Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to page-level navigation Go to the Disability Resource Centre Website Go to the DRC Booking Accommodation Portal Go to the Inclusive Technology Lab Website
The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia Okanagan campus
UBC Okanagan News
  • Research
  • People
    • Student Profile
    • Faculty Profile
    • Alumni Spotlight
  • Campus Life
    • Campus News
    • Student Life
    • Teaching & Learning
  • Community Engagement
  • About the Collection
    • Stories for Media
  • UBCO Events
  • Search All Stories
Home / 2017 / September / 29 / UBC experts commit to mental health research
Research

UBC experts commit to mental health research

September 29, 2017

October 1 to 7 is Mental Illness Awareness Week across Canada

More than six million Canadians suffer from a mental illness. As Canadians reflect on how best to accommodate this ever-growing demographic during Mental Illness Awareness Week (October 1 to 7), researchers at UBC Okanagan are investigating the potential causes and its management.

  • Dr. Charlotte Jones is studying the connection between hearing loss in seniors and their health-related quality of life. She has noted that hearing loss can lead to social isolation, depression, incident dementia, cognitive deterioration and a decline in functional fitness.
  • Associate Prof. Andis Klegeris is exploring the link between inflammation and the loss of brain cell function (degeneration), which may occur during illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. His findings suggest that factors such as exercise, which reduce peripheral inflammatory responses, may delay onset of some of these illnesses.
  • Associate Prof. Lesley Lutes is examining the interplay between physical and mental health and how behaviour change treatments programs (e.g. weight loss and diabetes management) will only take hold if the associated mental or physical health condition is also treated. In two recent large-scale clinical trials, she found that if individuals had severe pain, binge eating or feelings of distress related to their chronic condition, they were unable to benefit from the intervention.

Media Contact

Christine Zeindler
Communications Specialist
University Relations

The University of British Columbia
Okanagan campus
Tel: 250 807 8470
E-mail: christine.zeindler@ubc.ca

Content type: Media Advisory
More content from: Irving K Barber School of Arts and Sciences (prior July 2020), Southern Medical Program

Trending Stories

  • Reimagining the PhD
  • Propelling artificial intelligence to new heights
  • Why don’t we eat turkey eggs?
  • How the arts can help us live with climate ...
  • UBCO faculty members to voice concern at Columbia River ...
All Stories
Contact Media Relations

About UBC Okanagan

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose traditional, ancestral and unceded territory the campus resides. The most established and influential global rankings all consistently place UBC in the top five per cent of universities in the world, and among the top three Canadian universities.

The Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

Discover more about UBC Okanagan

Find a Program Admissions Book a Tour UBCO Facts
UBC Okanagan Campus News, University Relations

Innovation Precinct Annexation 1 (IA1)
3505 Spectrum Court
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 2Z1

We respectfully acknowledge the Syilx Okanagan Nation and their peoples, in whose traditional, ancestral, unceded territory UBC Okanagan is situated.

 

Search all stories

Subscribe to receive news by email

Visit UBC's Vancouver news room

Global and Admin Messages

News

Okanagan Campus

TikTok icon Linkedin icon

UBC Okanagan News
Okanagan Campus
3333 University Way
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 1V7
Find us on
  
Back to top
The University of British Columbia
  • Emergency Procedures |
  • Terms of Use |
  • Copyright |
  • Accessibility