PEAK Champions
We are actively listening and engaging with patients of all ages, lived-experience champions, researchers, students, partner organizations and collaborators around the world to create better solutions.
PEAK Team
A rainbow of ideas, perspectives and backgrounds creates a stronger, more creative, and more supportive environment. Our lab is committed to enhancing and supporting diversity, equity and inclusion, and demonstrate this commitment in our academic work, clinical training, and research. It is pride in our work, passion and a shared commitment to good work that binds us together.
Dr. Melanie Noel (She/Her)
Professor, University of Calgary, Team Lead PEAK Research Lab
Melanie Noel, PhD, RPsych is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary and a Full Member of the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute and the Hotchkiss Brain Institute. She directs the PEAK (Pain Education, Advocacy, Knowledge) Research Lab within the Vi Riddell Pain & Rehabilitation Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Canada.
Five of Melanie's PEAK Interests:
1. Bike rides along the river
2. Culinary adventures
3. Global travel
4. Getting lost in farmers markets
5. Forest, Mountain, Ocean Trifectas
Safira Dharsee
Research Assistant
Safira grew up in Calgary and is in the last year of completing her Bachelor’s in Psychology at the University of Calgary. She is passionate about exploring how physical health affects psychological well-being, especially in children. Safira will be completing her Honours thesis this fall, investigating sleep, pain, and headache in pediatric mild traumatic brain injury.
Five of Safira’s PEAK Interests:
1. Baking up a storm!
2. Experimenting with cooking recipes
3. Spending quality time with close friends
4. Getting lost in a good book
5. Exploring new places
Jaimie Beveridge (She/Her)
PhD Student
Jaimie is a PhD Candidate in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Calgary. Her research examines the connections between adversity, chronic pain, and mental health in parents and their children. She hopes to identify both risk and resiliency factors that can be addressed in interventions to improve the outcomes of families living with chronic pain
Five of Jaimie’s PEAK Interests:
1. Catching up with friends over delicious food and drinks
2. Biking the river pathway
3. Plants, plants, and more plants
4. Visiting family (+ the ocean) in Victoria
5. Watching baseball - go Blue Jays!
Atiqa Pirwani
MSc Student
Atiqa moved to Calgary to pursue graduate school in Clinical Psychology, under the supervision of Dr. Noel. Atiqa is interested in understanding the relationship between mild traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, and mental health. She is particularly interested in examining how different moderators affect the transition from acute to chronic pain in mTBI.
Five of Atiqa’s PEAK Interests:
1. Hiking
2. Going on an adventure with a good book
3. Traveling
4. Spending quality time with friends and family
5. Exploring bookstores
Kailey Penner
MSc Student
Kailey grew up in Winnipeg and completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology degree at the University of Manitoba in 2021. She is moving to Calgary to pursue her career goal of becoming a clinical psychologist. She has strong interests in child and family mental health and how this is related to pain.
Five of Kailey's PEAK Interests:
1. Spending time with her dog Sparky
2. Watching The Bachelor with her mom
3. Reviewing Movies on Letterboxd
4. Travelling the globe
5. Trying new restaurants, cafés, bakeries
Merek Zimmerman (He/Him)
Research Coordinator
As a person with lived experience dealing with chronic pain in his childhood, Merek has a great interest in learning more about how psychology and pain come together, and using this knowledge to help others struggling with pain. Merek began as a volunteer, and has completed a summer studentship and honours thesis under Dr. Noel, with hopes of continuing on to the clinical psychology program.
Five of Merek’s PEAK Interests:
1. Watching movies from around the world
2. Cooking for my family
3. Camping, hiking, and enjoying the outdoors
4. Watching bad reality TV
5. All things basketball
Dr. Perri Tutelman (She/Her)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Tutelman is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Departments of Oncology and Psychology at the University of Calgary. Her research expertise is centered at the intersection of psychosocial oncology, pain, and mental health. Dr. Tutelman’s doctoral research at Dalhousie University was focused on examining the relationship between pain and fear of cancer recurrence in survivors of childhood cancer. Her work has been recognized nationally and internationally, including by the World Health Organization as evidence on the burden of cancer-related chronic pain in children. As a clinician-scientist, Dr. Tutelman also provides clinical care to children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer through Cancer Care Alberta. Dr. Tutelman is co-supervised by Dr. Fiona Schulte and Dr. Melanie Noel.
Five of Perri's PEAK Interests:
1. Mountain day trips
2. Trying new recipes
3. Anything on the water
4. Franklin the Yorkie
5. Curling up with a good book
Tatiana Lund (She/Her)
PhD Student
Tatiana is a PhD Candidate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary. Tatiana’s research interests surround how chronic and acute pain narratives are co-constructed between parents and children across early childhood and into adolescence. Tatiana is passionate about pediatric psychology and investigating ways to promote children’s physical and mental health. Her previous research experience explored children’s cognitive and language development. Tatiana remains interested in cognitive factors involved in children’s development and how shared language regarding painful experiences can serve as a context within which to study children’s broader social and emotional development.
Five of Tatiana’s PEAK Interests:
1. Hiking in the mountains
2. Dogs and puppies
3. Singing and live music
4. Trying new food
5. Travelling to new places
Queenie Li (She/Her)
MSc Student
Queenie is passionate about finding ways that we can live better together. She believes a key to achieving thriving communities is to support those in the most vulnerable positions, including children and marginalized individuals. As such, her breadth of research experience in psychology, public health, and education is connected by a focus on advocacy and justice.
Five of Queenie's PEAK Interests:
1. Creative non-fiction
2. Broadway HIIT workouts
3. Crosswords
4. Thrifting
5. Reality TV recaps
Sean Lindsay (He/Him)
Honours Student
Prior to returning to UCalgary to complete an after degree in psychology, he spent 10 years working in video and documentary production and discovered that the greatest satisfaction in this work came from listening and supporting others who wanted to share their stories. Media narratives and their influences on our thoughts, behaviours and emotions have long been an interest of his. Sean now plans to combine his previous educational background–a BA in English and MA in Film Studies–with his current field to examine how popular film and television productions shape our understanding of the subjective experiences of neurodiverse youth.
Everyone is welcome — regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, size, language, national origin, race, religion, culture, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.