Meet The SEAMLESS Study Team
Dr. Linda Carlson holds the Enbridge Research Chair in Psychosocial Oncology, and is a Full Professor in the Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. Dr. Carlson is also the Director of Research and works as a Clinical Psychologist at the Department of Psychosocial Resources at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre.
Dr. Carlson’s innovative research in Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery has been published in many high-impact journals and book chapters, and she published a patient manual in 2010 with Dr. Michael Speca entitled: Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery: A step-by-step MBSR approach to help you cope with treatment and reclaim your life, in addition to a professional training manual in 2009 with Shauna Shapiro entitled The Art and Science of Mindfulness: Integrating mindfulness into psychology and the helping professions. She has published over 180 research papers and book chapters in the area of psycho-oncology, holds several millions of dollars in grant funding and is regularly invited to present her work at international conferences.
Read more about her research and publications: https://lindacarlson.ca/research
Tina Nguyen is a research assistant in Dr. Carlson's lab. After graduating from the University of Calgary with a combined degree in Cell Biology and Psychology (Honours), Tina has continued to work in the Carlson Lab on various projects such as the SEAMLESS Study, Integrative Oncology Clinic Study, MATCH Study, and ONE-MIND Study. Her honours thesis investigated whether childhood trauma was a moderator between a mindfulness-based intervention and psychosocial outcomes in cancer patients.
Hanna Conradi is a Master of Science student in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Calgary. Her thesis examines the role of emotion regulation in the relationship between mindfulness and psychosocial outcomes with the baseline data from the SEAMLESS Study.
Hanna’s previous clinical experience has involved working as a Student Wellness Ambassador, Accessibility Services Research Assistant, and a Behavioural Interventionist for children with ASD. Hanna grew up in Dalian, China, where her parents worked as teachers. It was during her childhood in China that she was first introduced to contemplative practices such as meditation. She then went on to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Philosophy in Canada where her research focus was in emotion regulation. Having lost a close family member to cancer, Hanna knows first-hand the psychological toll such an illness can have on individuals and those around them. Now, Hanna pursues a career as a Clinical Psychologist where she hopes to merge her personal reverence for contemplative practices with her previous work, research, and life experiences all to better inform mental health care for those in need.
Dr. Bechara Saab is the Co-founder, Chief Scientist & CEO of Mobio Interactive Inc., the developers of the Am Mindfulness mobile-app. Dr. Saab is committed to building digital tools that empower better living and faster healing by blending science and design. Dr. Saab is currently partnering with medical and academic institutions around the world, to rigorously interrogate the efficacy of Mobio’s products through multi-centre random controlled trials.
Throughout his career, Dr. Saab has been dedicated to science outreach and mentorship. He has firmly believed that face-to-face interactions between researchers and students stands to benefit society on many levels. He was instrumental in establishing the Mount Sinai Hospital Outreach Program in Toronto, was Editor-in-Chief of Hypothesis, received the inaugural CIHR Award for Mentorship, currently serves as an editor of ScienceMatters. Dr. Saab is an Overseas Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and delivers keynote speeches at multiple conferences and events throughout the year.
Mr. Thoburn is the Co-founder & Chief Designer Officer of Mobio Interactive Inc., the developers of the Am Mindfulness mobile-app. At Mobio, Mr. Thoburn’s role is to create new value and new forms of competitive advantage through the integration of customer insights, experience design and business strategy. Mr, Thoburn’s role is to create new value and new forms of competitive advantage through the integration of customer insights, experience design and business strategy.
Mr. Thoburn brings a global experience of understanding people, established through written and documentary journalism undertaken in more than twelve countries on three continents. In addition to helping Mobio Interactive succeed commercially, Mr. Thoburn is dedicated to making a difference in the world, particularly with respect to patient care.
Dr. Norman Farb is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto Mississauga where is areas of study include: Social and Affective Neuroscience, Mindfulness, Emotions, Interoception, Self-Reference and Regulation. Dr. Farb has conducted a pilot study investigating the effectiveness of Am in college students with exam-related anxiety. Dr. Farb studies the neuroscience of human identity and emotion, with a focus on how cognitive biases shape emotional reactions that determine well-being.
Dr. Farb is interested in why some people seem to shrug off stressful encounters, whereas others cannot let them go. What distinguishes these people? Is it something about how they construe themselves and the world? What consequences do habitual patterns of self-reference have for well-being? How can we measure seemingly ephemeral constructs such as self-reference and emotion? In his research, Dr. Farb is particularly interested in how cognitive training practices such as mindfulness meditation foster resilience against stress, reducing vulnerability to affective disorders such as depression.
