Brandon University Research

Congratulations to Dr. Susan Chang Su, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Brandon University, on a highly productive faculty mobility visit to the University of Guadalajara in Mexico this spring, supported by the Global Affair Award for Faculty Mobility Building Partnership Program.

Over several weeks, Dr. Chang Su engaged with faculty, students, and researchers across multiple University of Guadalajara campuses, including the University Centre for Health Sciences (CUCS), the campus of Economics and Administration (CUCEA), CUCosta in Puerto Vallarta, CUVALLES, and CULagos. Her visit included research presentations on cross-cultural perfectionism, anxiety, and depression in undergraduate students; the mental health of immigrant mothers of children with developmental disabilities; and employee mental health during COVID-19 through the lens of mattering theory.

She also met with faculty across applied psychology, health sciences, and graduate studies programs to explore future research collaborations, several of which are already taking shape.

This kind of international exchange strengthens BU's research partnerships and opens new doors for cross-cultural collaboration in psychology and mental health research.

https://news.brandonu.ca/2026/08/06/brandon-university-researcher-contributes-to-national-sshrc-insight-grant-project-on-care-vulnerability-and-francophone-literature/

Brandon University Researcher Contributes to National SSHRC Insight Grant Project on Care, Vulnerability, and Francophone Literature Brandon University researcher Dr. Dominique Hétu is a co-investigator on a nationally funded research initiative examining how Francophone literature represents care, vulnerability, and human dignity, and how these narratives create space for historically marginalized voices. Dr. Hétu, Associate P...

https://news.brandonu.ca/2026/07/30/brandon-university-researchers-receive-sshrc-insight-development-grants-for-projects-on-climate-literacy-and-museum-labour/

Brandon University researchers receive SSHRC Insight Development Grants for projects on climate literacy and museum labour Brandon University is pleased to announce that two BU researchers, Dr. Jennifer Mateer and Dr. Emma Varley, have received Insight Development Grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The grants, totalling more than $174,000, will support new research beginni...

Have you experience sexual violence? We are looking for individuals from rural, remote, and Northern areas of Manitoba to participate in a research study exploring recovery.

The project is called “Envisioning recovery from Sexual violence in Rural, Remote, and Northern Areas of Manitoba: A Photo Exploration”.

Seeking participants who:
Are 18 years of age or older,
Have experienced unwanted sexual contact as an adult
Live in a community outside of Brandon or Winnipeg

Participation includes:
A 30 minute intro session (online)
A 2-week period of photography and journaling
A 1-hour interview about your photos (online)
If you are interested in participating please complete the following survey (1-minute) https://form.jotform.com/261955900504053

Honorarium will be provided for each stage of research participation.

Photographs, journal entries, and individual interview responses will be used to create an anonymous photovoice exhibit. While you might not benefit from the research directly, your photos, journals, and interview responses will provide valuable information about recovery for community and service providers

The project is being led by Dr. Candice Waddell-Henowitch and the Rural, Remote, Northern Gendered Violence Research Team. Funding for the project is from Manitoba Medical Services Foundation. Ethics approval from BUREC. For ethics questions contact [email protected] BUREC #23718

https://news.brandonu.ca/2026/07/21/brandon-university-philosopher-receives-federal-funding-to-explore-why-truth-and-critical-thinking-matter/

Brandon University Philosopher Receives Federal Funding to Explore Why Truth and Critical Thinking Matter SSHRC Insight Grant supports four-year research project on the social foundations of knowledge Brandon University is pleased to announce that Dr. Cameron Boult, Associate Professor of Philosophy, has been awarded a $72,702 Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Can...

https://youtu.be/4_De79W3Oo8?si=fGzlPGrJSETjYnPp

S01 E06: Science As A Licence To Trade Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

Independent filmmaker Rebeccah Love shares her personal journey with bipolar I disorder, including her hospitalization at age 20 and the years of psychiatric crisis that followed her adolescence. Drawing on her lived experience, Love speaks candidly about the relationship between insight and illness, the role medication and consistent psychiatric care play in her ongoing wellness, and how she has learned to recognize and manage the seasonal patterns and heightened states that can signal risk.

Love traces how her creative work, including screenwriting, filmmaking, and public storytelling, has become a way of channelling intensity into structure. She discusses her film Eve Parade, an autobiographical project that imagines a community-based, non-police response to a mental health crisis, inspired in part by neighbours who once intervened gently during one of her own episodes. The talk also touches on the real-world tragedies that shaped the film's urgency, and on the responsibility she has taken on as a director working with actors who portray psychological distress on screen.

The presentation includes a screening of Eve Parade and a discussion period with attendees.

This video was made possible by the Research Support Fund.

Rebeccah Love - Psychosis, Civic Responsibility And The Imagination Independent filmmaker Rebeccah Love shares her personal journey wit...

In this talk from the Mental Health on the Prairies conference at Brandon University (April 30, 2026), Dr. Caroline Tait, Associate Professor at the University of Calgary and Metis scholar, presents a deeply affecting account of the life and death of Curtis McKenzie, a First Nations man who died by su***de in federal custody at the age of 27 in 2020.

Drawing on her attendance at the Saskatchewan coroner's public inquest into Curtis's death, her years of volunteer involvement with Straight Up, a frontline gang exit organization in Prince Albert, and her ongoing work with Curtis's family, Dr. Tait traces a life shaped by the foster care system, institutionalization, complex mental illness, and the near-total absence of culturally grounded support. Curtis spent his early life in at least ten foster homes, entered the criminal justice system as a youth, and cycled in and out of federal incarceration for much of his adult life, all while struggling with severe mental health challenges that the system consistently failed to adequately address.

Dr. Tait uses Curtis's story to interrogate a pointed question: have the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action meaningfully reached the people who need them most? She examines the over-representation of Indigenous people in Canadian jails and prisons, the criminalization of social suffering, the political economy that sustains incarceration, and the devastating consequences of placing untrained staff in charge of complex mental health decisions. She also honours Curtis as a person, sharing his original rap lyrics and poetry, which speak with remarkable clarity to pain, hope, and the search for belonging.

This video was made possible through the Research Support Fund.

Caroline Tait - I’m Not From Anywhere In this talk from the Mental Health on the Prairies conference at B...

SEEKING SURVEY PARTICIPANTS: Where are We Now? Rural 2SLGBTQIA+ Individual’s Perspectives on Access to Health Services and Family Supports

You can participate in this study if you self-identify as 2SLGBTQIA+, are age 16 years or older, and live in rural Manitoba.

The purpose of this study is to examine the self-rated physical and mental health and supportive service use/healthcare service use and needs, and experiences of discrimination of 2SLGBTQIA+ persons and families living in rural communities in Manitoba. This research will provide an opportunity to create visibility for rural 2SLGBTQIA+ persons. Examining the physical and mental health of 2SLGBTQIA+ persons living rurally and identifying concerns related to wellbeing and supportive service needs are critical to help inform future policy changes and funding for supports and services to ultimately help improve health, well-being, and quality of life. This study will improve knowledge about the unique needs of 2SLGBTQIA+ rural populations and will assist in the development of services which are affirming and promote diversity and inclusion, to better address the health needs of 2SLGBTQIA+ persons in rural regions. By involving members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, the hope is to have a better understanding of the unique needs and experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ persons in Manitoba and will help to determine recommended changes to healthcare and service providers, policy makers, and service programs to improve equal access, inclusiveness, and cultural sensitivity.

Access the survey by clicking on the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/97TQ2MC

In this keynote from the Mental Health on the Prairies conference at Brandon University (April 30, 2026), Russ Purdy, Executive Director of Beccarian Correctional Care and person in long-term recovery, delivers a candid and deeply personal talk on addiction, mental health, and the transformative power of human connection.

Russ traces his journey from a privileged but emotionally unequipped upbringing in rural Alberta, through a decade-long struggle with alcoholism and co***ne addiction, to a turning point in January 2017 that led him to treatment and a life he describes as "whole." With characteristic self-deprecating humour and radical honesty, he reflects on the shame, the isolation, and the moments of grace that shaped his recovery.

But this is not just a personal story. Russ connects his lived experience to his work on the frontlines of addiction care, running recovery houses, directing a publicly funded treatment program in Estevan in partnership with the Saskatchewan government, and now leading therapeutic living units inside four provincial correctional facilities in Alberta. He speaks candidly about the stigma that pervades healthcare and corrections culture, the systemic barriers that block people from accessing care, and what it actually means to treat people with substance use disorders as human beings.

Drawing on nearly a decade in the field, Russ challenges providers, policymakers, and future practitioners to move beyond siloed, fear-based systems toward genuine collaboration, humility, and recovery-centred care.

Russ Purdy is affiliated with Beccarian Correctional Care (beccariancc.ca). This talk was presented at the Mental Health on the Prairies conference hosted by Brandon University (brandonu.ca/mhp/).

This video was made possible by the Research Support Fund.

https://youtu.be/nxQl3PBEGH0

Russel Purdy - From Recovery to Reform In this keynote from the Mental Health on the Prairies conference a...