In the fall of 2024, Dr. Emily Cameron joined the Faculty of Education as an Assistant Professor in Educational Psychology. Dr. Cameron earned a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Calgary in 2020. Her doctoral work focused on mental health during the transition to parenthood, with her dissertation examining risk and protective factors for paternal perinatal depression. Dr. Cameron also held postdoctoral fellowships from the University of Manitoba (Department of Psychology and Department of Pediatrics) and UBC in Educational and Counselling Psychology (Faculty of Education). She is a registered psychologist in British Columbia and Manitoba, with practice in child, youth, family, and parent wellbeing.
Dr. Cameron brings to the faculty an extensive research history with a primary focus on mental health for children, youth, and their families. Currently, she is principal investigator for a multi-year SSHRC Insight Development Grant to support the co-development of a father-focused mental health intervention during the postpartum period. She is also a co-principal investigator for a multi-year CIHR-funded project on therapies to change the health behaviour of adolescents living with higher body weight, and a co-applicant for two other current, multi-year studies of intersectional risk factors affecting healthy sleep (CIHR-funded) and advancing family wellbeing through online intervention (SSHRC-funded). Recently completed projects for which she was co-investigator or co-applicant have explored鈥攁mong other topics鈥攃hildren鈥檚 well-being and mental health in the aftermath of COVID-19, an assessment of unmet needs for families of children with neurodevelopmental disorders, and wellness supports for parents of children with developmental and mental health needs.
In 2020, Dr. Cameron was the first author of the first peer-reviewed manuscript in the Journal of Affective Disorders on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal mental health. She led or co-led several additional manuscripts from the Parenting during the Pandemic study (UManitoba) and the Pregnancy during the Pandemic study (UCalgary) to investigate the immediate and longer-term effects of the pandemic on family functioning. These efforts led to Dr. Cameron鈥檚 contributing a book chapter, 鈥淧arental Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic,鈥� to the edited collection COVID-19 in Manitoba: Public Policy Responses to the First Wave (2020, University of Manitoba Press). Her work during the COVID-19 pandemic on family well-being and parenting led to several collaborations with Canada-wide research groups, including the multisite CHILD Cohort Study and Pregnancy during the Pandemic study. Dr. Cameron鈥檚 published and preprinted work addresses topics such as mental health for all caregivers during the transition to parenthood, the influence of parental health and mental health on children鈥檚 behaviour during and since the COVID-19 pandemic, and digital mental health interventions for supporting family wellbeing and child socioemotional development. With co-investigators and trainees, Dr. Cameron has published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Journal of Affective Disorders, Sleep Medicine Reviews, and Current Opinion in Psychology, among numerous others.
In addition to her research contributions, Dr. Cameron has taught courses in educational and counselling psychology at UBC, and guest lectured on diverse topics across psychology and medicine at the University of Calgary and the University of Manitoba. She has extensive experience as a research and practicum supervisor across levels of graduate training and psychology disciplines. Among her contributions to her scholarly community, she frequently serves as an adjunct reviewer for several journals and the Canadian Psychological Association. Dr. Cameron鈥檚 contributions to knowledge translation and community engagement include presentations for Pediatric Grand Rounds and Caf茅 Scientifique (UManitoba), written contributions to Conversation Canada, and media engagement through local and international agencies (NYTimes, CBC Manitoba, Project Pulse Winnipeg, Global News).