Meet the Team

Dr. Bousman received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, a Master in Public Health from San Diego State University, and a PhD from the University of California-San Diego. Prior to arriving at the University of Calgary, he spent seven years at the University of Melbourne, Department of Psychiatry, where he remains a Honorary Senior Research Fellow. Dr. Bousman is a full member of the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, and Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education. In addition, Dr. Bousman is a member of the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium, Pharmacogene Variation Consortium, and Pharmacogenomics Research Network.

Dr. Ankita is a Genome Bioinformatician by training. She is deeply interested in understanding the nature and context of genomic variants in populations and diseases. During her PhD, she focused her research on understanding the genetic architecture of Afro-Indian admixed population. During her Postdoctoral work at University of Delhi, she integrated different OMICs data to find molecular players of sexual dimorphism and sex specific heterochromatisation in mealybugs (insect species). Her research also involved the analysis of clinical whole genome/exome sequencing data to delineate novel mutations in genetically rare diseases. In the Psychiatric Pharmacogenetics Lab, she will apply her experience and expertise to uncover genetic markers for clozapine-induced myocarditis as well as integrate population genomics methods/frameworks with pharmacogenetics data to aid in ancestry specific dosing recommendation of clinically actionable variants.

Diogo received his Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences from the Federal University of Sao Paulo - Medical School of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP-EPM) in Brazil, where he completed a Genetics specialization. Then, he completed a Master’s degree in the Psychiatry and Medical Psychology Program at the same University studying how risperidone (antipsychotic) effects DNA methylation in repetitive regions as the retrotransposon LINE-1. As a Ph.D. student in the PsychPGx Lab, Diogo will be conducting pharmacoepigenetic analyses related to clozapine-induced myocarditis using patient-derived cardiomyocytes.

Nazanin completed her Master's degree in Biotechnology from the University of Greenwich in England. She has conducted research on the cellular mechanism of breast cancer. Nazanin will continue to pursue her passion for uncovering the cellular mechanisms of disease and will be working on the PROCLAIM study. Her PhD will investigate the mechanism underlying the cardiac toxicity of clozapine and potential pharmacological modulators of this toxicity using unique patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells..

Laina is a Registered Nurse who completed a BN and MSc in Medical Science at the University of Calgary. Prior to working in research, she primarily worked in psychiatric emergency for children and adolescents. She has worked as a clinical rater and study coordinator in various research settings, including industry-sponsored clinical trials, investigator-driven clinical trials, and longitudinal observational studies. This research has focused on schizophrenia, youth at risk for psychosis and other serious mental illness, and adults with treatment refractory depression and OCD. Her role in the PsychPGx Lab is study coordination for the PGx-AID and PGx-SParK studies.

Anita has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and has had a career focus in healthcare research. She has worked as a Research Assistant and Clinical Research Coordinator at the Clinical Research Unit in the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and as a Research Assistant at a large preventative cancer research study called the Tomorrow Project. She will be assisting with recruitment efforts and research administration requirements across the range of projects being conducted within the PsychPGx Lab. With her interest in psychiatry, she is excited to be working in this field of research.

Mikayla is a Biomedical Sciences student and Chancellor’s Club Scholar at the University of Calgary. She has applied her passion for genetics by conducting a series of studies to estimate the potential impact pharmacogenetic testing could have on mental health care for adults and children. She is currently examining the pharmacogenetics of methylphenidate in a large cohort of children enrolled in the ABCD study.

Noah Richardson is a Biomedical Sciences student at the University of Calgary. While he is hoping to pursue a career in medicine, he is active on campus in both sciences as well as the arts, appearing in performances with the student run theatre at the University. Noah is hoping to explore pharmacogenetics in order to extend his understanding of how genetics interface with medicine. Noah will be working on the PROCLAIM study this year to gain research experience and continue expanding his passion in both genetics and medicine.

Chaten is a Neuroscience Student at the University of Calgary. This past year he served as a First-Year representative on the Neuroscience Students Association, and also volunteered as a VP External for Run for the Little Ones, a non-profit student-run organization that raises money for the Neuro-critical Care Unit at the Alberta Children's Hospital. Chaten’s is examining the patterns of antidepressant use among primary care patients and the role pharmacogenetic testing could play in managing depression in this setting.

Claudia is a 3rd year Life Science Student at Queen's University. While studying at Queen's, she is also the podcast host for the Queen's Women in Engineering and Sciences Association (WISE). Claudia has taken a few pharmacology courses throughout undergrad and her interest to learn more and get involved in pharmacogenetics has expanded. As a summer research student Claudia will be conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis on the impact of ABCB1 genetic variation on antidepressant medication response. Claudia hopes to learn and gain research experience throughout her summer, expanding her knowledge in the subject.