UNews - Darren Christensen

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge celebrates International Clinical Trials Day

caroline.zentner — Tue, 23 May 2023 17:55:25 +0000

Back in 1747, James Lind, a surgeon, started a clinical trial with sailors sick with scurvy aboard a Royal Navy ship. He gave them a variety of dietary supplements and saw a remarkable recovery in those who were treated with citrus fruits. Lind’s work not only saved the lives of sailors, but laid the foundation for modern clinical trials.

Today, clinical trials — a type of clinical research that involves voluntary human participants or their blood and tissues — involve interventions such as treatments, procedures, devices or changes to lifestyle. They are used to determine the safety and effectiveness of the intervention. International Clinical Trials Day on May 20 provides the opportunity to recognize the achievements of the clinical research community.

“Clinical trials are essential to the advancement of human health and well-being,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, vice-president research. “Clinical trials help us develop new treatments such as drugs and vaccines, as well as medical devices and procedures. ULethbridge researchers who conduct clinical trials help improve the quality of life for many people.”

While many pre-clinical research trials are conducted at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, many researchers work with human participants.

For example, Dr. Darren Christensen, a Faculty of Health Science professor with expertise in addictions, and a team of researchers are investigating the potential for naltrexone, a drug usually prescribed for people with alcohol or opioid abuse disorders, to treat disordered gambling.

“The results we gather in this study will give us important scientific evidence for an application to Health Canada to introduce the first regulated drug treatment for gambling disorders,” says Christensen.

Dr.Jon Doan and his team conduct research with people living with Parkinson Disease.

In the Department of Kinesiology & Physical Education, Dr. Jon Doan (PhD ’06) and his team have long examined the ability of people living with Parkinson Disease (PD) to retain their skating skills.

“Paradoxically, many people living with PD maintain their skating skills,” says Doan. “A recent clinical trial from our lab combined an ice-skating intervention with stickhandling a hockey puck or ringette ring and found that people living with PD had significantly improved functions in their upper extremities with the intervention.”

Dr. Bonnie Lee, a professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Addiction Studies program, conducted a clinical trial in the provincial health system using Congruence Couple Therapy (CCT), a counselling model that treats the person with addiction and their partner together rather than separately. The results showed that CCT produces significantly better outcomes for clients with alcohol and gambling problems compared to individual treatment.

In the Department of Neuroscience, Dr. Robbin Gibb (BASc (BSc '77, MSc '01, PhD '04)and her team developed the Building Brains Together program to promote play-based activities for children and enhance adult capability around child development. The goal of the program is to improve executive function (EF) and resilience in both children and their families. Originally targeted at preschoolers, the team has recently developed an EF skill-building play program for adolescents that is now being tested in Lethbridge classrooms.

Chase Petruska, second row right, established the Lethbridge Powersoccer Program as a way to help relieve stress for individuals with physical disabilities.

Also in neuroscience, Chase Petruska, a student in Dr. Gerlinde Metz’s lab, is working with individuals with physical disabilities to better understand their personal stresses and mental well-being. This research aims to find areas where individuals with physical disabilities lack proper support and attempt to build resilience via a powerchair soccer intervention.

These are just a few of the many activities where ULethbridge researchers are using clinical trials to make important advances in their fields of study, enhancing the health and well-being of society.

Anyone interested in learning more about clinical trials can visit the Alberta Clinical Research Consortium or Be the Cure.

The Office of Research and Innovation Services also supports the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s research community in the pursuit of external grants and funding and helps them conduct their work with the highest academic, scientific and ethical standards.

AGRI researchers find gambling and problem gambling on the decline, yet troubling numbers still exist

trevor.kenney — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 19:18:02 +0000

Despite more gambling options being available to Canadians, the prevalence of gambling and problem gambling is on the decline throughout the country according to recent Statistics Canada data from the 2018 Canadian Community Health Survey. A recent study out of the Alberta Gambling Research Institute (AGRI) indicates that while these numbers are positive overall, troubling trends still exist.

Dr. Robert Williams says gambling is still quite prevalent, with about 66.2 per cent of the adult population engaging in one or more types of gambling in 2018.

In their study, Gambling and Problem Gambling in Canada in 2018: Prevalence and Changes Since 2002, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Dr. Robert Williams and colleagues, including fellow U of L researchers Rhys Stevens and Drs. Yale Belanger, Carrie Leonard and Darren Christensen, observed a 45 per cent decrease in the overall presence of problem gambling from 2002 through 2018.

“We looked to provide an updated profile of gambling and problem gambling in Canada in 2018 and examine how this profile compares to 2002, the last time gambling and problem gambling had been comprehensively assessed on a national basis,” says Williams. “The relative popularity of the different types of gambling in Canada in 2018 is very similar to 2002 with the main difference being decreased gambling participation in 2018.”

Williams says this is particularly true for electronic gambling machines (EGMs), which saw a 46 per cent participation decrease, and bingo, a 53 per cent decline. In fact, almost all types of gambling except casino table games saw a significant decrease in participation. He speculates the increased popularity of poker drove the enhanced table game numbers. And while online gambling numbers increased, it is still uncommon relative to in-person participation.

“The overall decrease in gambling participation is something that has occurred in most western countries since the early 2000s,” adds Williams. “The overriding thought as to why that’s occurring is due to the novelty having worn off and more people becoming aware of the potential harms of gambling.”

Gambling is still quite prevalent, with about 66.2 per cent of the adult population engaging in one or more types of gambling in 2018. However, the majority of that participation is through the purchase of lottery and raffle tickets.

The intensity of gambling involvement among gamblers is also low, with the large majority only gambling occasionally and engaging in just one or two different types. This pattern is also very similar across provinces.

“One anomaly we did discover is some significant interprovincial variation, with perhaps the most important one being a higher rate of EGM participation in both Manitoba and Saskatchewan,” says Williams.

Overall, Williams says the current level of problem gambling in Canada, despite the expansion of legal gambling opportunities, is among the lowest that has been reported worldwide. There are some troubling numbers though, as commercial gambling revenue per adult has not changed significantly from 2002 to 2018, indicating that revenue per gambler has increased.

“We know that gambling revenue is disproportionately derived from problem gamblers, so these numbers could indicate the expenditure per problem gambler has increased over the years,” he says. “Thus, the lifetime prevalence of problem gambling continues to increase steadily, and, as these gamblers age, marry and have children, there is a much higher prevalence of people who have been harmed by gambling.”

Drs. David Hodgins (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary), Daniel McGrath (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary), Fiona Nicoll (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta) and Nady el-Guebaly (MD, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary) also participated in the study.

This study is part of the AGRI National Project, which is a comprehensive investigation of gambling and problem gambling in Canada, jointly funded by AGRI, the Canadian Consortium for Gambling Research, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, and Gambling Research Exchange Ontario. The main results of this national investigation will be profiled at AGRI’s upcoming virtual conference (Apr. 27-29, 2021).

July 1 marks the start for six new U of L Board of Governors Research Chairs

caroline.zentner — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 16:23:14 +0000

Six diverse scholars will begin their appointments as Board of Governors Research Chairs, highlighting their exceptional work and impacts on their chosen fields of study.

“I am very pleased these individuals are being recognized as the outstanding scholars that they are,” says Dr. Robert Wood, interim vice-president (research). “They reflect the exceptional quality of research being done across the academic disciplines at the U of L and their important work enhances our reputation as one of Canada’s most influential research institutions.”

Dr. Debra Basil, a professor in the Dhillon School of Business, will begin a five-year term as a Tier I Research Chair in Marketing and Management. Her research examines social responsibility with marketing and management, with a focus on the nexus of non-profit and for-profit organizations. She has held several major external grants and her works have been presented in numerous national and international journals and conferences. She is currently completing a book titled Social Marketing in Action: Cases from Around the World.

Also appointed at the Tier I level is Dr. Chris Hopkinson, a professor in the Department of Geography & Environment. He will be the Research Chair in Terrestrial Ecosystem Remote Sensing. Hopkinson founded the ARTeMIS Lab for ecosystem change in 2013, when he joined the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge after working as an Environmental Research Scientist with the Australian Government. With a background in engineering and geography, Hopkinson integrates hydro-meteorological, remote sensing, spatial and temporal data sources to better understand multi-dimensional natural resource and ecosystem process dynamics in cold region environments.

Mary Kavanagh begins a five-year term as a Tier I Research Chair in Fine Arts. Kavanagh is a visual artist and professor in the Department of Art, where she teaches drawing, interdisciplinary studio, spatial art practice and critical theory. For more than 20 years, her work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions in Canada and abroad, and she has consistently contributed to academic forums including publishing, lecturing, conference publications and adjudicating.

Beginning a four-year appointment as a Tier II Research Chair in Addiction is Dr. Darren Christensen, an associate professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences. He researches the etiology, prevention, and treatment of addiction. His research includes developing behavioural treatments for problem gambling, evaluations of the effectiveness of harm minimization measures, and an investigation of regular opioid antagonist dosing on gambling urge and brain function.

Dr. Richard Larouche, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Public Health Program, has been appointed a Tier II Research Chair in Children’s Physical Activity for a four-year term. He joined the Faculty in 2017 after a postdoctoral fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute. His research program revolves around physical activity among children and youth, with special interest in different types of physical activity such as active transportation (e.g., walking and cycling to and from places) and outdoor play. Larouche published his first book in 2018 with Elsevier entitled, Children’s Active Transportation.

Also at the Tier II level, Dr. Jenny McCune has been appointed as Board of Governors Research Chair in Plant Conservation for four years. McCune, a faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences, completed her undergraduate degree at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Guelph and graduate degrees at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Kent in the United Kingdom and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia. Between degrees, she worked as a professional ecologist for an environmental NGO in California and as a biologist for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Prior to joining the U of L, she held a Liber Ero fellowship, which supported her work in the conservation of rare plants in Canada.

New study to offer free online counselling for rural and remote people struggling with gambling disorders

trevor.kenney — Mon, 28 Nov 2016 21:51:16 +0000

For people living in rural communities and experiencing problems with gambling, the support and resources available to help them are often limited. A new ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge study is seeking to help those struggling with a gambling disorder by offering free online counselling.

For people living in rural communities and experiencing problems with gambling, the support and resources available to help them are often limited. Dr. Darren Christensen and his team are bringing free online counselling to those in need as part of a new study.

Dr. Darren Christensen, the Alberta Gambling Research Institute Chair in Gambling and assistant professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences, and his research team (consisting of Dee Ann Benard, executive director, Alberta Rural Development Network, Drs. Chad Witcher, assistant professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Rebecca Hudson-Breen, assistant professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, and Trent Leighton, assistant professor, Faculty of Health Sciences) will test a contingency management approach to treat problematic gambling.

“The idea of contingency management is to compete with the benefits, or the fun, people might derive from gambling,” says Christensen. “One of the aspects that is most difficult about addiction is that you can drink, gamble, get high or have sex, and the reward is immediate. The difficulty in counselling is that the benefits accrue over time.”

Contingency management offers an immediate benefit, or reward, to the client for remaining abstinent.

“It uses our preference for immediacy, except we’re reversing it and providing a reason for participants to remain abstinent and still get something immediately,” says Christensen. “The important issue is that you’ve got to provide people with things that they value as rewards, they have to be meaningful for them and if not, the rewards aren’t sufficiently strong enough to motivate change.”

He says the study is unique on two fronts. Contingency management approaches have been proven effective in substance abuse treatment but have not specifically targeted rural people. Secondly, by bringing counselling into the home via an online approach, it is reaching a segment of the population that is often shut off from counselling resources and support.

“Those in rural and remote communities may find it difficult to access services, so this is an area that’s not currently being addressed,” says Christensen. “Typically, they would need to come to a larger community centre to receive treatment. Also, gamblers often feel shame and a stigma about their gambling problem. They don’t want other people to know, especially family members, about their problem so making counselling available to them in their own homes, where they can talk to someone about their issues is potentially a very effective process.”

Funded by the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse (CRISM) and in cooperation with the Alberta Rural Development Network (ARDN), the study will run for 12 weeks, with participants eligible for three counselling sessions per week. Participants must either use a personal computer that has a video camera or access an available computer from an ARDN affiliate. Following a screening and consent process, participants will be randomized and split into two groups, one which will receive contingency management coupled with counselling, and the other just counselling. In both instances, the counselling is free to the participant.

To participate, contact Dr. Darren Christensen at 403-329-5124 or darren.christensen@uleth.ca.

For more information on the study: https://www.uleth.ca/healthsciences/gambling-counselling-internet.

U of L study seeks to find additional treatment for disordered gambling

caroline.zentner — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 18:01:49 +0000

A ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researcher has launched a study that looks at the addition of contingency management (CM) to standard counselling practices for disordered gambling. CM works by rewarding counselling attendance and abstinence from gambling.

Dr. Darren Christensen, a U of L addictions counselling professor, says contingency management has been used successfully in the treatment of various addictive substances. CM uses motivational incentives, usually vouchers that can be exchanged for retail goods and services, as rewards when a participant performs a target behaviour or withheld when the participant doesn’t perform the behaviour.

“Problem gambling is a significant public health concern in Canada, causing harm to not only the gambler, but to his or her family and society at large,” says Christensen. “New treatment approaches are needed as gamblers often refuse to attend treatment and also have high treatment drop-out rates. This study will help us determine if contingency management will improve the overall effectiveness of treatment for disordered gambling.”

CM is based on the premise that problematic gambling develops in association with the regular but variable nature of gambling wins. The CM treatment uses the same approach to reverse these associations. It appears to be very successful but has only been applied once to problematic gambling. With this study, Christensen hopes to provide more evidence regarding its use as an additional treatment for people with disordered gambling.

Christensen is seeking English-speaking research participants who meet the criteria of a diagnosis of disordered gambling, who are 18 to 75 years old and primarily seeking treatment for disordered gambling. The study requires participants to be involved for 14 weeks. Anyone interested in participating is asked to contact Christensen at 403-329-5124.

Use of innovative couples therapy to be expanded thanks to research grant and partnership with Alberta Health Services

caroline.zentner — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 16:23:15 +0000

A major two-year grant worth $153,000 from the Alberta Gambling Research Institute will allow ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Health Sciences professors, Drs. Bonnie Lee and Darren Christensen, and their team to gauge the effect of a specialized couples counselling model.

Developed by Lee, Congruence Couple Therapy (CCT) has already undergone a pilot randomized trial and proven its efficacy when used with couples where one member has a gambling disorder. Now Lee is excited to evaluate the use of the therapy in partnership with Alberta Health Services (AHS).

“We are intrigued to compare the treatment outcomes using the model for gambling and for alcohol use disorder, which is at least six times more prevalent than gambling disorder,” says Lee.

Dr. Bonnie Lee

Five researchers from the U of L and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta are involved in a research study that will be conducted at four AHS service sites over a two-year period. Researchers are now visiting each community, including Edmonton, Red Deer and Grande Prairie, to familiarize themselves with current operations.

“We’re paying site visits to understand the needs and variations of existing programs because we will be comparing outcomes using the CCT model to the usual treatment,” she says.

Counsellors with AHS will receive training in CCT and couples who volunteer for the study will be randomly assigned to receive either CCT or existing programs. After 12 weeks, treatment outcomes will be assessed by counsellors and the couples involved.

CCT addresses the roots of addiction and the impact of traumatic childhood family experiences that maintain it.

“Addiction is essentially a relationship disorder with breakdown of trust and communication beginning early in life. Those patterns are displayed in how a couple interacts. Healing partners in intimate relationships is a springboard to recovery,” says Lee.

In Lee’s pilot randomized trial, couples said the therapy was life-changing and gave them compassion for each other. They reported CCT helped them understand what lies behind the addiction to avoid blame, better listen and respond to each other, and revive their spirit and sense of worth. The results are less mental distress, improved relationships, often with their children as well, and decreased need for gambling.

“This innovation I’m bringing into the field is a systemic model that allows you to look at the whole package of what feeds into the addiction,” says Lee. “I’m passionate about bringing this conjoint couple therapy format into the field. It could well develop into a way of working with parents and adolescents.”

The research study also gives university researchers the chance to step into the field to interact with AHS service providers and clients themselves. Lee says funding agencies are increasingly seeing the value of collaborations and partnerships that allow researchers and stakeholders to work together. The Canadian Depression Research Network has added another $10,000 to the study to look at the effects of the intervention on depression, which commonly occurs with addiction.

“We hope through this kind of partnership with Alberta Health Services we can speed up the process of adapting scientific knowledge to the health-care system to make it more usable,” says Lee.

UNews - Darren Christensen

��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge celebrates International Clinical Trials Day

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��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge celebrates International Clinical Trials Day