Scientific Committee

Eugene Rutembesa

(Chairperson)

Graduate from University Saint Denis (Paris 8) in clinical psychology and psychopathology, Dr Eugene Rutembesa is involved in research of trauma and resilience in post genocide Rwanda.  He is an active member and Vice-President of the International Association for the Promotion and Dissemination of Research on Resilience (www.resilio-association.com).

He was occupied several positions: Head of Department (2001-2004) and Dean of the Faculty of Education (2005-2009); Coordinator of the University Center of Mental Health (2006-2019).   Since 2009 to 2018, he was a member and Vice-Chair to the Rwanda National Ethic Committee (RNEC).

Currently, he is a member of Institutional Review Board (IRB) within the College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS) and a member of East African Career Development Association (EACDA). From 2020, he has identified as an expert of European Commission in Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).

He is Full Professor of clinical psychology and psychopathology within the department of clinical psychology in college of medicine and health sciences (School of Medicine and Pharmacy).

Colette Jourdan-Ionescu

(Co-chairperson)

Full professor in the Department of Psychology at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, associate professor at Université Laval and member of the Centre de Recherche et d’intervention sur la réussite scolaire. She is the director of the Revue québécoise de psychologie for 14 years, author of numerous publications, organizer of international congresses, and she has supervised many students from graduate programs. She received Excellence Research Award of the Universities of Québec, and her work focuses on psychological assessment, the evaluation of protective factors and resilience, and intervention on protective factors to promote resilience within an ecosystemic framework.

Stefan Jansen

(Coordinator of scientific committee)

Stefan Jansen is an Associate Professor in Neuroscience and works at the University of Rwanda (UR), College of Medicine, and Health Sciences (CMHS) as Director of Research and Innovation at UR/CMHS.

He runs multiple internationally funded and multi-country research projects on intergenerational trauma, alcohol and drug abuse, community based psychosocial interventions, using both applied and fundamental science, and introducing state-of-the-art research approaches, including neuroimaging, genetics/epigenetics research, Randomized Controlled Trials, ethnography, and behavioral economics. Crucially, he has a firm commitment to embedding his research in local understanding and knowledge, using psychometrics to adapt, develop and/or validate appropriate data collection tools. Stefan can be contacted through sjansen.ur@gmail.com

Francine Julien-Gauthier

Francine Julien-Gauthier, Ph.D. is a full professor in the Department of Foundations and Practices in Education at Université Laval and an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. She holds a doctorate in educational sciences from the Université du Québec à Montréal. She is founding member of the International Association for the Promotion and Dissemination of Research on Resilience (Resilio). She is a regular researcher at the Centre de recherche et d’intervention sur la réussite scolaire (CRIRES) and a member of the Vulnerability and Resilience Research Community (CREVR). Her work focuses on the development, education, and social participation of people with disabilities. As well as the development and strengthening of individual and community resilience.

Francine.julien-gauthier@fse.ulaval.ca

Michael Cantinotti

Michael Cantinotti is Full Professor (Research Methods) at the Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR). After completing a general licentiate degree (M.Sc.) in Psychology at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), a Ph.D. in Psychology at Laval University (Quebec City) and postdoctoral degree in public health at McGill University (Montreal), he worked as a government researcher (at the regional Public Health Branch, then at the provincial Institut national de santé publique du Québec) before becoming a university professor. In 2013 he founded and then headed for several years the Service of Support and Mutual Assistance in Applied Methodology at his university (www.uqtr.ca/sesame). He is also particularly interested in the role of emotional experience and moral reasoning in situations of dilemmas related to clinical practice. He directs the Research Laboratory: Adaptation, Wellbeing and Psychological Resilience.
Michael.Cantinotti@uqtr.ca

Joseph Kalisa

Joseph is a clinical psychologist, narrative therapy community practitioner and Trainer. He is interested in the intergenerational transmission of resilience, survival skills and resistance after genocide as well as collective approaches to mental health. He works with the University of Rwanda/Centre for Mental Health, Dulwich Centre Foundation and Geruka Healing Centre and is a clinical tutor at the University of Melbourne. Joseph has co-edited with other Rwanda Narrative Practitioners a book called “Land of a Thousand Stories: Rwandan Narrative Therapy and Community Work” and is the author of peer-reviewed papers on Mental Health in Rwanda.”

Joseph can be contacted through j.kalisa@ur.ac.rw or josephka300@gmail.com

Dieudonne Kayiranga

Dieudonne Kayiranga is a doctoral student in Nursing at the University of Rwanda and visiting scholar at Duke University (USA) and Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (CANADA). His area of research includes Resilience, Maternal Child Health, HIV, Sexual and reproductive health, Interprofessional collaboration and Education. He participates in the organization of international conferences and authors numerous publications. He is a member of the International Association for the Promotion and Dissemination of Research on Resilience, BoD member of Rwanda National Council of Nurses and Midwives (NCNM), member of Association of Nurses in AIDS Care ANAC), and member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (STTI). He is a peer reviewer of the Journal of Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (JANAC) and Rwanda Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences (RJMHS).