IPOS News

Dr. Valentina Ogaryan is a licensed clinical psychologist as well as the Clinical Director at the UCLA Simms Mann Center for Integrative Oncology. In her role, she oversees clinical programming as well as the clinical staff providing psychosocial care to patients and families impacted by a cancer diagnosis. Dr. Ogaryan teaches, trains and supervises advanced doctoral interns and students while overseeing the multidisciplinary training program. Dr. Ogaryan has received extensive training in building resilience in healthcare providers, and is passionate about the role of self-care in health care professionals. Dr. Ogaryan is involved in various mental health initiatives supporting Armenia and is passionate about providing culturally congruent care in medical settings. Dr. Ogaryan is also a team member of The UCLA Promise Armenian Institute, a hub for world-class research and teaching on Armenian studies, and for coordinating research and public impact programs across UCLA and with the Republic of Armenia and the diaspora.

Fun facts: This is my first year as a member of IPOS, and I am eager to attend IPOS 2024 World Congress in the Netherlands! I look forward with great excitement to meet colleagues and learn from experts around the world! On a lighter note, in my free time, I enjoy spending time with family, baking, traveling and getting lost in museums.

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Dr Foluke Sarimiye is a clinical lecturer of Radiation/Clinical oncology, and a Psycho-Oncologist at the University of Ibadan and University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Her expertise and research high lights the importance of reducing cancer health disparities, cancer control, community oncology programs and psychosocial issues associated with cancer, from diagnosis to survivorship or end of life.

She serves as an executive council and board member of some associations such as Psycho Oncology Society of Nigeria (POSON); Association of Radiation and Clinical Oncologists of Nigeria (ARCON); Patela Care Foundation, Committee member IPOS ECPP.

Foluke is a recipient of awards such as: Rotary Club International meritorious service award; Research grant award winner for Pilot Project on Implementation and Dissemination Science, African Behavioral Research Center, and National Cancer; ERASMUS+ Education and Training Grant for Non-Communicable Diseases in Africa; OncoDaily 2024 Prestigious Yvonne Award in Community Oncology.

Foluke's passion and pursuit are to serve, positively impact humanity, acquire knowledge, add to existing knowledge through research and pass the baton of virtues, knowledge, and skills she has acquired to younger colleagues.

Foluke enjoys reading, listening to music, humanitarian services, art, culture, poetry, maxims, history, traveling, tourism, and interior designing.

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Zahra is responsible for the implementation of the Distress Assessment & Response Tool (DART) at The Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. She has tailored DART for use in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), with a specific focus on Kenya. Zahra has translated and culturally adapted DART into Swahili to ensure its relevance to the Kenyan population. Furthermore, she has successfully integrated DART into Meditech, the AKU Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, and has undergone training in Managing Cancer and Living Meaningful (CALM) intervention. Currently, she is working towards certification in Genetic Counseling as part of the AKU-MedGenome partnership. Zahra's primary role involves investigating the bidirectional relationship between mental health and cancer.

Interesting fact - I have a talent for unintentionally killing succulents and cactuses all the time!

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Dr Hu focuses on the health management of female cancer survivors. Her studies apply digital-humanitarian intersection methodology to support breast cancer survivors and their primary caregivers, to address the diversity need of women, especially for underserved females.

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IPOS MEMBERS ONLY!

IPOS has recently established an Implementation SIG Special Interest Group.

Translating psycho-oncology research results into the cancer clinic is a challenge worldwide. We would thus like to invite all IPOS members who are interested in working together on implementation and implementation science in joining our new special interest group - the Implementation SIG.

We will have two yearly virtual meetings to focus on activities such as:

• Sharing best practices
• Exchanging ideas
• Establishing new research collaborations.

Registration is FREE to IPOS members, and IPOS membership is required.

Please complete a simple form to register your interest – go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ImplementationSIG.

Best wishes,

Pernille Envold Bidstrup (Co-Chair 2023 – 2025) – Denmark
Carmen Loiselle (Co-Chair 2023 – 2025) – Canada

Read the Implementation SIG Terms of Reference.

I started my career as a psychologist in 2018.
2019 - volunteer psycho-oncologist at the Kyiv Children's Cancer Center,
2021 - psycho-oncologist at the Varta Clinic.
2021 - member of the International Psycho-Oncology Society
2021-2023 - leader of support groups of the NGO "National Center for Providing Psychological Assistance to People in Grief and Bereavement".
2022-2023 - leader of support groups for Ukrainian war survivors and refugees
from 2023 – leader of support groups for cancer survivors,
2024 – member of the American Psychological Association (APA)
The theme of my PhD thesis is "Media-psychological rehabilitation of women with fear of repeating traumatic events in conditions of social crisis". I'm researching the fear of cancer recurrence.
I am interested in neuroscience and philosophy.
I am military retired. I like painting and traveling.

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Omar Munoz Abraham was born and raised in Mexico. He later moved to the United States to complete his psychiatry residency at University of Miami. During his PGY-4 year, he served as Administrative Chief Resident, which enhanced his leadership and academic skills. His interest in Consultation-Liaison grew during his training, leading him to Brigham and Women’s/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School fellowship program under the Psycho-oncology track. His professional passions include psycho-oncology, palliative care, transplant psychiatry, and neuropsychiatry. He has presented at IPOS and is a member since 2022 and plans to continue his involvement with the society.  

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I am Jisha Abraham, working in the field of Psycho-oncology for 10 years after completing my M. Phil in Psycho-oncology. Currently I am working in Malabar Cancer Centre –PGIOSR for the last 7 years. The Division of Psycho-oncology in this centre work with patients of all socio economic status, from children to older adults and from prevention to survivorship and palliation. We conduct conferences, workshops, training and webinars interdepartmentally and for other mental health professionals nationwide to improve their knowledge and skills.

Personally my special interests are in neuro-cognitive aspects of the cancer patients, dealing with Adolescents and Young Adults cancer patients and caregivers, and Survivorship. I am passionate about managing the emotional concerns of a patient for a meaningful life during and after cancer. Also, I love teaching the art of psycho-oncology management to the budding psycho-oncologists and mental health professionals.

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My name is Negin Dorri, and I am a health psychology researcher, a part-time lecturer, and a licensed health psychologist in Iran. Since 2016, I have dedicated myself to working with individuals diagnosed with cancer and cardiovascular diseases and their informal caregivers. My studies focus on chronic disease prevention and contributing to initiatives that enhance evidence-based behavioral interventions toward empowering patients and family members, emphasizing the science of diversity. I am a ‘keyword’ collector, and when it comes to teaching, I often only highlight the core concepts, especially within the context of Culture and Health, enabling students to formulate their understanding and find their unique meaning of how culture could potentially have an impact on one’s health and treatment outcomes. Outside the classroom and my research endeavors, I still find so much joy in watching cartoons, wearing a hoodie (playing no favorites), and enjoying chocolate chip mint ice cream. As I continue my learning journey, I’m pleased and thrilled to be a part of the International Psycho-Oncology Society and look forward to making meaningful contributions.

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The Department and the team

We are recruiting a Clinical Academic Psychiatry Fellow for the 2025-26 academic year. This opportunity is available through the research-intensive Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Rehabilitation within the future Arthur JE Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Cancer Care Alberta (CCA) and the Division of Psychosocial Oncology, Department of Oncology in the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. Psychosocial Oncology services in CCA are provided by a team of transdisciplinary professionals dedicated to enhancing quality of life and addressing culturally sensitive psychosocial and psychiatric issues of individuals affected by cancer and their family members The team provides expert mental health care across the trajectory of cancer care, from diagnosis, through oncologic treatment, throughout survivorship, and for individuals obtaining non-curative treatment. The Department of Psychosocial Oncology provides clinical assessment and intervention in individual, couples, family, and group modalities within a rich team environment and is a leader in world-class research. Please see the Cancer Care Alberta website for service-related information: https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/cancer/cancer.aspx

Fellowship Description

We are offering the Psychiatric Psychosocial Oncology Fellowship at the Arthur JE Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre for a final year psychiatry resident or a licenced psychiatrist looking for specialization in Psychiatric Oncology. Our team of psychiatrists practice from a biopsychosocial perspective and have opportunities for specialized interventions including consultation, complex psychopharmacology practice, individual and group psychotherapies, research, and education. The Fellow will work closely with interdisciplinary teams, building professional networks in oncology, and potentially providing supervision and/or education for medical students, psychiatry residents, and interdisciplinary learners. We continue to work towards integrating a greater understanding of how best to enhance cultural humility and care for minoritized groups.

Educational Objectives:

At the end of training, the psychosocial oncology fellow will be able to:

• Provide in- and out-patient culturally sensitive psychiatry consultation and psychiatric care of patients with cancer and their primary caregivers.
• Demonstrate effective collaborative care with oncology and psychosocial clinicians for patients with cancer at all stages of their disease trajectory.
• Provide effective psychopharmacological treatments attentive to treatments for medical co-morbidities for patients with cancer
• Develop communication expertise in addressing the psychosocial concerns of advanced cancer patients obtaining non-curative treatments for cancer and their primary caregivers.
• Convey familiarity with the psychosocial oncology literature regarding models of psychosocial care. Identify and develop a research or curriculum project to address in a year.

Research or Education Project

The fellow will have 30% of their time protected for research and/or education. There are numerous opportunities to work in transdisciplinary research teams with supervision of an independent project. Potential areas of research related to cancer care may include mood disorders, cancer related fatigue, trauma presentations related to cancer experiences, consultation-liaison psychiatry with specific cancer-related considerations, psychiatric aspects of palliative care for individuals and their families with metastatic cancer and development or implementation of evidence-based therapeutic interventions.

Ongoing research includes interventions for individuals with cancer such as the Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM), Fear of cancer Recurrence Therapy (FORT), mindfulness-based interventions, and digital story telling group interventions, psychedelic treatments and/or psychedelic assisted therapies. Opportunities to develop innovative education curricula include seminars for psychiatry and palliative care residents and medical students in consultation- liaison psychiatry with a focus on cancer care and palliative care; psychotherapy interventions for individuals with cancer and their family members.

Research mentorship and guidance is provided within the research-intensive Division of Psychosocial Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Calgary and the Department of Psychiatry, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary.

The primary supervisor will be Dr. Janet de Groot, MD, FRCPC, MSc. Additional supervisors will be available based on the fellow’s areas of interest. Remuneration is consistent with PARA rates for Oncology Fellows, currently at provincial rates for a PGY6 year.

Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Dr. de Groot ([email protected]) and Dr. Andrea Feldstain, Psychosocial Oncology Education Lead ([email protected]). Please send a current curriculum vitae and a cover letter conveying your interests and career directions.

Deadline for submission: May 15, 2024.

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