her teaching expertise in the areas of clinical research methods, psychophysiology, and clinical psychology.
In Dr. Carney’s words, “The ever-increasing blue and gold of Ryerson in the downtown core are the embodiment of Toronto itself—dynamic, growing, and forward-thinking. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?”■
Ψ
Joining us from the University of Sussex, UK, Dr. Benjamin Dyson takes up his new appointment in the Psychology Department as an Assistant Professor on August 1st, 2008. He holds a PhD (2001) in Auditory Cognition from the University of York (UK) and an MSc from Lancaster University (1999). His first contact with Toronto was made as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Rotman Research Institute (2002-2004).
Dr. Dyson’s research focuses on perception and memory of sound. He has substantial experience working within both behavioral and neuroimaging settings, specifically the recording of event-related potentials (ERPs) using electroencephalography (EEG). He has published 9 peer-reviewed articles in such journals as Cognitive Brain Research, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience, and Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, and 2 book chapters in The Oxford Handbook of Auditory Science & the Handbook of Models for Human Aging. He is the co-author of an undergraduate textbook Cognitive Psychology (Pearson, 2008) and has over 20 (inter)national research presentations. His research has been supported by grants and awards ($117 K) from The British Academy, Royal National Institute of the Deaf, and the Hearing Foundation of Canada. He was recognized in 2004 with the Kathleen Stott Memorial Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research. Finally, Dr. Dyson also explores the interactions between artistic and psychological domains and looks forward to testing his ideas in the proposed new Ryerson Gallery!
With substantial undergraduate and graduate teaching experience, including a certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education from the University of Sussex, Dr. Dyson adds to the department’s strong teaching profile with expertise in the areas of perception, cognition, and research methods and design.
“I am incredibly happy to be back in Toronto” he says. “The Psychology Department is a vibrant place and I look forward to integrating my HEAR (Human Experimental Auditory Research) lab into the wider research community at Ryerson and beyond.” ■
Ψ
Dr. Naomi Koernerjoins the Department as an Assistant Professor on August 1st, 2008. A PhD (2007) and MA (2002) in Clinical Psychology from Concordia University, she has most recently been a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Anxiety Research and Treatment Lab at Ryerson University. She is also a Psychometrist in the Psychological Trauma Program and in the Work, Stress and Health Program at CAMH.
Dr. Koerner’s research is focused on the study of worry, as well as on the cognitive mechanisms underlying mood disorders, addictions, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and psychotic-spectrum disorders. She has 10 peer-reviewed articles in such journals as Archives of General Psychiatry, Cognitive Therapy and Research, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, Psychological Medicine, and Revue Québécoise de Psychologie; 2 book chapters in Worry and its Psychological Disorders: Theory, Assessment & Treatment and Current Perspectives on the Anxiety Disorders: Implications for DSM-V and Beyond; 1 government report (PHAC); and over 35 (inter)national research presentations.
In addition to doctoral and postdoctoral training grants from CIHR, FRSQ-FCAR-Santé, and CPA, Dr. Koerner holds a strong record of grant development as a co-investigator on a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) grant for $182 K and as a co-principle investigator on a CIHR grant just awarded last month for $71 K. Her clinical research training includes key contributions as an Intervenor and Assessor in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic of Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal and the Jewish General Hospital.
At Ryerson, she directs the Cognition and Psychopathology Lab in the clinical wing of the Psychology Research & Training Centre at Ryerson. Our students will benefit from her energy and pedagogy in such areas as abnormal psychology, cognition and psychopathology, and in clinical assessment.
Dr. Koerner calls her new position a "dream opportunity." “I am thrilled to be at Ryerson University and I am proud and honoured that I will be joining such a motivated, dedicated, and energetic team of faculty and students.” ■
Ψ
Dr. Kelly McShane, a CIHR Postdoctoral Fellow in the Centre for Research on Inner City Health at St Michael's Hospital in Toronto, will join the department as an Assistant Professor on January 1st, 2009. A PhD (2007) and MA (2003) in Clinical Psychology from Concordia University, she completed her clinical training practise at the CAMH Child Youth & Family Program and at the Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care unit of the Princess Margaret Hospital.
Her unique community research program is focused on the Well-Being and Health of Aboriginal Communities in Canada. Incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methods, she explores health and wellness, parenting, and mental health and addictions. She has worked closely with the Inuit Family Resource Centre in Ottawa and the Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres (representing urban First Nations communities in Ontario). She has emerging research interests that involve collaborations with health authorities in Nunavut.
Dr. McShane’s scholarly findings are sought by key government agencies. She has 9 peer-reviewed articles in such journals as Child Development, Addictive Behaviors, Journal of Research on Adolescence, Journal of Genetic Psychology, and the Canadian Journal of Public Health; 1 book chapter in The Handbook of Moral Development; 3 government reports (CIHR, Department of Justice, First Nations/NAHO); and over 20 (inter)national research presentations. In addition to holding doctoral and post-doctoral training grants from SSHRC, CIHR, FQRSC, she has been a co-investigator on 4 grants funded (1.2 Million) by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
Building on her research expertise, Dr. McShane is eager to develop her teaching portfolio in such areas as community psychology, health psychology, as well as qualitative and quantitative psychology. Her Community Action Research in Aboriginal Health (CARAH) Lab adds to the Department’s expanding lab base at 105 Bond Street.
In the words of Dr. McShane, “I am excited to be joining such a thriving and passionate faculty in the Psychology Department at Ryerson.” ■
Photo: Dr. McShane, Dr. Koerner, Dr. Carney, and Dr. Dyson.
Bookmark with:
