Homewood Research Institute (HRI) is pleased to announce that Dr. Jean Costello has accepted the position of Director of Research and Evaluation.
Dr. Costello joined HRI in 2014 as a Research and Evaluation Scientist and most recently served as HRI’s Director of Evaluation. She works closely with program administrators, clinicians, and researchers to identify research and evaluation needs as they relate to mental health and substance use health treatment. She has also led the Recovery Journey Project, a longitudinal project that collects, evaluates, and reports on recovery-oriented outcomes from people who have received treatment for addictions and mental illness. This work is now evolving into a broader effort to build out progress and outcome monitoring systems in treatment sites across Ontario and beyond.
As Director of Research and Evaluation, Dr. Costello’s leadership role will expand to include oversight of HRI’s programs of applied research in alignment with the Institute’s strategic priorities. She will support the advancement of collaborative research partnerships, lead the development of research infrastructure, and oversee applied research projects, grants, and knowledge translation activities.
“I am delighted to have Dr. Costello working closely with me in her new role as Director of Research and Evaluation,” says Dr. Sidney Kennedy, Executive Director of HRI. “Jean brings a tremendous breadth of knowledge about the history of HRI, and her work on outcome monitoring has been a major contribution to both HRI and its primary research partner and founding funder, Homewood Health.”
The realization of this new position marks an important milestone in HRI becoming a national leader in mental health and addictions research and evaluation. As HRI moves into a new phase of strategic planning, strong oversight of the Institute’s research and evaluation infrastructure will be foundational to fulfilling strategic directions and priorities.
“I’m both honored and excited to take on this new role!” says Dr. Costello. “We are in an exciting phase of growth at HRI and I’m looking forward to working closely with our scientists and research partners to further HRI’s impact through research, evaluation, and knowledge translation.”