The ARCH Lab is pleased to announce that two of our MSc students, Lily Eckert and Karina Tamkee, have each been awarded a CIHR Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master’s (CGRS M) in support of their thesis research. These highly competitive national awards recognize outstanding academic achievement and support impactful research that advances child and youth health.
Karina’s research, titled “Trajectories of Peer Victimization and Psychopathology Among Adolescents with Physical Illness,” examines the developmental patterns and co-occurrence of peer victimization and mental health challenges among youth with chronic physical illness (CPI). Peer victimization is common among Canadian youth and is strongly associated with a range of psychiatric disorders. Children with CPI may be particularly vulnerable due to differences in appearance or behaviour, special care needs, and challenges with socialization. Karina’s work aims to better understand how experiences of victimization and psychopathology unfold together over time in this population, with the goal of informing prevention and intervention efforts for youth managing chronic illness.
Lily’s scholarship supports her MSc thesis project focused on the onset of mood dysregulation in children with chronic physical illness. Her research aims to delineate and contrast patterns of mood dysregulation in children with CPI compared to their siblings, and to identify key predictors of mood dysregulation onset. By examining both children with CPI and their siblings, Lily’s work will provide important insight into illness-related and familial risk factors, contributing to improved early identification and mental health support for children with chronic health conditions.
Congratulations to Lily and Karina on receiving these prestigious CIHR awards and on their important contributions to research on child and adolescent mental health.
