By Anne Craig, Communications Officer

Queen's University's Department of Psychiatry and Providence Care, a leading provider of mental health care in southern Ontario, have been granted Accredited Clinical Research Centre status by the Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT).

The accreditation was awarded to the clinical research site based on the research center’s program strength and caliber of the research team.

Dr. Roumen Milev

“This accreditation acknowledges the good work done at the site,” says Roumen Milev, head of the Department of Psychiatry. “We have a strong team and this type of recognition rewards us for our research. We have been working for many years on multi-site trials, working with teams of researchers right across Canada and internationally to help people living with various psychiatric disorders.”

One of most exciting new developments is the research center's participation in the large CAN-BIND study, investigating biomarkers that predict treatment response across a broad range of interventions in depression.

CANMAT is a not-for-profit research organization linking healthcare professionals from across Canada who have an interest in mood and anxiety disorders. It was established in 1995 and is one of the main organizations involved in clinical practice guidelines and policy development in Canada. The goal of CANMAT is to improve the quality of life of persons suffering from mood and anxiety disorders.

Dr. Milev is actively involved in research and education in the field of mood disorders, including creating guidelines for the management of patients with bipolar disorders and depression.