
Margaret McKinnon, PhD, C Psych
Homewood Chair in Mental Health and Trauma
Professor and Associate Chair, Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University
Research Lead, Mental Health and Addictions, St Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
Dr. Margaret McKinnon serves as the Homewood Research Chair in Mental Health and Trauma and as Professor and Associate Chair, Research in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University. She is also the Research Lead in Mental Health and Addictions at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and a Senior Scientist at Homewood Research Institute.
Dr. McKinnon completed her PhD in Psychology at the University of Toronto, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at the internationally renowned Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Centre. She is an elected Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association and is dually licensed as a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist.
Dr. McKinnon is known for her work characterizing trauma-related illness and PTSD among military members, Veterans, first responders, and survivors of childhood abuse and trauma. She is also involved in the development and testing of novel treatment interventions aimed at often-unexplored aspects of PTSD and trauma, including guilt and shame, moral injury, dissociation, and cognitive dysfunction.
Dr. McKinnon serves as the Chair of the federally funded PTSD Centre of Excellence’s Research Reference group and works closely with government sectors including Veterans Affairs Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces. She also serves as Director on numerous community boards and as an advisory board member for several Canadian research centres. She has published more than 180 peer-reviewed papers and chapters.
Dr. McKinnon currently holds funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research, Defence Canada, Veteran’s Affairs Canada, the Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans, the PTSD Centre of Excellence, and the Workers Safety Insurance Board of Ontario. She also holds funding from numerous private foundations, including True Patriot Love, the Cowan Foundation, the Military Casualty Support Foundation, the FDC Foundation and Charitable Impact.