Lab Director
Dr. Renée El-Gabalawy
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Dr. El-Gabalawy is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Clinical Health Psychology and Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine in the Max Rady College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. She also holds adjunct appointments in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology (Fort Garry Campus). As a Vanier Scholar, she received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Manitoba in 2015 under the co-supervision of Drs. Corey Mackenzie (Psychology) and Jitender Sareen (Psychiatry). She also completed a predoctoral research fellowship supported by a CIHR Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement at Yale University in 2013. Before joining the faculty at the University of Manitoba, Dr. El-Gabalawy completed her Clinical Psychology residency at the Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston Consortium) with a behavioural medicine and civilian trauma clinical emphasis.
Dr. El-Gabalawy has been successful at obtaining millions of dollars of funding locally and nationally as both co- and principal investigator. She has over 70 peer reviewed journal publications and book chapters, and has presented research findings in over 100 local, national and international conference proceedings. Dr. El-Gabalawy is also a co-investigator and the Clinical Research Network Director of the Chronic Pain SPOR Network at the University of Manitoba. Find Dr. El-Gabalawy on twitter and research gate |
Lab Members
Graduate Students
Caitlin Blaney (PhD Student & Research Associate)
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Caitlin is a fourth year PhD student in Clinical Psychology working under the supervision of Dr. El-Gabalawy. Her primary research interests are understanding the complex relationship between mental health and inflammatory conditions, and behavioural interventions aimed at improving mental and physical health. Her dissertation focuses on the impact of anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder on indicators of disease severity in rheumatoid arthritis patients. She is also examining the impact of an online cognitive behavioural intervention on mental and physical health outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Caitlin has received doctoral funding from the University of Manitoba and the Arthritis Society. She is also the Prairie Regional Director for the Canadian Arthritis Trainee Association. Click here for her bio.
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Jordana Sommer (PhD Student & Research Associate)
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Jordana is a first year PhD student in the Clinical Psychology program and is co-supervised by Dr. El-Gabalawy and Dr. Kristin Reynolds. Her primary research interests are in the areas of perioperative mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder in health contexts. Her dissertation will examine the health impact of preoperative distress among patients undergoing cancer surgery, and the efficacy of a targeted virtual reality intervention for this population. She is funded by a CIHR doctoral scholarship. She previously completed her MA under the co-supervision of Dr. El-Gabalawy and Dr. Reynolds, and her undergraduate thesis under the supervision of Dr. El-Gabalawy. She has received numerous awards and scholarships throughout her training and has published 12 peer reviewed manuscripts. Most recently, she was awarded the Faculty of Graduate Studies Student Achievement Award and the National Register of Health Service Psychologists Doctoral Award. She is also the Graduate Representative for the Clinical Section of the Canadian Psychological Association.
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Undergraduate Students
Bronwen Grocott
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Bronwen is a fourth year BA Honours student in the Department of Psychology and is completing an Honours thesis under the co-supervision of Dr. El-Gabalawy and Dr. Reynolds. Her qualitative project will focus on factors that increase or reduce preoperative anxiety in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery. Her ongoing research interests pertain to chronic pain, trauma, and addiction. |
Gagan Gill
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Gagan is a fourth year BSc Honours student in the Department of Psychology and is completing an Honours thesis under the co-supervision of Dr. El-Gabalawy and Jordana Sommer. Her project will examine correlates and temporality of illness-induced post-traumatic stress disorder among military personnel. |
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Anesthesia Resident
Dr. Alicia Ling
Dr. Ling is a resident in Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine (PGY3) at the University of Manitoba and is completing her resident research project under the supervision of Dr. El-Gabalawy. Her project is focused on the impact of shared familial chronic pain experiences on healthcare utilization and chronic pain severity and complexity.
Research Assistants
Gabrielle Logan
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Gabrielle has recently completed her Masters of Science in Clinical Epidemiology at Memorial University of Newfoundland where her thesis focused on diagnostic imaging resource utilization for low back pain. She was awarded a student fellowship from both the NL Support Unit and the Faculty of Medicine to complete her research. Recently she was awarded the title of ‘Fellow of the School of Graduate Studies’ for her academic achievements. Her research interests lie in chronic pain, genetics, women’s health, healthcare resource use, mixed methods research, and systematic review. She currently is working as a research associate for the HATLab and Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at the University of Manitoba.
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Kayla Kilborn
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Kayla is the research coordinator for an HSC Foundation funded grant (co-PI's: El-Gabalawy & Sabourin) aimed at developing a multidisciplinary online intervention for chronic pain. She previously was the research coordinator for the SPOR Chronic Pain Network at the University of Manitoba and continues to be involved in chronic pain research. She is currently a second year MA student in the School Psychology program at the University of Manitoba. |
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Rachel Roy
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Rachel is the research coordinator for the SPOR Chronic Pain Network at the University of Manitoba working under the supervision of Dr. El-Gabalawy. She is also the acting lab manager for the HATLab. She completed her Honours Psychology degree at the University of Manitoba under the supervision of Dr. Toby Martin in the area of Applied Behavioural Analysis. She is currently involved in several chronic pain research projects examining the efficacy of a variety of treatments for chronic pain as well as clinical database development upon which future research will be conducted. |
Lab Alumni
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BSc(Med) Students
2016-2018: Edward Noh
Project: Surgery delays and cancellations in Canada: A preliminary examination of prevalence trends over the past decade
Award: Statistics Canada Research Data Centre Award
2015-2017: Everett Vun
Project: An examination of chronic pain conditions and mental health correlates in a cross-sectional population based survey of Canadian Forces personnel
Awards: Health Sciences Centre Medical Staff Executive and Rady Faculty of Health Sciences Travel Award, the A. Allyn Rossen Award for the Best BSc(Med) project, the Schom Travel Bursary Award to present her findings in Texas this April, and the MMSF Dr. James E Wilson Memorial Award for outstanding promise in research
Publication based on project:
Vun, E., Turner, S., Mota, N., Afifi, T., Sareen, J., & El-Gabalawy, R (2018). Prevalence of comorbid chronic pain and mental health conditions in Canadian Armed Forces active personnel: Analysis of a cross-sectional survey. CMAJ Open, 6(4), E528-E536. doi: 10.9778/cmajo.20180093
2015-2017: Joel Braun (secondary supervisor; primary supervisor: Dr. Natalie Mota)
Project: Trauma exposure, DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder, and maladaptive health behaviors: Results from a nationally representative sample of men and women in the United States
Award: BSc(Med) Outstanding Clinical Research Project
Publication based on project:
Braun, J., El-Gabalawy, R., Sommer, J. L., Pietrzak, R. H., Mitchell, K., & Mota, N (in press). Trauma exposure, DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder, and binge eating symptoms: Results from a nationally representative sample. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
Project: Surgery delays and cancellations in Canada: A preliminary examination of prevalence trends over the past decade
Award: Statistics Canada Research Data Centre Award
2015-2017: Everett Vun
Project: An examination of chronic pain conditions and mental health correlates in a cross-sectional population based survey of Canadian Forces personnel
Awards: Health Sciences Centre Medical Staff Executive and Rady Faculty of Health Sciences Travel Award, the A. Allyn Rossen Award for the Best BSc(Med) project, the Schom Travel Bursary Award to present her findings in Texas this April, and the MMSF Dr. James E Wilson Memorial Award for outstanding promise in research
Publication based on project:
Vun, E., Turner, S., Mota, N., Afifi, T., Sareen, J., & El-Gabalawy, R (2018). Prevalence of comorbid chronic pain and mental health conditions in Canadian Armed Forces active personnel: Analysis of a cross-sectional survey. CMAJ Open, 6(4), E528-E536. doi: 10.9778/cmajo.20180093
2015-2017: Joel Braun (secondary supervisor; primary supervisor: Dr. Natalie Mota)
Project: Trauma exposure, DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder, and maladaptive health behaviors: Results from a nationally representative sample of men and women in the United States
Award: BSc(Med) Outstanding Clinical Research Project
Publication based on project:
Braun, J., El-Gabalawy, R., Sommer, J. L., Pietrzak, R. H., Mitchell, K., & Mota, N (in press). Trauma exposure, DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder, and binge eating symptoms: Results from a nationally representative sample. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
Anesthesia Residents
2016-2018: Dr. Karen Mac Donald
Project: An examination of preoperative distress and perioperative risk factors in non-cardiac surgery patients
2015-2017: Dr. Brian Csupak
Project: Generalized anxiety disorder and chronic pain in a nationally representative Canadian sample
Award: Statistics Canada Research Data Centre Award
Publication based on project:
Csupak, B., Sommer, J. L., Jacobsohn, E., & El-Gabalawy, R. (2018). An examination of the co-occurrence and functional correlates of chronic pain and generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 56, 74-80. doi: https://doi-org.uml.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.04.005
2015-2017: Dr. Chris Hoban (co-supervised by Dr. Alan Mutch)
Project: Pre-operative neurological and cognitive markers predicting post-operative delirium: A pilot study
Publication based on project:
El-Gabalawy, R., Patel, R., Kilborn, K., Blaney, C., Hoban, C., Ryner, L., Funk, D., Legaspi, R., Fisher. J. A., Duffin, J., Mikulis, D. J. & Mutch, W.A.C (2017). A novel stress-diathesis model to predict risk of post-operative delirium: Implications for intra-operative management. Frontiers of Aging Neuroscience, 9(274). doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2017.00274
Project: An examination of preoperative distress and perioperative risk factors in non-cardiac surgery patients
2015-2017: Dr. Brian Csupak
Project: Generalized anxiety disorder and chronic pain in a nationally representative Canadian sample
Award: Statistics Canada Research Data Centre Award
Publication based on project:
Csupak, B., Sommer, J. L., Jacobsohn, E., & El-Gabalawy, R. (2018). An examination of the co-occurrence and functional correlates of chronic pain and generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 56, 74-80. doi: https://doi-org.uml.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.04.005
2015-2017: Dr. Chris Hoban (co-supervised by Dr. Alan Mutch)
Project: Pre-operative neurological and cognitive markers predicting post-operative delirium: A pilot study
Publication based on project:
El-Gabalawy, R., Patel, R., Kilborn, K., Blaney, C., Hoban, C., Ryner, L., Funk, D., Legaspi, R., Fisher. J. A., Duffin, J., Mikulis, D. J. & Mutch, W.A.C (2017). A novel stress-diathesis model to predict risk of post-operative delirium: Implications for intra-operative management. Frontiers of Aging Neuroscience, 9(274). doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2017.00274
