TMU researchers, including Sarah Dermody, secure more than $4.8M in CIHR Project Grant funding

Psychology professor and HOPE faculty member Sarah Dermody, was a part of a group of three other TMU researchers who received over $4.8 million combined from the Canadian Institute of Health Research.

Sarah Dermody specifically received funding for Developing a Tailored Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Model to Explain Alcohol and Other Drug Outcomes among Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth who Drink  a research study intended to better understand alcohol and other drug use among transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) youth. TGD youth face discrimination, victimization, and stress, which can negatively affect their mental health and increase substance use as a coping strategy. Researchers will work directly with TGD youth to learn about their experiences with alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis. Using brief phone surveys and youth-created short videos, the project will highlight what leads up to substance use, what happens during use, and what the impacts are afterward. The goal is to use these insights to improve supports, services, and policies that promote the health and well-being of TGD youth in our communities.