Funding Opportunities
2025 Award Recipients
Kaeley Simpson
Kaeley is a PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Manitoba, working under the research supervision of Dr. Leslie Roos and Dr. Kristin Reynolds. She has a background in both research and clinical work focused on children, parents, and families. Kaeley has a particular interest in mental health, parenting support, and the development and evaluation of intervention programming.
For her dissertation research, Kaeley is examining the role of peer support in mental health and parenting programming. She is using both quantitative and qualitative methods to explore what works best within peer support models and how these programs can be effectively designed, developed, and implemented. The goal is to identify scalable approaches to peer support that can increase access to care and help more parents and families receive the support they need to improve overall family wellness.
Project: From Research to Practice: Exploring the Impacts, Needs, and Readiness for Implementing Peer Support Interventions for Parents of Young Children
Amount: $3,500
Sandra Hunter
Sandra Hunter is in the process of completing her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Manitoba. She is Anishinaabe on her mothers side, and Scottish, Irish, and English on her fathers side. Sandra grew up in Dauphin River First Nation and is a member of Lake St. Martin First Nation in the Interlake region of Manitoba. Sandra is a mother and grandmother and worked as a Families First Home Visitor for 14 years. She returned to university to explore Indigenous created and led methods of supporting Indigenous families.
Sandra's research focuses on traditional Indigenous child rearing and reclamation of culture to increase wellness and positive cultural identity. Sandra will be using the PRIME award to complete a needs assessment and pilot intervention with Indigenous families.
Project: Mino Ombigia Awasodaa — “Let’s Raise Them Well Together”
Amount: $ 5,000
Morgan Hanson-Oliveira
Morgan Hanson-Oliveira is a first-year Master’s student in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Manitoba. She is of Red River Métis and Portuguese descent and was raised in Thompson, Manitoba. Her research focuses on improving access to mental healthcare in northern, rural, and remote communities, with a particular interest in Indigenous youth and family mental health, as well as community-based approaches to mental health support.
Building on her Honours thesis, Morgan’s research explores how personal and cultural values shape Red River Métis families’ access to mental health services in Northern Manitoba. Through qualitative narrative analysis, her study will highlight stories of strength and resilience, emphasizing the importance of cultural identity in care. The aim of this project is to provide suggestions for improving existing programs and to inform the development of more culturally responsive resources for Métis families.
Project: Métis Families’ Perspectives on Mental Health Service Accessibility in Northern Manitoba
Amount: $3,000
Adi Keynan
Adi Keynan is an honours Psychology student at the University of Winnipeg. She is passionate about research and knowledge translation, with a focus on turning findings into practical, community-driven outcomes. Adi’s background includes psychology (e.g., substance use, schizophrenia, emotion regulation) and related fields such as criminal justice. She is honoured to be a recipient of the 2025 PRIME Trainee Award and is deeply grateful for the opportunity to continue exploring research in areas that are both personally meaningful and highly relevant to the ongoing HIV epidemic in Manitoba.
Receiving the 2025 PRIME Trainee Award is instrumental in supporting Adi’s research under the supervision of Drs. Bev Fredborg and Zulma Rueda, in partnership with the Alltogether4IDEAS research group. The funding from this award will directly support participants by covering their compensation and transportation expenses, while also contributing to research assistant salaries. This study will explore how experiences of motherhood influence HIV prevention and treatment adherence among clients of Siloam Mission. By centring the voices of mothers living with HIV, Adi aims to identify their primary needs and uncover ways to reduce barriers to care for them and their families.
Project: An Exploration of How Experiences of Motherhood Shape HIV Prevention and Treatment Adherence in a Sample of Siloam Mission Clients
Amount: $2,500
Bhavya Arora
Bhavya is a master’s student in the Clinical Psychology program here at the University of Manitoba. She is passionate about promoting culturally inclusive mental health care, as well as engaging in community-based research and advocacy. Bhavya is deeply grateful to be one of the recipients of the 2025 PRIME Trainee Award. Funding from this award will support her master’s thesis, which aims to broaden our understanding of how Indian immigrant women label and conceptualize their mental health challenges during the perinatal period. The project will also explore unmet mental health needs within this group, with the goal of informing future program development and culturally responsive supports.
Project: Perinatal Mental Health Needs of Indian Immigrant Women: Exploring the Accessibility and Acceptability of Mental Health Supports
Amount: $1,000
Malcolm Disbrowe
Malcolm Disbrowe is a MSc student in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba, supervised by Dr. Andrew Hatala. He recently completed a BA (Honours) in Psychology, also at the University of Manitoba. His research focuses on Indigenous Peoples’ health across the lifespan, substance use disorders, and Indigenous research methodologies. Malcolm’s work is rooted in community-based and decolonizing approaches, aiming to address pressing social issues, such as substance use–related mortality, through collaborative, multi-sector solutions. He has been honoured to receive multiple national and institutional awards recognizing his academic excellence, leadership, and contributions to Indigenous health research. Committed to bridging research and practice, Malcolm’s projects engage Indigenous communities to co-create knowledge that informs culturally grounded, sustainable health services.
Malcolm is advancing the project Minoayawin-Wellness for Everyone: First Nations Priorities Regarding Mental Health and Substance Use Services in Manitoba with support from the PRIME Trainee Research Award. This project seeks to identify and map services accessible to First Nations Peoples across the province and to engage with community stakeholders to understand their priorities for improving these services. PRIME funding will directly support the second phase of the project, including respectful engagement with stakeholders, participant honoraria, co-analysis with participants, community meetings, and the creation of accessible knowledge translation materials. These activities will ensure the project remains culturally grounded, community-led, and aligned with First Nations values. The findings will generate actionable recommendations for developing culturally safe, First Nations–centred mental health and substance use services in Manitoba. Ultimately, this work will contribute to closing service gaps, strengthening family and community wellness, and advancing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (specifically Call 19).
Project: Minoayawin — Wellness for Everyone: First Nations Priorities Regarding Mental Health and Substance Use Services in Manitoba
Amount: $5,000
2024 Award Recipients
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Maawandoonan - Collaborative Reimagination: Indigenizing and Decolonizing Mental Health Care in Manitoba
Sydney Levasseur-Puhach’s PRIME Trainee Award project was on Indigenizingand Decolonizing Mental Healthcare in Manitoba. Her research aimed to build knowledge surrounding experiences of Indigenous mothers, and their motivations and suggestions for improvement in mental health and wellness programs. Analyzing data from interviews with Métis and Anishinaabe mothers highlighted the need for increased attention to culturally specific and appropriate treatments and interventions to support the mental health of Indigenous mothers and families in Manitoba.
Telling Stories of Resistance – Calling to Ancestral Strength: An Exploration of Mental Health.pdf
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Engaging People with Chronic Pelvic Pain: The Need to Understand Experiences
Updates:
Recruited 2 patient partners
Development of needs assessment underway
Next Steps:
Finalize needs assessment in collaboration with patient partners
Distribute needs assessment nationally
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Recognizing and Responding to Birth Trauma: The Development and Pilot Evaluation of a Brief Online Training Intervention for Canadian Health Care Providers
Shayna Pierce’s PRIME Trainee Award was used to support the web design ofthe Birth Trauma Training Program in partnership with the Centre for Healthcare Innovation. Preventing the harmful impacts of traumatic childbirth experiences is key to improving the health of both mother and child, and by developing training materials to support this, with responses from doctors, nurses and midwives, we can increase our recognition and response to birth trauma.
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Tulong sa Pamilyang Pinoy: The Co-Development and Evaluation of a Single-Session Intervention Supporting Filipino Parent Mental Health
Nicole Tongol’s PRIME Trainee Award was used to support the development of her research on Supporting Filipino Family Mental Wellbeing in Manitoba. Her research aims to explore the mental health needs of Filipino parents with young children using Sikolohiyang Pilipino methodology, and to investigate any barriers to service access. The goals of this research are to identify and describe the critical need for inclusive and accessible services that promote equity in family wellness for the Filipino population. Long-term goals of this research are to reduce disparities in Filipino family mental wellness through the co-development of culturally specific resources.