Dr. Benicio Frey and his team at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton held the 4th Annual CAN-BIND Youth Outreach Workshop on April 13, 2018. The event aimed to educate high school students about neuroscience and mood disorders and included presentations by researchers, interactive games, a lived experience speaker and tours of research space. This event series is funded by the Ministry of Research and Innovation of Ontario.
Dr. Luciano Minuzzi presented on the anatomy and function of the brain, including areas that affect mood. This was followed by a presentation by Jeesu Suh, PhD Candidate, on methods for measuring brain activity including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A presentation by Dr. Benicio Frey, with an accompanying Jeopardy activity, taught students about the causes, symptoms and treatment of depression. Students then heard a lived experience story by a guest speaker.
Students also learned about methods used in clinical research in a presentation by Research Coordinator Yasmine Abdelaal, and about sleep and circadian rhythms in mood disorders in a presentation by PhD Candidate Anastasiya Slyepchenko.
38 students attended this year’s event. Of the 29 feedback survey respondents, 100% indicated that they learned something about mood disorders from the event, and 97% would recommend the program to other students. Very positive feedback was received, especially about the guest lived experience speaker.
