Experts: Back-to-school

With the new school year just around the corner, McGill experts are available to provide perspectives on issues affecting students, parents and teachers.

Mental health and well-being

Marie-Claude Geoffroy, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Douglas Mental Health University Institute, is the Canada Research Chair in Youth Suicide Prevention. She can discuss youth mental health.

marie-claude.geoffroy [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)

Reut Gruber, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, is Director of the Attention Behaviour and Sleep Lab at the Douglas Research Centre. She can speak about the impact of sleep on attention and academic performance, screen time and sleep, and strategies for helping students transition back to school routines.

reut.gruber [at] mcgill.ca (English)

Srividya Iyer, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, and Researcher, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, is a psychologist and the director of the Canada Research Chair in Youth, Mental Health and Learning Health Systems (Tier 1). Her work focuses on youth mental health and early intervention, including for serious mental health problems such as psychosis. She leads ACCESS Open Minds, a pan-Canadian network serving youth across Canada.

Available as of Aug. 25 - srividya.iyer [at] mcgill.ca (English, French, Hindi, Tamil)

Tina Montreuil, Associate Professor, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Associate Member, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, is Director of the Childhood Anxiety and Regulation of Emotions (CARE) Laboratory Research Group at McGill University. She can discuss stress management, youth mental health (including social anxiety and performance anxiety), resiliency, as well as provide parental advice.

tina.montreuil [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)

Marie-Hélène Pennestri is a psychologist, Associate Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Canada Research Chair Tier 2 in pediatric sleep. She can talk about how sleep is linked to family functioning and mental health.

marie-helene.pennestri [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)

Jai Shah, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, is a psychiatrist and researcher at the Program for Prevention and Early Intervention in Psychosis (PEPP-Montréal) at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and McGill University. He can talk about the notion of stress and the continuum ranging from milder to more severe forms of mental illness among youth.

Available as of Aug. 24 - jai.shah [at] mcgill.ca (English)

Learning and development

Adam Dubé, Associate Professor, Learning Sciences, is Director of the Faculty of Education Technology, Learning, & Cognition (TLC) Lab. He can discuss issues around the use of technology in schools (such as AI, cellphones and social media) as they relate to learning.

adam.dube [at] mcgill.ca (English)

Lucyna M. Lach is Associate Professor, School of Social Work, and Associate Member of the Departments of Paediatrics and Neurology/Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine. She can talk about the transition into school for caregiving parents of children with disabilities.

lucy.lach [at] mcgill.ca (English)

Victoria Talwar, Professor, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, Associate Member, Department of Psychology, is also Director of the Daniel & Monica Gold Centre for Early Childhood Development. She specializes in developmental psychology. She can discuss child development and adolescents’ online behaviour and interactions.

victoria.talwar [at] mcgill.ca (English)

Economics

Vivek Astvansh, Associate Professor of Quantitative Marketing and Analytics, Desautels Faculty of Management, can speak about household/family spending; student health and school readiness; safety and transportation; new school rules and technology; teachers, staffing and school operations; school meals; education policy and funding; as well as learning, attendance and academic performance.

Vivek.astvansh [at] mcgill.ca (English)

Siddhanth Mookerjee, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Desautels Faculty of Management, can discuss back-to-school shopping behaviour and consumer decision-making; how students and families balance price, value and brand considerations; the influence of promotions, discounts and retail marketing during the back-to-school season; trends in spending priorities amid economic uncertainty; the role of social media and peer influence in back-to-school purchasing decisions; and consumer psychology surrounding preparation, planning and seasonal purchasing.

siddhanth.mookerjee [at] mcgill.ca (English)

Physical health

Jesse Papenburg, MD, Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and pediatric infectious disease specialist at the Montreal Children's Hospital, can speak about what families can expect during respiratory virus season as children return to school and daycare. He can discuss such common infections as influenza, RSV and COVID-19, when children should stay home, and practical ways to help keep classrooms and households healthier.

jesse.papenburg [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)

Ian Shrier, MD, Associate Professor in McGill University's Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health and Department of Family Medicine, can discuss concussion risk as hockey, soccer and other youth sports resume this fall. His new study of youth ice hockey players suggests that among athletes returning to sport after a concussion, there is an increased risk of subsequent concussion only in those who do not follow accepted concussion management protocols. This underscores the importance of medical oversight.

ian.shrier [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)