Sophia is a highly motivated and detail-oriented clinical research student with a strong foundation in healthcare. She has gained in-depth knowledge of clinical trial management and study administration. With trainings in GCP/ICH principles, Tri-Council Policy, and Health Canada guidelines, Sophia brings a comprehensive understanding of industry standards to her work.
With a background in dentistry, Sophia has cultivated exceptional customer service skills, emphasizing empathy and receptiveness. Leveraging three years of experience, she not only excels in patient care but also demonstrates proficiency in clinic management. Sophia's proven ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a team ensures effective operations and seamless collaboration.
In addition to her clinical expertise, Sophia is proficient in using MS Office tools and electronic data capture systems, enhancing her ability to contribute
to diverse projects. Sophia's dedication to quality and her multifaceted skill set makes her
an asset in the clinical research field.

Alysha is an epidemiologist and researcher specializing in mental health and social policy.  Her work focuses on how social tools - from interpersonal relationships to community-based services and supports - can be directed towards better mental health outcomes. She has collaborated on research investigating how trauma-informed care is implemented in community health organizations, the effectiveness of housing interventions for individuals experiencing intimate partner violence, and the impact of social support on access to and use of mental health services. Alysha values accessibility, equity, inclusivity, and kindness, and strives to incorporate these qualities in her work supporting Remedy’s study of MDMA-assisted CPT for PTSD.

Dr. Alison Bruni is a Toronto native. She completed her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences at McGill University. Her medical training was done at McMaster University and her Family Medicine Residency program at the University of Toronto. Dr. Bruni provides holistic care to people of all ages, with a focus on preventive medicine and healthy living, and works as a full-time family doctor in Toronto.

Dr. Bruni is excited to be involved with Remedy's research projects, specifically those involving novel treatments for mental health conditions. She holds the role of Qualified Investigator for the 'CPT for PTSD + MDMA' study. Along with Dr. Nick Wang, she will be completing the medical screening for participants in this study. Dr. Bruni is looking forward to working with the wonderful team at Remedy on their exciting and groundbreaking research initiatives.

Alexis joined Remedy Institute to learn about and support new and diverse PTSD interventions, and to work with an inclusive, intelligent, and compassionate team that prioritizes helping the greater community while giving her a safe environment to learn, grow, and ask questions. Alexis is a University of Toronto graduate with a double major in psychology and biology. Broadly speaking, her major areas of interest are interpersonal relationships, discrimination and prejudice, and PTSD and comorbid disorders.

In addition to working at Remedy, Alexis also lends her skills to the IMPACT lab at Toronto Metropolitan University where she has been working on studies that focus on PTSD interventions and relationships satisfaction. However, when she isn't eagerly encapsulated in research, you can find her relaxing with her dog Kingston or at the latest Marvel movie. She is delighted to be a part of the Remedy team and can't wait to contribute to all the amazing and innovative research done here.

Victoria is passionate about supporting, and creating accessible and inclusive evidence-based treatment. As a research assistant, she aims to help innovate new ways of treatment that can reach diverse populations.

In addition to Remedy, she currently works with Toronto Metropolitan University’s IMPACT lab, York University’s TULIP lab, and Stanford university’s FAST lab to help investigate trauma-related disorders, and evidence-based treatment targeting PTSD and BPD.

Her research interests include (1) trauma-related disorders (2) the dyadic relationship between interpersonal relationships and symptom severity, and (3) how to improve and adapt trauma-related evidence-based treatment to become more inclusive and accessible.

As a recent psychology graduate she plans on pursuing graduate studies in clinical psychology specializing in trauma and trauma related disorders.

Shadeene has first-hand experience with the limitations of the traditional therapeutic options currently available in mental health care. She was drawn to Remedy by her interest in finding novel tools and techniques that can address these unmet needs. Shadeene is committed to eliminating social and cultural stigmas surrounding mental health in marginalized communities by fostering diversity in conversations about mental health. She is conscious of the lack of POC in psychedelic research and is passionate about bringing diversity into this space. Shadeene has a BA in Communications from Carleton University. She brings with her the insight and understanding of emotional awareness gained from her years of experience in client services.

Kim operates a clinical consultancy, McDonald-Taylor Consulting, where her passion for her clients’ projects results in exceeded expectations for her training, project management, SOP creation/review, medical writing, teaching, meeting facilitation and strategic
planning. Kim has worked in the clinical trials area for 35 years, including her 12-year tenure with
Endpoint Research, a Canadian CRO, holding positions such as VP Operations and Managing Director of Canada. She has worked in virtually every therapeutic area. Kim received the Excellence in Clinical Research award in 2018 at the Canada Talks Pharma conference. Kim has volunteered with the Clinical Research Association of Canada (CRAC) ™ for the past 22 years. In her various roles, including President, Kim has provided leadership as CRAC went online, helped develop a certification program (CRPC) and continues to recommend quality speakers for the membership on topics of importance in Canadian
clinical research. She volunteered on the Board of Directors for Brain Injury Canada as secretary from
2013-2019 and was named Volunteer of the Year for 2016. Kim earned her MSc in toxicology from the
Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph. She has presented and co-chaired sessions at
DIA, DIA Canada, ACRP and other meetings over the past 30 years. In her spare time, Kim enjoys
photography, birding, genealogy, music and downhill skiing. 

Desiree is passionate about mental health research and practice and hopes to increase accessibility to mental health care by creating online interventions and online therapy programs for individuals in need. As a recent graduate from York University with a B.Sc. Honours degree in Biomedical Science Stream and Psychology, Desiree hopes to pursue graduate studies in Clinical Neuropsychology and contribute on a larger scale to making mental health services effective and accessible for all.

She completed her Independent Research Project under the supervision of Dr. Fitzpatrick, in which she compared sleep measures between Borderline Personality Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder comorbid Posttraumatic Stress Disorder patients. She continues to work with Dr. Fitzpatrick's Treating & Understanding Life Threatening Behaviour & Posttraumatic Stress Lab, assisting with an online intervention project for couples wherein one partner has PTSD symptoms in collaboration with Dr. Candice Monson at Toronto Metropolitan University.

She has prior experience in the fields of neuroscience, studying Autism Spectrum Disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disorders. Desiree is specifically interested in researching mood disorders as well as sleep and cognitive dysfunction within various populations.

Desiree is excited to join the Remedy team and looks forward to contributing to the field of trauma research.

Sarah is a psychologist providing assessment, therapy, and supervision services. Throughout her
training and career, Sarah has had specific interest in the development of novel and holistic treatment practices especially in the context of trauma and its impacts. Her past research has centered the diversity of models in the integration of mindfulness and therapy, the experiences of racialized students who have experienced sexual coercion, and the intersections between trauma experiences and nonsuicidal self-injury. She prioritizes approaching all of her roles from a thoughtfully trauma-informed perspective.

Sarah is serving as the Assessment Pool Coordinator for Remedy Institute’s program of research on MDMA-assisted CPT for PTSD. In this capacity, she is training and supervising the Independent Raters conducting psychological assessments with study participants.

Jeanine believes at the core of any therapeutic intervention is an empathic and non-judgmental relationship between the therapist and the individuals seeking help. To foster this, her emphasis is on being present, listening intently and getting curious, while individuals explore and share their thoughts and emotions. Cultivating a space of warm, genuine collaboration where each person is the expert of themselves, and feels comfortable exploring their inner experiences, is the foundation of Jeanine’s approach to clinical interventions. Jeanine’s primary theoretical orientation is influenced by the cognitive-behavioural model. She is also experienced in helping individuals develop skills using mindfulness-based approaches, and to improve distress tolerance and emotion regulation skills. Jeanine works with individuals and couples to assist with problems affecting mental health, including depression, anxiety, trauma, psychosis, life stressors or major changes, relationship problems, and personal growth and development. Her clinical practice is inclusive of individuals from diverse backgrounds, cultures, sexual and gender identities, and disabilities.

Jeanine completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University, and completed her Predoctoral Clinical Residency at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences. She will be one of the lead therapists on the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) sponsored trial led by Remedy examining treatment that will combine the use of MDMA and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Jeanine’s expertise from both a clinical and research perspective is on the use of CPT for PTSD, and on helping clinicians learn to deliver this trauma-focused intervention to improve both access and quality of care for those who have been impacted by a range of traumatic experiences, including interpersonal violence, sexual assault, childhood assault, military-related trauma and motor vehicle accidents, among others. Jeanine is passionate about the work she does and truly enjoys connecting with clients to travel on their personal journey toward healing, growth and recovery.

Residency – Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences.

Ph.D. – Clinical Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University

Iris Sijercic is passionate about the research being conducted at Remedy as it is focused on innovating psychotherapies to increase their effectiveness. Her research examines predictors of psychotherapy outcome to enhance client care. Iris is a Ph.D. Candidate in Clinical Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is completing her predoctoral residency at CBT Associates, where she provides cognitive behavioural therapy and other evidence-based interventions to individuals and couples. Iris also works as one of the therapists in an ongoing clinical trial at Remedy that is investigating the effect of MDMA-facilitated Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD. 

Jenna is a research collaborator at Remedy and a therapist on the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)-funded trial of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD + MDMA. She is a registered clinical and counseling psychologist in Ontario with expertise in assessment and treatment of borderline personality and trauma-related disorders.

Jenna is also a Junior Investigator in the Gunderson Personality Disorders Institute at McLean Hospital and an Instructor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School. Her program of research uses brain imaging and neurocognitive tools to identify biomarkers of personality psychopathology and treatment response to novel biological and psychotherapy interventions for individuals who are at high risk for suicide, with a focus on Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). She has published peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and has presented her research at national and international conferences.

Hera’s clinical and research practice is guided by values of inclusivity, collaboration, and curiosity. 

Hera holds a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is interested in research that examines how individual differences impact responsiveness to mental health and addiction treatments. Hera’s current research examines how alcohol and substance use impact the effectiveness of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. She hopes that this research can help guide the development of personalized mental health and addiction treatments that are effective for diverse groups of people. 

Hera previously held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), where she conducted research examining how genetic differences impact responsiveness to a novel smoking cessation intervention. 

Richard is enthusiastic about enhancing evidence-based interventions for mental health, which makes him especially excited to be working at Remedy as a research collaborator and trial therapist (Cognitive Processing Therapy + MDMA for PTSD). Richard Zeifman is a Ph.D. Candidate in Clinical Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University a research associate at Imperial College London, and a psychology resident at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Richard's research focuses on optimizing psychotherapeutic interventions by (a) examining the mechanisms through which psychotherapeutic interventions lead to change and (b) integrating psychotherapies with novel pharmacological interventions (e.g., psilocybin, MDMA). His clinical work focuses on providing patient-centered cognitive behavioural and emotion-focused therapies for individuals with complex clinical presentations (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], borderline personality disorder).