Vancouver, Oct. 27, 2025—This weekend Canadian psychiatrists honoured their colleagues -psychiatrists, psychiatric residents and other exceptional individuals – for their contributions to the mental health of Canadians during the Canadian Psychiatric Association’s Annual Conference in Vancouver.

Clara Hughes was recognized by outgoing CPA president, Cathy Hickey, with a President’s Commendation for the difference she has personally made to the mental health of Canadians by using her public platform to spark and continue a dialogue on the importance of treating mental illness and promoting mental health. Clara has demonstrated her commitment to ending the stigma associated with mental illness both through her role as the founding spokesperson for the Bell Let’s Talk campaign and
“Clara’s Big Ride” where she rode rode her bike 11,000 kilometres for 110 days around Canada to get people talking about mental illness and later shared her story and theirs in a documentary. “She exemplifies resilience in the face of challenge and adversity,” said CPA president Cathy Hickey.

Dr. Daniel Mueller from Toronto, Ontario, received the CPA J.M. Cleghorn Award for Excellence and Leadership in Clinical Research in recognition of his pioneering work in developing personalized approaches to medication treatment. As Head of the Pharmacogenetics Research Clinic at CAMH, he established one of the first clinics in the world to integrate genetic testing into psychiatric care. His team’s groundbreaking IMPACT study has enrolled more than twelve thousand patients, demonstrating how genetic variation affects drug response and has paved the way for more effective,
individualized treatments. Dr. Mueller’s research has led to international guidelines now used by clinicians around the globe.

Dr. Aaron Keshen from Nova Scotia was awarded the CPA C.A. Roberts Award for Clinical Leadership for transforming the landscape of eating-disorder care in Nova Scotia and beyond. Recognizing the critical shortage of specialized services, he led the creation of the Nova Scotia Provincial Service for Eating Disorders. This province-wide program now provides a seamless continuum of care for youth and adults. Dr. Keshen integrated routine outcome monitoring into the program, producing Canada’s largest real-world dataset on eating-disorder treatment.

Dr. Natasha Snelgrove from McMaster University was recognized with the CPA Paul Patterson Innovation in Education Leadership Award. As Associate Program Director of McMaster University’s General Psychiatry Residency Program, she has introduced innovative models of teaching and mentorship that have strengthened every level of training. She co-developed the innovative One Room Schoolhouse model, a cross-year, problem-based learning initiative. Dr. Snelgrove has also modernized the psychotherapy curriculum, improved supervisor onboarding, and established a transition-to-practice
program to better prepare residents for independent work.

Dr. Simone Vigod from Toronto, Ontario, received the Alex Leighton Joint Canadian Psychiatric Association and Canadian Academy of Psychiatric Epidemiology Award in Psychiatric Epidemiology. Dr. Vigod is a global leader in perinatal psychiatric epidemiology whose work has transformed our understanding of mental health during and after pregnancy. She has conducted foundational studies that have shaped how we identify and care for mothers with mental illness, with a particular focus on perinatal service use, maternal schizophrenia, and the safety of antipsychotic medications in pregnancy.

Dr. Anees Bahji, an addiction psychiatrist and PhD candidate in epidemiology at the University of Calgary received the Early Career Psychiatrist Research Award for his research which bridges psychiatry, epidemiology and data science—seeking to advance our understanding of mental health and addiction through innovative, population-based studies. His research has shaped clinical practice and informed national policy. His recent work applies machine learning to large health datasets to better identify and support individuals with mental and substance use disorders.

Dr. Mélanie-Rose Frappier, a psychiatry resident at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, was awarded the Member-in-Training Award of Excellence for her leadership, compassion and dedication to culturally inclusive mental health care. A proud Métis and Francophone physician, she is deeply committed to improving access to care for Indigenous communities in Northern Ontario. Her research examines how Indigenous healing practices can be integrated into inpatient psychiatric care, and her findings have already informed real-world policy changes at the North Bay Regional Health Centre.

R.O. Jones Awards for Best Papers:

Dr. Paul Kurdyak, Jennifer Emblem, Isobel Sharpe, Michael Campitelli, Amreen Babujee and Dr. Hasan Sheik received 1st Place, for their paper, Variation and implications of brief substance use withdrawal related hospitalizations in Ontario, Canada: a cross-sectional study.

Marco Solmi received 2nd Place for his paper, Emergency Department Visits Involving Hallucinogen Use and Risk of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder. He also received 3rd Place for his paper, Evidence of Long Acting Injectable Antipsychotics for Bipolar Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.

2025 CPA Annual Conference Best Research Poster Awards

Dr. David Gratzer, Lawrie Korec and Stephanie Sliekers received 1st place for their poster, Quick Takes: Bringing Medical Education Directly to Physicians’ Ears Through Podcasting.

Certina Ho, Dr. Michael Mak, Justin Lee, Anna Nguyen and Dr. Sanjeev Sockalingam received 2nd Place for their poster, Perceived Importance of Transition-to-Practice Competencies by Psychiatry Residents in Canada: A Cross-Sectional Evaluation.

Eric Yu, Michael Wang, Jayden Berdugo, Shahnawaz Towheed, Jaehyeong Yang, Insiya Moosavi, Sarah Lalji-Mawji, Dr. Britta Ostermeyer and Dr. Andrew Olagunju received 3rd Place, for their poster, Mental Health Challenges and Contributing Factors Among Health Care Workers in US Forensic and Correctional Settings: A Post-COVID-19 Systematic Review.

2025 CPA Annual Conference Best Early Investigator Poster Awards

Tied for 1st place, were Paula Nunes, Hudson Reddon, Eric C. Sayre, Kora DeBeck, Kanna Hayashi, and Michael-John Milloy for their poster, Longitudinal Investigation Into the Links Between Antecedent Childhood Trauma and Overdose Among People Who Use Unregulated Drugs in Vancouver and Drs Ronesh Sukhdeo and Jocelyn Tamura for their poster, Effectiveness, Safety, and Tolerability of Ketamine in the Treatment of Depression in Older Adults: A Systematic Review.

Drs Lori Minassian, Mallory Pitts, Milena Potkonjak, Johanne Roberge, Dianne Groll and Jennifer Wong, received 2nd Place for their poster, Predictors and Trends of Repeat Psychiatric Admissions to a Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit in Kingston, Ontario, Following COVID-19.

Zain Pasquarella, Linda Booij, Olivia Calancie, Patricia Marchand and Dr. Sarosh Khalid
Khan received 3rd Place, for their poster, Impacts of Dialectical-Behavioural Therapy on Adolescents with Borderline Personality Disorder Traits.

Other psychiatric organizations also recognized the excellent work of their colleagues during the CPA Annual Conference:

The Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry for Outstanding Contributions in Geriatric Psychiatry
Dr. Karen Saperson

Canadian Organization of Undergraduate Psychiatric Educators Early Educator Award
Dr. Lu Gao

Canadian Organization of Undergraduate Psychiatric Educators Award for Best Paper by a Medical Student
Dr. Elsy Willis

Canadian Organization of Undergraduate Psychiatric Educators Teacher Recognition Award
Dr. Cameron Anderson