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September 4, 2019

Posted by Communications and Marketing on September 4, 2019

Below you will find suggested Dalhousie University experts who can speak to current topics of regional, provincial, national and international interest for Wednesday September 4, 2019.

The impact of poor diets
News of a teenage boy going blind after eating a diet of Pringles, fries and white bread has people talking about how to address picky eating habits and the impact of poor diets on our health. Dr. Sara Kirk can provide comment on the impact of poor diets and how to ensure we are filling our kids and ourselves up with healthy nutrient filled foods.

Dalhousie Expert: Dr. Sara Kirk, Professor, School of Health and Human Performance.
Research Specialties: Socio-ecological approaches, population health intervention research, chronic disease prevention, obesity prevention, healthy public policy, weight bias and weight-based teasing.
Contact: sara.kirk@dal.ca and 902-580-5432
Please Note: Dr. Kirk has limited availability for interviews.

Narcissists perceptions of themselves versus reality
A recent study suggests that narcissists have much higher perceptions of their cognitive abilities than what their intellectual performance actually shows. Dr. Simon Sherry can provide comment on narcissists and how their perceptions of themselves reflect their actual cognitive abilities. He can also provide perspective why narcissists often end up in positions of power.

Dalhousie Expert: Dr. Simon Sherry, Professor and Director of Clinical Training, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry.
Research Specialties: Clinical psychology, depression, anxiety, personality, perfectionism, psychopathology, suicide, eating disorders, alcohol problems.
Contact: Simon.Sherry@dal.ca and 902-494-7719/ 902-789-9419.

Research out of Dalhousie

A New Online Behavioural Treatment for Pediatric Sleep Issues in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Up to 90% of Canadian children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) experience insomnia symptoms including trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking too early. Insomnia leads to poor sleep quality and quantity, which can lead to increased challenges with academic, emotional, social, and physical functioning, and can contribute to increased symptom presentation in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Evidence supports the effectiveness of behavioural treatments for insomnia. However, these interventions are not often available to families of children with NDDs. This is why Dr. Penny Corkum and her colleagues have created an online sleep intervention program, called Better Nights, Better Days for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders (BNBD-NDD). BNBD-NDD is an evidence-based, transdiagnostic online program for parents with children ages 4-10 years old with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Cerebral Palsy (CP), and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) that experience insomnia. The BNBD-NDD program can help parents help their children to sleep better so that they can achieve the best academic outcomes.

Dr. Corkum and the BNBD-NDD research team are currently looking for 320 families from across Canada to participate in their research study to evaluate the effectiveness of BNBD-NDD and are available to discuss how these treatments work and why online intervention might be the best option for families. Members of the research team will also be conducting a free Facebook Live public webinar.

Dalhousie Expert: Dr. Penny Corkum, Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience , Department of Psychiatry 
Research Interests: Clinical psychology, school psychology, sleep and childhood psychopathology, neurodevelopmental disorders, psycho-social interventions, eHealth interventions
Contact Information: To set up an interview with Dr. Corkum, please contact Lindsay Savelle at Lindsay.Savelle@dal.ca. Media availability is limited.

 

 


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