Meet the ASR Team

Sidney H. Kennedy is the Arthur Sommer Rotenberg Chair in Suicide and Depression Studies at St. Michael’s Hospital, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and a Scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute and Toronto Western Research Institute. Dr. Kennedy’s work involves new drug evaluation, neuroimaging and neurostimulation therapies in depression, and the development and renewal of treatment guidelines for both Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder. In defining a direction for ASR, Dr. Kennedy identified biological markers and risk assessment as the primary research focus, in addition to continuing and developing clinical interventions to aid persons with suicidal ideation and behaviour.

Yvonne is the Suicide Intervention Consultant at the Suicide Studies Research Unit of the ASR Chair in Suicide Studies. Based out of St. Michael's Hospital, she is involved in both clinical and research endeavours. She has established a 20 week group intervention for people who have experienced two or more suicide attempts. 

Dr. Sakina Rizvi received her PhD in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Collaborative Program in Neuroscience at the University of Toronto. She has over 10 years of experience in psychiatry across the areas of neuroimaging, neuropsychology, psychotherapy, pharmacology, and scale development; with a focus in Major Depressive Disorder. Currently, Dr. Rizvi is a Scientist in the Department of Psychiatry at St. Michael's Hospital and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto. Her role in the ASR Chair is to develop the suicide biomarker and treatment resistant depression research program. In addition, as Co-Lead for the Ontario Depression Network, her goal is to promote mental illness advocacy, education and resource building across Ontario.

Susan Rotzinger is the Program Manager for the ASR Chair and for the Canadian Biomarker Integration Network for Depression, one of the Integrated Discovery Programs of the Ontario Brain Institute. Susan holds a PhD in Neuroscience-Psychiatry from the University of Alberta, and has many years of experience managing clinical and preclinical research programs. Susan’s goal is to maximize the benefit of the research collaborations and partnerships of our growing networks, to facilitate biomarker discovery and improve treatment and prevention strategies.

Dr. Foster is a Scientist within the ASR program. Her research, based at McMaster University, aims to understand how the body’s immune system and gut microbiota affects brain development and function. Dr. Foster hopes that her research accomplishments lead to a better understanding of how these relationships contribute to psychiatric disorders such as neurodevelopmental disorders, anxiety and depression. In collaboration with her clinical colleagues, she is interested in translating these findings to the depressed patient population (MDD) and suicide risk.

Dr. Bhat is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He is currently a staff psychiatrist based at two Depression Centres: The Centre for Depression and Suicide Studies at St. Michael’s Hospital and the Poul Hansen Depression Centre at Toronto Western Hospital. At St. Michael’s Hospital, he is the Director of the Interventional Psychiatry Program which offers novel psychopharmacological and neurostimulation options for Mood Disorders. At Toronto Western Hospital, he has a focus on invasive neurostimulation (Deep Brain Stimulation and Invasive Brain Mapping) and is currently leading a study comparing ECT to IV Ketamine for Treatment-resistant Depression. Dr. Bhat collaborates closely with anesthesia, imaging, neurology and neurosurgery to offer procedural interventions for psychiatric disorders, his research program aims to understand the neural circuitry underlying treatment-response with these emerging interventions.

Amanda Ceniti is a PhD Candidate with the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on the association between concussion and subsequent depression and suicidality using neuroimaging techniques. She is involved in several studies with the program, including biomarkers of suicide risk and suicide-related presentations to the emergency department, as well as public outreach and advocacy initiatives. Amanda's primary role is research-oriented, but she is also responsible for ASR website development. Amanda received her HBSc at the University of Toronto, specializing in Neuroscience and minoring in Music History & Culture.

Tian is a fourth-year PhD student in the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute (RSI) at the University of Toronto. Her program of research seeks to investigate the impact of depressive and anxiety symptoms on recovery following a sport-related concussion in adolescent aged athletes. Outcomes from her research seek to inform rehabilitation and concussion management practices for concussed athletes.

Troy Chow received his HBSc at Queen’s University, specializing in Life Sciences with an honors project in cardiac surgery outcomes. He is currently working towards a MSc in the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. Having developed a passion for clinical research and mental health, his work uses neuroimaging to explore changes in function and reward circuitry in depression during treatment. Troy’s primary responsibility involves research however, he continues to advocate for mental illness through the development of community programs outside of the ASR.

Sophie is a Master's student with the ASR Program and the University of Toronto. She is working on a clinical trial looking at the potential pro-cognitive effects of a wakefulness-promoting agent in people with remitted depression who experience lasting cognitive deficits. Sophie recently graduated from Queen’s University with a major in Life Sciences and minor in Psychology. She hopes to pursue a medical degree in the future, and continue conducting clinical research in the field of psychiatry.

Cynthia graduated from University of Toronto with a specialization in Psychology and a major in Neuroscience. She is currently a MSc student in the Institute of Medical Science at University of Toronto. She is involved in several studies that run in the program, focusing on the study that explores the brain function and neural network that underlie the risk of suicide. Working actively in a volunteer suicide prevention role outside ASR, Cynthia has a passion for advocating mental health and hopes to pursue further degree in psychiatry in the future.