Explore the many ways health matters at Concordia’s 4TH SPACE
Concordia researchers are converging on 4TH SPACE until October 17 to share their findings on top practices to help us lead healthier lives.
Health Matters spans a range of topics under the banners of Creative Arts Therapies and Innovation in Health.
Creative Arts Therapies
The Creative Arts Therapies programming component is led by Guylaine Vaillancourt, associate professor and chair of the Department of Creative Arts Therapies.
The events will help visitors better understand the therapeutic values of creative and performing arts in maintaining, improving or restoring physical, psychological, cognitive and social abilities.
Faculty and researchers in the field of creative arts therapies will be on hand to share and explain their work.
In addition to permanent display zones, upcoming events include Music Therapy Day on September 25 and Drama Therapy Day on September 26.
Concordia’s Arts in Health Research Collective helped organize the programming, which is presented with the support of the university’s Health Initiative.
Photo by James Roach
Innovations in Health
Researchers will drop by 4TH SPACE to share their exciting research being conducted at many different labs on the Sir George Williams and Loyola campuses.
Their research areas of inquiry include communication technologies, clinical psychology, computer science and engineering as they apply to improving health through both prevention and treatment. See the full schedule of events.
5 labs on display as part of Innovations in Health
Be sure to drop by the following labs from September 30 to October 17:
- Applied Perception Lab – Marta Kersten-Oertel, assistant professor, computer science and software engineering
- Cardiovascular Fluid Dynamics – Lyes Kadem, director, Cardiovascular Fluid Dynamics Lab
- Behavioural Medicine – Simon Bacon, CIHR SPOR chair in innovative, patient-oriented, behavioural clinical trials
- Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders Lab – Adam Radomsky, director, Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders Laboratory
- Media Health – Najmeh Khalili-Mahani, neuroscientist, Media Health Lab and Concordia’s PERFORM Centre
Sowing the seeds of change
Don’t miss Damon Matthews’ Climate Clock on display for the climate march. On the eve of the September 27 march, a panel will convene at 4TH SPACE to discuss the transformation of food systems.
Concordia researchers, community practitioners, student groups and urban farmers will give short presentations on their research and how their insights can lead to better food practices as part of Sowing the seeds of change. A public discussion and networking event will follow. The event begins on September 26 at 4:30 p.m.
Mental health: from the laboratory to the clinic
Adam Radomsky is a professor of psychology in Concordia’s Faculty of Arts and Science and director of the Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders Laboratory. He and postdoctoral fellows Martha Giraldo O’Meara and Shiu (Kelvin) Wong apply new and unorthodox approaches to altering psychological variables in order to measure their impact on fear and anxiety disorders.
Drop by 4TH SPACE on September 30 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a hands-on demonstration of how their work is helping to treat anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder and improve treatment outcomes of cognitive behavioural therapy.
Play the pain
As part of the display zones, visitors are invited to engage with the media spa that runs until October 17. Learn how communication and information technology can be used to alleviate certain health concerns.
Play the Pain is an upcoming two-day program that runs on October 1 and 2.
Khalili-Mahani is the lead scientist behind Play the Pain, which is a gamified version of a pain diary. It enables chronic pain patients to actively participate in researching their own discomfort by tracking and evaluating their emotions and sensations and then presenting them with non-pharmacological treatment options.
Public Scholars Showcase
On October, 3, Concordia’s 2019 public scholars Naghmeh Bandari, Heather Herriot, Amir Molaei and 2018 public scholar Milan Valyear will discuss their latest health-related research. Their topics range from innovations in surgical robots to pathways to successful aging.
Health Talks: Accelerating health: what’s technology’s role
Health Talks brings together graduate students and faculty from six labs to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue about preventive health and technology. Their research spans a range of topics, from the possibilities of synthetic biology to the contributions of engineering to cardiology.
Speakers include:
- Muthukumaran Packirisamy, Concordia Institute of Aerospace Design and Innovation;
- Bahareh Behboodi, graduate student, IMPACT Lab: Image Processing and Characterization of Tissue
- Lyes Kadem, director, Cardiovascular Fluid Dynamics Lab
- Brittany Intzandt, graduate student, Vascular Imaging Lab
- Thien Thanh Dang-Vu, Concordia University Research Chair in Sleep, Neuroimaging and Cognitive Health
- Kathy Mu, graduate student, International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition team
Visit the 4TH SPACE website to learn more about the upcoming Creative Arts Therapies and Innovations in Health programs at Concordia.
