Lab Director
Dr. Renée El-Gabalawy

Dr. El-Gabalawy is an Associate 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 (UM). She also holds adjunct appointments in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology (Fort Garry), and is an Adjunct Scientist at CancerCare Manitoba. As a Vanier Scholar, she received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from UM in 2015. 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 UM, 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 125 peer reviewed journal publications and book chapters, and has presented research findings in over 150 local, national and international conference proceedings. Dr. El-Gabalawy also serves on the editorial board of General Hospital Psychiatry, and is the chair of the external advisory board for the Center of Perioperative Mental Health, Washington University.

Find Dr. El-Gabalawy on twitter and research gate

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Lab Members

Graduate Students

 Jordana Sommer (PhD Candidate & Research Associate)

Jordana is in her final year of her PhD and is currently completing her Clinical Psychology residency at UM. She 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 examined postoperative outcomes of preoperative distress among patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery, and the feasibility of a targeted virtual reality intervention to reduce preoperative anxiety. She previously completed her MA and undergraduate degree under the supervision of Dr. El-Gabalawy. She has received well over a dozen awards and scholarships throughout her graduate training and has published over 45 peer reviewed manuscripts and book chapters. Most recently, she was awarded the Women's Health Research Foundation of Canada Graduate Scholarship, UM Sheu L. Lee Family Scholarship in Oncology Research, and the Faculty of Graduate Studies Student Achievement Award. You can also find her on Twitter.

Megan Crooks (MA Student & Research Associate)

Megan is currently in her first year of her Master's in Clinical Psychology at UM. She completed her Bachelor of Science (Honours) in June 2023. She is completing her MA, and previously completed her undergraduate thesis, under the supervision of Dr. El-Gabalawy. Her MA thesis focuses on the efficacy of a novel virtual reality program for phantom limb pain among individuals with lower limb amputations. She is currently a research assistant in the HATLab where she serves as the research coordinator for a National Research Council funded study examining the development of a novel virtual reality program for phantom limb pain. She is also involved in a number of other research projects. She has been highly successful at obtaining several awards and scholarships for her work including a Canada Graduate Scholarship for her MA.

Research Assistants & Coordinators

Jori Ganetsky

Jori completed her Bachelor of Science (Honours) in June 2023. She completed her undergraduate thesis under the co-supervision of Dr. El-Gabalawy and Jordana Sommer. Her thesis focused on health anxiety in vulnerable health populations during COVID-19. She is a currently conducting an independent project in the HATLab. She hopes to pursue graduate studies in the future.

Gabrielle Logan

Gabrielle completed her Masters of Science in Clinical Epidemiology at Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2019 where her thesis focused on diagnostic imaging resource utilization for low back pain. Her research interests lie in chronic pain, women’s health, healthcare resource use, mixed methods research, and systematic review. She is currently working as a research coordinator for the HATLab and the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at UM. She is also the research coordinator for a HSC Foundation grant focused on the utility of a novel online intervention for chronic pain (led by Dr. El-Gabalawy and Dr. Brigitte Sabourin), for the SPOR Chronic Pain Network, and for a Tri-Council funded study examining the development and utility of a virtual reality intervention for preoperative anxiety.

Hilary Johnson

Hilary previously completed her Bachelor of Arts (Honours Psychology) and Master of Physical Therapy at the University of Manitoba. She is currently a practicing Physiotherapist and a research volunteer in the HATLab. She is involved in a range of projects. She has a particular interest in the intersection of post-traumatic stress and somatic symptoms.

Jada Benedictson

Jada is currently completing her final year of the Bachelor of Arts Honours Psychology Program at UM. She was awarded the Psychology Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE) award under the supervision of Dr. El-Gabalawy and completed this intensive research experience in the Summer of 2023. Her research examined post-traumatic growth in a perinatal population during COVID-19. She is also a research assistant for a Tri-Council funded study examining the utility of virtual reality for preoperative anxiety and involved in the development of a novel online Acceptance and Commitment Based program for chronic pain. In the future, Jada hopes to pursue graduate studies in clinical psychology.

Residents

Robin Nurse

Dr. Nurse is a PGY2 in Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine. He is developing a research project examining prescription practices of preoperative Benzodiazepines and their association with postoperative outcomes. He is also involved in a project examining the use of virtual reality for phantom limb pain in the acute postoperative setting.

Dave Saraswat

Dr. Saraswat is a PGY2 in Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine. He is developing a research project examining the utility of anxiety screening in the Pre-Anesthesia Clinic. He is also involved in a project examining sedation experiences among patients undergoing arthroplasty surgeries.

Kanwarjot Bhangu

Dr. Bhangu is a PGY3 in Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine. He is conducting his resident research project under the supervision of Dr. El-Gabalawy. His project examines the psychological impact of surgery cancellations during COVID-19.

Marinya Roznik

Dr. Roznik is a PGY3 in Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine. She is conducting her resident research project under the supervision of Dr. El-Gabalawy. Her project examines the feasibility of a virtual reality intervention for phantom limb pain in the acute post-operative period.

Eisi Mollanji

Dr. Mollanji is a Psychiatry resident and is conducting his resident research project under the supervision of Dr. El-Gabalawy. He is involved in a project examining the development and efficacy of a novel virtual reality program for pre-operative anxiety prior to undergoing major oncological surgery.

Thesis or Project-Based Lab Alumni

Graduate Students

PhD
2016-2022: Dr. Caitlin Blaney
Dissertation: Anxiety in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Support for a Biopsychosocial Approach to the Management of RA

MA
2017-2019: Jordana Sommer (co-supervised by Dr. Kristin Reynolds)
Thesis: Mental health sequelae in the perioperative period: An examination of perioperative dissociation, postoperative delirium, and posttraumatic stress

Undergraduate Students

2023: Jada Bendictson (Psychology Undergraduate Research Experience)
Project: Post-traumatic growth experiences among perinatal women during the COVID-19 pandemic

2022-2023: Jori Ganetsky
Project: What does health anxiety look like in medically vulnerable Canadian during COVID-19?

2022-2023: Megan Crooks
Project:  Virtual graded motor imagery for phantom limb pain: A feasibility case series

2019-2020: Bronwen Grocott
Project:  "Three months ago there was nothing": Breast cancer surgery patients' emotional experiences

2019-2010: Gagan Gill
Project: Illness-induced post-traumatic stress disorder among Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans

BSc(Med) Students

2016-2018: Edward Noh
Project: Surgery delays and cancellations in Canada: A preliminary examination of prevalence trends over the past decade

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

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

 Residents

2023: Dr. Marissa Bowsfield
Project: Longitudinal trajectories of post-traumatic growth during COVID-19: A large Canadian longitudinal cohort study

2019-2021: Dr. Greg Wills
Project: Patient awareness during regional anesthesia for lower limb arthroplasty

2020: Dr. Amanda Shamblaw
Project: The impact of adverse childhood experiences on perinatal complications in a nationally representative sample.

2018-2020: Dr. Alicia Ling
Project: The impact of shared familial chronic pain experiences on healthcare utilization.

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

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