University of Calgary, Department of Oncology

Study Role

• Study Management, Design, Oversight
• Study Publication and Dissemination

Dr. Linda Carlson (Principal Investigator)

Dr. Linda Carlson holds the Enbridge Research Chair in Psychosocial Oncology, is an Alberta Innovates-Health Solutions Health Scholar, Full Professor in Psychosocial Oncology in the Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology. She is the Director of Research and works as a Clinical Psychologist at the Department of Psychosocial Resources at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre.

Dr. Carlson trained as a Clinical Health Psychologist at McGill University in Montreal, researching the area of psychoneuroendocrinology. She worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, sponsored by a Terry Fox Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the National Cancer Institute of Canada/Canadian Cancer Society and subsequently received a Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator award from 2002-2007.

Dr. Carlson received the Kawano New Investigator Award from the International Psycho-Oncology Society in 2006; the William E. Rawls Prize in cancer control from the National Cancer Institute of Canada/Canadian Cancer Society in 2007; a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Psychological Association Health Section in 2009, the inaugural Research Excellence award from the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology in 2010, the Arete Award for Research Excellence from the Department of Oncology at the University of Calgary in 2012, and was shortlisted for the Dr. Rogers Prize in Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2013.

She is a fellow of the Society for Behavioral Medicine and the Mind and Life Institute.

Dr. Carlson’s research in Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery has been published in many high-impact journals and book chapters, and she published a patient manual in 2010 with Michael Speca entitled: Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery: A step-by-step MBSR approach to help you cope with treatment and reclaim your life, in addition to a professional training manual in 2009 with Shauna Shapiro entitled The Art and Science of Mindfulness: Integrating mindfulness into psychology and the helping professions. She has published over 150 research papers and book chapters in the area of psycho-oncology, holds several millions of dollars in grant funding and is regularly invited to present her work at international conferences.

Study Role

• Project Oversight

Dr. Devesh Oberoi (Study Coordinator)

Bio

Dr. Devesh Oberoi is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar in Psychosocial Oncology in the Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary. The fellowship is sponsored through the TRACTION (Training in Research and Clinical Trials in Integrative Oncology) program, a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Initiative. Dr Oberoi completed his early medical training at Manipal University, India followed by a Ph.D. from Curtin University, Australia. He was awarded three highly competitive international scholarships, viz. International Post-Graduate Research Scholarship (IPRS), the Australian Post Graduate Award (APA) and the ‘DATACOM- Strike a chord for cancer’ top up scholarship for his doctoral studies. His doctoral research, a mixed –methods study, focused on the public and behavioral health aspects of cancer, focusing on colorectal cancer in Australian men. Following his Ph.D., Dr. Oberoi worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Behavioral Research in Cancer (Cancer Council Victoria, Australia) on the IMPROVE (Improving Management through Participatory Research in Oncology) study under the mentorship of Professor Victoria White. He has also worked as a Senior Research fellow at the George Institute for Global Health, India. Dr. Oberoi has published his research in several high impact journals. He was won several travel awards and has presented his research in various national and international conferences across Australia, India, Canada and United States. He is currently a member of the American Psychosomatic Association.

He has first hand experience in running observational studies ( cross sectional and longitudinal study designs) as well as intervention based research ( randomized controlled trials). He enjoys managing mid to large scale research projects and health programs, working across inter disciplinary teams , as well as mentoring junior researchers and students. Dr Oberoi’s overarching goal is to unify his passion for research and his experience in program management  to create an environment that facilitates improved population health outcomes.