It was an evening of connection, community, and innovation at Homewood Research Institute’s (HRI) second annual Spring Social and Fever Pitch Competition on Thursday.
The event held at Riverslea Mansion helped to raise funds for HRI's women's mental health and depression research program.
The ‘Dragon’s Den’ style competition brought together three early-career researchers to compete for a chance to win $10,000 towards a groundbreaking research project with the potential to drive change and improve treatments for women’s mental health.
Research in this area is led by Dr. Benicio Frey, Homewood's new research chair in women’s mental health and depression, and professor at McMaster University.
“I’m happy to be here to see the support specifically for women’s mental health. This is an area that has been behind and lagging in terms of research, clinical support, and public awareness,” Frey said.
Research has consistently found that women and girls in Canada are twice as likely as men and boys to live with depression. Changes associated with women’s reproductive phases are largely unexplored, when it comes to women’s mental health.
According to HRI, In 2019, 23 per cent of mothers shortly after birth, reported feelings consistent with postpartum depression and anxiety disorders.
One of the three Fever Pitch competitors, Andre Tonon, a clinical fellow from McMaster University, began to collaborate with Frey a few years ago.
"I’m Brazilian and just immigrated to work with Dr. Frey. I work in chronobiology and sleep. Chronobiology is the study of biological rhythms. Dr. Frey works in that area as well, in terms of sleep assessment and biological rhythm assessment,” Tonon said.
"My project includes working in therapy for post partem depression, for women who have just had a baby and up to six months. I am going to try light exposure treatments for them to see how it works," Tonon said.
Tonon says this treatment does works for seasonal effective disorder but shows to be effective for nonseasonal depression as well.
"We are now trying this intervention for post partem depression. Some women prefer not to use medication right after they deliver. If it is proven effective, this is a great opportunity for them. It is affordable because the devices and easy to use and with little to no side effects," Tonon said.
Through its primary practice partner, Homewood Health in Guelph, HRI conducts applied research in a range of treatment settings nationwide. HRI works with an expanding network of partners and collaborators.
"At Homewood Research Institute, we are very fortunate to be in these lovely surroundings. We have the Homewood Health Centre where we can bring our scientific expertise to work with some of our clinicians, some of whom are here tonight," said HRI's executive director, Dr. Sidney Kennedy.
"We have been able to target certain issues that I think are important wherever you live in the world. We know that there are lots of complicated stories of people who don’t just have depression or anxiety, but might be struggling in many different directions."
Kennedy says HRI is lucky enough to be surrounded by excellent universities, and with some of the best and brightest students.
"Here tonight we have some of the best scientists from McMaster, Waterloo, and Toronto. Today it is about collaboration and we are all about collaboration. We are about finding people, who by nature, are collaborative and also have some good thoughts to bring to the table," Kennedy said.
"We have three pillars, a substance use pillar, trauma pillar, and our newest pillar is the women’s mental health and depression pillar. This is Dr. Frey's day. This is his event. Each of our students presenting will have a reference in the work that they are doing that will relate to women’s mental health."
Frey says research at HRI will help to deliver enhanced treatments and better outcomes for women living with depression and other mental health issues.
"This event is terrific in promoting the awareness and the need for more mental health research, but also to support that next generation that will hopefully continue this work for the next several years," he said.
