Applications to join the lab

Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows interested in joining the lab are invited to contact Dr. Orri by email. We usually welcome 1-3 undergraduate students each year as well, with priority given to student interested in doing a honours thesis of research courses. Please, include a statement of interest, CV, and (for graduate and undergraduate students) a copy of your transcript. There is no need to include letters of references at this stage.

Dr. Orri carefully reads all applications received and will respond to the applicant, regardless of whether or not any position is available.

As many factors can affect GPA, please don’t be discouraged to apply regardless of your GPA.

Similarly, international students should not be discouraged to apply for positions in the lab.

Our lab is strongly committed to respecting Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion principles.

Wondering if you are a good fit?

The first and most important elements are the interest and motivation to study the determinants of mental health and suicidal behaviors, as well as the willingness to do so in a collaborative environment.

We welcome trainees with experience and/or interest in mental health sciences (psychology, psychiatry, and related disciplines), epidemiology, behavioral genetics, genetic epidemiology.

Some of the skills we value (depending on the level of training) are:

• Experience in conducting statistical analyses using statistical software such as R, Stata, SPSS, SAS, Mplus

• Experience in scientific writing (e.g., articles)

• Experience working with genetic data (e.g., polygenic scores)

• Previous experience in the field of interest (e.g., knowing the literature on suicide)

• Independence, teamwork, organizational, and interpersonal skills

What to expect

Trainees in the lab are provided with the opportunity to:

• work with high-quality longitudinal data, including the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, and data from administrative registers (e.g., healthcare utilization, ER visits)

• learn advanced data analysis skills, including longitudinal data analysis (e.g., trajectory modeling, survival analysis), structural equation modeling (e.g., path analysis, factor analysis), genetically informed methods (e.g., Mendelian randomization, polygenic scores, twin modeling)

• publish in high-impact journals as first authors

• present their results in local and international conferences

• contribute to other trainees’ projects, if compatible with the trainee’s main project

• conduct a period of research abroad (e.g., the summer semester) by collaborating on a project with colleagues in another country. They will be supported to apply for funding opportunities

• be immersed in an outstanding multidisciplinary scientific environment at McGill and the Douglas, with opportunities to apply for prizes and awards, participate in the academic life, and broaden their network.

Expectations for the trainees are the following:

• To lead your own project: you will need to be the engine behind your project

• MSc and PhD students are expected to publish a minimum of 1 and 2 papers as first authors for their theses, respectively

• Active participation in the lab, including lab meetings and collaborative work (e.g., share your expertise, help/mentor more junior students)

• Apply for funding opportunities (scholarships, fellowships) and awards/prizes

Stipends

All graduate students in the lab receive a stipend in line with the Department guidelines. The minimum salary for postdoctoral fellows is in line with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) fellowship.

Trainees are expected to apply to all available scholarship/fellowship opportunities, including those at the institution (e..g, McGill/Department/RQSHA), provincial (e.g., FRQS), and federal (e.g., CIHR) levels. International students may be eligible to apply for funding in their country of origin.