Our Mission

In the Taylor Lab, we are motivated to understand, learn, and support our participants, their families, and their mental health goals. We conduct rigorous science to advance this mission, while aiming to foster a safe environment of intellectual curiosity, collaboration, equity, and inclusivity, rejecting any form of discrimination.

Meet the Team

Dr. Valerie Taylor MD, PhD, FRCP

Dr. Valerie Taylor is a Professor and the Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Calgary. She completed a Bachelors of Medical Science and graduated from medical school at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She subsequently completely her residency training in Psychiatry and a PhD in Medical Science and two research fellowships from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, an Improving and Driving Excellence across Sectors (IDEAS) Ontario certification in Quality Improvement, a certificate from the Mental Health Commission of Canada for their Promotion of Activated Research and Knowledge (SPARK) Training Program, a Rotman Advanced Health Leadership diploma and a certificate from the Haskayne School of Business as part of their inaugural “ financial feminist” cohort. Prior to coming to Calgary, she was the chief of Psychiatry at Women’s College Hospital and the chief of Adult Health Services at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health and lead of the division of Equity, Gender and Population at the University of Toronto.

Her academic focus has been on the area of medical psychiatry, especially the interplay of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease and mental illness. For the last 5 year, she has also worked on the gut brain axis and the area of the gut microbiome. She is one of the only funded researcher examining the therapeutic effects of fecal transplant as a treatment for mental illness and she currently has 4 novel clinical trials looking at modifying the gut microbiome to treat mood disorders and runs the largest biological neuroscience microbiome repository in North America. She has over 180 peer reviewed publications and funding from a variety of national and international funding agencies.

Contact Dr. Taylor

Asem Bala

Senior Clinical Research Associate

Asem Bala is the Clinical Research Team Lead and Project Manager at Taylor Lab. He's an experienced clinical research professional with extensive experience in research design, clinical trial management and regulatory compliance. For the last 13 years, he has devoted his career to mental health research, and specifically to studying the role of gut microbiome in mental illness.
Asem holds a Master’s degree in Orthodontics, a Post Graduate Certificate in Clinical Research, and is a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP).n text goes here

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Stefanie Hassel

Research Manager

Dr. Stefanie Hassel is the Research Manager for the Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression’s (CAN-BIND) Imaging Platform and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Dept of Psychiatry at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. CAN-BIND is a national research program that is dedicated towards shortening the path from depression diagnosis towards effective treatment. She is an internationally trained and experienced cognitive neuroscientist with extensive experience in the acquisition, processing and analyses of fMRI data of patients with psychiatric illnesses, as well as a proficient project manager, with expertise in planning, organizing and monitoring numerous cross-functional, single- and multi-site projects. In addition to a PhD in Applied Psychology and Neuroscience, Dr. Hassel has certifications in Business Management, specializing in Strategic Management, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning & Teaching in Higher Education.

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Mashael Hussain

Clinical Research Assistant

Mashael is currently in her internal medicine residency at the University of Calgary. She completed her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree at Bahria University, Pakistan, in 2018. She has extensive experience in Emergency Medicine research. She is a team player and is always ready to overcome difficulties both within a team and independently. She is passionate about mental health awareness and enjoys her role at Taylor’s lab. She aims to find more effective and efficient ways to treat mental health conditions.

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Rania Kataya

Clinical Research Assistant

Prior to joining the University of Calgary, Rania completed her post-graduate degree in Health Service and Information Management at Ryerson University (Metropolitan). Her interest in clinical research started during her residency years and while working on her Master’s degree program. she has extensive knowledge about health care policies and regulation and research methodology and managements.
Rania is currently working on the Optimum-D (CAN-BIND17) neuroimaging multi-site study that is conducted in association with the Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression. She is also part of the team working on the ORBIT BIOBANK study.

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Vivek Kumar

Clinical Research Coordinator

Vivek is a health research professional with a background in clinical medicine and public health. His prior research experience include studies on metabolic syndrome/ emergency medicine at the University of Florida, and sleep medicine/Anesthesia at the University Health Network. He has also worked as a public health professional and emergency physician in India. Working in the ER inclined him towards improving mental health conditions and the overall quality of life of an individual. Vivek joined the lab with an interest in psychosomatic medicine and is currently coordinating the trial of fecal microbiome transplantation in depression. His research interests include global mental health and addictions, public safety and health services research.

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Jennifer Kemp

Clinical Research Assistant

Jennifer is currently obtaining her MSc in neuroscience at the University of Calgary, where she studies adolescent’s brain structure who are at high-risk for developing a mood disorder. She is interested in expanding her field of expertise and is now working as a research assistant on the IMAGINE study, exploring the use of fecal microbiota transplantation to treat major depression and irritable bowel syndrome. When not in the lab, you can find Jennifer in the mountains or on a board behind a boat.

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April Saleem

MSc Student

April is currently completing her MSc in Pathology and Molecular Medicine at Queen’s University under the supervision of Dr. Taylor and Dr. Sheth. Her research investigates the relationship between the gut microbiota and mood disorders such as bipolar disorder and depression with a focus on novel microbial therapeutics. When she’s not in the lab, April enjoys learning ballet (even though she has two left feet) and being outdoors bird watching (despite being afraid of birds).

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Dina Moinul

MPH Student

Dina is currently completing her MPH in Global Health at New York University. She has been actively involved with the Taylor Lab since her undergraduate years at UofC. Her projects utilized knowledge translation and explored patient's perceptions of microbiome-based therapies as novel treatments for mood disorders focusing on Major Depressive and Bipolar Disorder. Outside of the lab, Dina enjoys cooking, watching movies and Bollywood dancing!

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Amit Kang

Undergraduate Student/Researcher

Amit is entering the third year of his bachelor's of science in psychology at the U of C, and is currently an undergraduate researcher at the Taylor lab. Amit is interested in novel therapies that can be effective in addressing treatment-resistant psychiatric conditions, which is what brought him to the Taylor lab. Outside of the lab, Amit is an avid runner and hiker.

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Manpreet Kaur

Clinical Research Assistant

Manpreet completed her MSc in Neuroscience from University of Calgary where she studied how diet induced obesity affects neuroinflammation in OFC (orbitofrontal cortex) which leads to cognitive decline. She worked as research assistant in diverse labs at University of Calgary and is currently working as a part time research coordinator. She is working as a volunteer researcher in ORBIT biobank exploring the role of gut microbiota and mental health. Outside of lab, Manpreet enjoys hiking and camping in mountains and spending time with family.