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Research Speakers Series and Discussion: Inclusive and Accessible Research

Gordon brings a diverse background of experience in education, Indigenous Allyship and ceremonial healing to NCPR. As an educator he worked in outdoor leadership development programs with at risk youth where he learned about the healing power that nature offers to all people.

Dr. Wendy Young is an associate faculty member at Royal Roads University. She is currently teaching and supervising students in the Master’s of Arts in Leadership. In 2013 she moved to the Research and Capacity Building Team at Island Health B.C.

Zach Walsh, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, a research affiliate with the BC Centre on Substance Use, and a professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He directs the Therapeutic, Recreational, and Problematic Substance Use lab and the Problematic Substance Use clinic at UBC. Zach is a member of the Advisory Board of MAPS Canada and a member of the International Research Society on Psychedelics.

Krys Sciberras is a Registered Clinical Counsellor. She has worked in the mental health and substance use field, managing teams in various leadership roles. Krys brings significant knowledge and experience with team-based care in a clinical setting and supporting change initiatives.  Her work has involved a strong focus on enhancing access to mental health services across the region. Through these experiences she’s developed a thorough understanding of the challenges in health care and a powerful desire to create change through innovative methods to support a new model of care.

Dr. Raimey Olthuis is a PhD from the Medical Sciences Department at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands. Her research focused on action-perception interactions. More specifically, how varying task constraints influence the proportional reliance on different visual information sources and the consequential impact this has on movement execution.

Dr. Valorie Masuda is a palliative care physician and Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at UBC. She graduated from UBC in 1986 with a BSc in honours pharmacology. In 1990 she graduated as a medical doctor. She worked in Haida Gwaii and then in the Yukon for 8 years. She was an emergency physician in Cowichan Valley for 16 years. She completed her residency in palliative care in 2014 and has worked in the Cowichan Valley as a palliative care physician and as a general practitioner in oncology since.

Shannon Dames (maiden Magnus) is a third generation immigrant with mixed ancestry from Britain, Norway, and Germany. She is a descendant of GT Magnus and Lianne Telnes, the proud mother of Piper and Beckett Dames, and the life partner of Phil Dames.  She lives and serves as a Health Professional Investigator and Professor on Vancouver Island, situated on the unceded territory of the Stz'uminus (in the town of Ladysmith) and Snuneymuxw (in the city of Nanaimo) People.

Practicalities

We are a diverse community of students, researchers, educators, and knowledge keepers who come together to collaborate on research, share cultural and disciplinary knowledge, and exchange ideas for mutual enrichment and collective growth.

Approach

We recognize that Indigenous cultures have engaged with psychoactive medicines since time immemorial, making Indigenous ancestral knowledge an essential foundation of our work.