Team – QAnxiety

Our research team comes from a variety of clinical and academic backgrounds, bringing a wealth of experience in their field of specialty.

You can find out a bit more about the team and the work they do by taking a look at their biographies below.

Rafael Freire, MD PhD

QAnxiety Lead

Dr. Freire became Associate Professor at the Department of Psychiatry of Queen’s University in 2019. He works at Queen’s University, Kingston Health Sciences Centre (Kingston General Hospital and Hotel Dieu Hospital sites), Providence Care Hospital and Centre for Neuroscience Studies. His clinical activities encompass patient care in the Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Service (KGH), Outpatient Adult Psychiatry Service (HDH) and Outpatient Mood Disorders Service (PCH). Dr. Freire’s outpatient clinic is focused in anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder. He is also involved in multiple teaching activities including supervision and formal teaching for students from different levels. He is the Clinical Lead in the CL Psychiatry Service and Adult Psychiatry Fellowship Program Director at the Department of Psychiatry. He does multiple research-related activities in the field of anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, pharmacology and neurostimulation. He is also affiliated to the Centre for Psychedelics Health & Research, where he collaborates in clinical trials with psychedelics. He is an associate editor in Frontiers in Psychiatry, editorial board member of the International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health and Jornal Brasileiro de Psiquiatria. Dr. Freire has 23 years of clinical and research experience with anxiety and related disorders. He has more than one hundred publications in peer-reviewed journals in the field of anxiety and related disorders.

Morená Zugliani MD PhD Researcher

Dr. Zugliani is a psychiatrist with a PhD and clinical expertise in women’s mental health. Her primary research interests include anxiety disorders, neuromodulation and women's mental health. She is particularly interested in perinatal anxiety disorders and the neurobiological mechanisms linking reproductive hormones to emotional regulation.

Mariana Cabo MD MSc Researcher

Dr. Cabo is a psychiatrist with a Master's degree in Psychiatry from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She is specialized in both adult and child & adolescent psychiatry. Her research interests include panic disorder, separation anxiety, and respiratory physiology. She has been conducting clinical research under the supervision of Dr. Freire since 2013.

Juliette Mojgani Medical student

Juliette is a second year medical student at Queen's University. She completed her undergraduate degree at McMaster in biopsychology. She has clinical research experience working in mood and anxiety disorders. Juliette is interested in reproductive psychiatry and women’s mental health. In her free time she enjoys travelling and has started learning to crochet!

Yan Deng, MBBS (China)

Research Coordinator and Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)

Yan holds a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery from China, as well as a Master of Medical Sciences in Molecular Medicine from China and a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Canada. She is a part-time faculty at St Lawrence College. She has experience helping adults, adolescents, and families dealing with various mental health issues. Yan is registered in Ontario, Canada. She has received formal training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). She offers individual, family, and couple therapy. Additionally, Yan has over 13 years of mental health research experience in Canada, the USA, and China. She has presented research posters at several national and international conferences. Her primary research interests include mood and anxiety disorders, as well as neurodiversity and mental health.

Eknoor Thind Undergraduate Student

Eknoor is a fourth-year Bachelor of Health Sciences student at Queen’s University, passionate about early intervention in mental health disorders to improve overall health outcomes. Her research interests include metabolic psychiatry, focusing particularly on the gut-microbiota-brain (MGB) axis and the role of epigenetic factors in these mechanisms. She also has a keen interest in researching mood and anxiety disorders, with a focus on novel psychopharmacology treatments and emerging neurostimulation technologies.

Kaylie Grant

Undergraduate Student

Kaylie is a fifth year biopsychology student at Queen’s university. She has previous lab experience in social psychology. Her research interests include mood and anxiety disorders as well as psychopharmacology.

Patia Karmiris Undergraduate Student

Patia Karmiris is a third-year Biopsychology student at Queen’s University. Her current research investigates whether L-methylfolate, a bioactive form of folate (vitamin B9), can improve symptoms in individuals with treatment-resistant Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) by enhancing neurotransmitter production and regulating brain chemistry. Patia is particularly interested in exploring how anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) influence brain function and behaviour, with the goal of contributing to a deeper understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying these mental health conditions.

Mariana Rosa de Carvalho MD Researcher

Dr. Rosa de Carvalho is a physician with over six years of experience in family medicine. She has aspirations to pursue residency in psychiatry. Her strenghts include strong passion for mental health and experience in family medicine. Her research interests include anxiety disorders, neurostimulation and psychedelics.

Rafael Freire, MD PhD

Yan Deng, MBBS (China)

Kaylie Grant

Behind the scenes at QAnxiety