Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Digital Mental Health

Lakehead University (Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada)

Tenure-Track Assistant or Associate Appointment

Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Digital Mental Health

Lakehead University invites applications for a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Digital Mental Health. Digital innovations, including mobile and web-based applications, artificial intelligence (AI) enabled chatbots, and devices for assessing and monitoring symptoms in real-time, have the potential to increase equitable access to mental health care, particularly in rural and remote areas.

The ideal candidate has a PhD in psychology and is someone who can contribute advanced research on the implementation of digital technologies to address mental health promotion and/or mental health intervention and care. The long-term goal of the Chair’s research will ensure that these tools are effective, accessible, and equitable, and contribute to our understanding of the use of digital technologies to address mental health needs, including promotion, prevention, early intervention, and treatment. This tenure-track appointment will be at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor. This CRC position is for five (5) years and may be renewed once. Tier 2 Canada Research Chairs are intended for exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field.

By combining discovery and translational research, the Chair will increase the research capacity and training opportunities at Lakehead University. The Chair will enhance research excellence in Digital Mental Health and associated areas within the University.

Lakehead University and our Community
Lakehead is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 9 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. Lakehead University’s achievements have been recognized nationally and internationally, including being ranked, once again, among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities in Maclean’s 2022 University Rankings; as well as being included in the top half of Times Higher Education’s 2020 World Universities Rankings for the second consecutive year, and 64th among 1,410 universities from around the world in THE’s 2022 Impact Rankings (which assesses institutions against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals). For further information, please visit: www.lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University is recognized as one of Canada’s top research-intensive universities in its category for the last decade (Research Info$ource). Aligned with our Strategic Plan, Research Plan, CRC Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, and Institutional EDI Action Plan, we are actively recruiting outstanding scholars to enhance and grow our research and innovation capacity. Situated in the diverse and multicultural communities of Thunder Bay and Orillia, our unique campuses and their locations inspire us to discover and innovate in exciting and non-traditional ways.

Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. Our campuses are located in Thunder Bay on the traditional lands of the Fort William First Nation, Signatory to the Robinson Superior Treaty of 1850 and in Orillia on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, and Rama First Nation. Lakehead University acknowledges the history that many nations hold in the areas around our campuses and is committed to a relationship with Métis and Inuit and First Nations peoples.

The Faculty
The appointment of this Canada Research Chair will be in the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences and specifically in the Department of Psychology at the Thunder Bay campus. The FHBS serves our regional and global communities through excellence in teaching, research, and professional education in Nursing, Social Work, Psychology, Kinesiology, and Health Sciences. For information about the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, please visit our website.

The Department of Psychology is comprised of 11 full-time faculty located on both the Thunder Bay and Orillia campuses and offers undergraduate programs in both arts and science as well as graduate programs in Psychological Science (MSc and PhD) and Clinical Psychology (MA and CPA accredited PhD). The successful candidate will have the ability to contribute to the visibility and reputation of the Psychology Department for research excellence and teaching in mental health.
For further information, please contact Dr. Rupert Klein, Chair, Department of Psychology at rgklein@lakeheadu.ca

Requirements
Tier 2 CRCs are for exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field. Candidates for Tier 2 Chair positions must meet all the requirements for Tier 2 CRCs and be eligible for assistant or associate professor positions. Tier 2 CRC’s normally are not more than 10 years from their highest degree at the time of submitting the nomination to the CRC secretariat. However, nominating institutions may nominate a professor or a researcher who is more than 10 years from their highest degree at the time of nomination and has experienced career interruptions based on the categories outlined here.

Successful candidates will:
● be excellent emerging world-class researchers who have demonstrated research creativity;
● have demonstrated the potential to achieve international recognition in their fields in the next five to ten years;
● as chairholders, have the potential to attract, develop and retain excellent trainees, students and future researchers; and
● be proposing an original, innovative research program of the highest quality.

CRCs at Lakehead University are appointed and governed by the provisions of the Lakehead University Faculty Association Collective Agreement. For the first term of the CRC, the successful applicant will be given a reduced teaching load in order to dedicate the majority of their time to research, be provided with an infrastructure start-up grant, an annual research grant in the amount of $35,000 and research space appropriate for the proposed CRCs program of research.

Application Deadline and Process
The Department of Psychology will begin the review of applications on June 20, 2025 and the position will remain open until filled.

A complete application as one electronic pdf file consists of:
● Letter of application (1 page) that includes your interest in the position; what you would bring to the department and faculty; the impact that your research will have on the field of Digital Mental Health (your research statement can elaborate on this); and what makes you a strong candidate overall as a researcher, educator, and community member.
● A curriculum vitae (CV) that provides a clear sense of your scholarly and professional development via your education and your research activities and outcomes; your contributions to making Digital Mental Health a more equitable and inclusive discipline through committee work, community engagement, media, and advocacy.
● Description of Proposed Research (up to 2 pages) that describes your proposed CRC program of research. The proposal should include an executive summary and outline context, methodology, engagement with research users and communication of results, and list of references. You are also to include a plan for establishing and maintaining a diverse core team (page limitation excludes the summary and list of references) (see link provided) (see the link for Lakehead University’s Strategic Research Plan for additional information).
● A list of your five most significant contributions (no page limit) (following the CRC guidelines) Describe the five most significant research contributions that you have made during your career and explain the significance of each.
● Teaching statement (up to 1 page) and a dossier of syllabi and other evidence, if available. These must demonstrate how you engage, encourage, and develop the learning capacity of students entering higher education from a diverse array of backgrounds, and how you embed practices and principles of equity, diversity and inclusion in your classroom, your assignments, and your classroom style.
● Research Contributions (no page limit) Describe the contributions that you have made in your research area during the period in which you have received research funding. Please group your research contributions by category in the following order, with the most recent contributions listed first:
A. Published refereed contributions, such as: books (where applicable, subdivide according to those that are single-authored, co-authored and edited works), monographs, book chapters, and articles in scholarly refereed journals. “Refereed contributions” assumes assessment of the work in its entirety—not merely of an abstract or extract—before publication, and by appropriately independent, anonymous and qualified experts (i.e., assessors who are at arm’s length from the author).
B. Other refereed contributions, such as: conference proceedings, papers presented at scholarly meetings or conferences, articles in professional or trade journals, government publications, etc.
C. Non-refereed contributions, such as: book reviews, published reviews of your work, research reports, policy papers, public lectures, creative works, papers in conference proceedings, specialized publications, technical reports, internal reports, discussions, abstracts, symposium records, monographs, books or book chapters, conference presentations, government publications, etc.
D. Forthcoming contributions: Indicate one of the following statuses: “submitted,” “revised and submitted,” “accepted” or “in press.” Provide the name of the journal or book publisher, and the number of pages.
● Leadership Statement (no page limit) (following the CRC guidelines) Describe and give evidence for your international leadership qualities and any involvement in broader intellectual leadership activities; Provide evidence of international leadership. Describe any involvement in broader intellectual leadership activities, such as stewardship of initiatives at a national or international level that have had an influence or impact that extends beyond your own institution. If applicable, please also describe how you have improved your institution’s ability to leverage additional research resources (including financial and non-financial resources).
● Training and Supervisory Experience Statement (no page limit) (following the CRC guidelines) Describe your experience as a supervisor. Describe your role in training students (e.g., doctoral, master’s, undergraduate) and other trainees. Describe your role in supervising or co-supervising ongoing and/or completed theses at the doctoral, master’s and/or undergraduate level. Describe the steps that you have taken to involve students (e.g., doctoral, master’s, undergraduate) in their research activities.
● Other Contributions (no page limit) (following the CRC guidelines) Describe any other activities that show the impact of your work, such as awards; contributions to scientific peer review (membership on peer review committees, external reviews, etc.); consulting; contributions to professional practice or public policy; membership on committees, boards, or policy-making bodies with government or the private sector.
● The names and contact information for three references, one of whom must be at arm’s length.
● A Self-Identification Survey is mandatory and must be completed by applicants. This survey can be found at https://forms.gle/sA5uWmTTdZXK6yNB7.

Please note that the CRC Program imposes no restrictions on nominees with regard to nationality or country of residence; however, applicants should indicate their current citizenship status within their application.

We encourage women and gender minorities, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples and racialized individuals to apply.

Complete applications are to be directed via email to:

Dr. Mirella Stroink
Dean
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
fhbs@lakeheadu.ca

Please note that only those selected for an interview will be notified.

The successful candidate will be expected to work with the Office of Research Services in completing a complete nomination package due to the CRC Secretariat on October 21, 2025.

If you have questions about the CRC program at Lakehead University, please contact Anne Klymenko, Director, Research Services by email: anne.klymenko@lakeheadu.ca or by telephone at 807-343-8110 Ext. 8223.

Equity Statement
Lakehead University has an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan 2019-2024 with a goal to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as measured by increasing representation of under-represented groups among applicants, candidates and hires. We encourage candidates to self-identify, if you are from an under-represented group, and prefer candidates with the knowledge, competencies and relationships derived from lived experience.

Lakehead University recognizes that alternative career paths and/or career interruptions (e.g., maternity leave, parental leave, leave due to illness, leaves due to caring for family members, or slowdowns due to chronic illness or disability) can impact research achievements and commits to ensuring that leaves are taken into careful consideration in the assessment of the candidate. Candidates are encouraged to highlight how alternative paths and/or interruptions have impacted their research in their application. Lakehead also recognizes the value of mentoring and research training, outreach, professional service, community-based research, other forms of scholarly expression, areas and/or research outputs; demonstrated experience in increasing diversity in the previous institutional environment, and in curriculum, is also an asset.

Lakehead University is committed to supporting an accessible environment. Applicants requiring accommodation during the interview process should contact the Office of Human Resources at (807) 343.8010 ext. 8334 or human.resources@lakeheadu.ca to make appropriate arrangements.

Please visit our Office of Human Rights and Equity website: https://www.lakeheadu.ca/faculty-and-staff/departments/services/human-rights-and-equity and our Human Resources policies related to accommodations and supports: https://www.lakeheadu.ca/faculty-and-staff/policies/human-resources to explore all of the supports our organization provides to enable a strong and connected employment experience. Should an applicant require accommodations for interviews or other meetings, please contact Human Resources at (807) 343-8334 or by emailing human.resources@lakeheadu.ca.

Additional Information
Additional information regarding the Canada Research Chair program can be found at:
https://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/program-programme/nomination-mise_en_candidature-eng.aspx#s2. Tier 2 CRC nominees must be Assistant or Associate Professors. The Canada Research Chairs Program supports outstanding researchers in areas that will further Lakehead’s Strategic Research Plan. All Chair nominations are subject to review and final approval by the CRC Secretariat. Please consult the Canada Research Chairs website https://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca for full program information and further details on eligibility criteria. Information regarding our CRC EDI Action Plan is available here: https://www.lakeheadu.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/111/LakeheadU_CRC%20EDI%20Action%20Plan_ETWG_Sept%2027_2019_final.pdf and information regarding our EDI policies can be found here: https://www.lakeheadu.ca/faculty-and-staff/departments/services/human-rights-and-equity/resources.

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Source: https://www.academicwork.ca/jobs/tier-2-canada-research-chair-in-digital-mental-health-acadia-university