Name: Elsa-Lynn Nassar
Email Address: elsa-lynn.nassar@mail.mcgill.ca
Position: MSc Student
Biography:
Originally from Beirut, Lebanon, Elsa started her undergraduate studies in Psychology at the Lebanese American University and completed her bachelor’s degree in Honours Psychology at Concordia University in 2021. Currently, Elsa is completing her master’s degree in Psychiatry with the team. Elsa is particularly interested in knowledge translation, including knowledge exchange (i.e., patient engagement) and knowledge synthesis. With the team, Elsa's research focuses on studying best practices in patient engagement to develop a systemic program of patient engagement within SPIN; studying best practices in knowledge translation and applying them in the context of SPIN; and conducting living systematic reviews of (1) the effects of non-pharmacological and non-surgical interventions on health outcomes in systemic sclerosis and (2) the prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders and factors associated with symptoms in people with systemic sclerosis. Elsa has also been involved in work involving the methodological quality and reporting transparency of studies assessing the accuracy of depression screening tools with the DEPRESSD and meta-research teams, as well as individual participant data meta-analyses on the diagnostic accuracy of depression screening tools with the DEPRESSD team. Upon completion of her master’s degree, Elsa aspires to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
Awards:
- Post-Graduate Student Society Travel Award ($600). McGill University. 2022.
- Master’s Research Award ($35,000). Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et Culture. 2022-2024.
- Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS) - Master’s ($17,500). Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, 2021.
- Vincent, Olga, and Denis Nicolas-Diniacopoulos Scholarship ($3,000). Concordia University, 2021.
- Campaign for a New Millennium Student Contribution Scholarship ($1,000). Concordia University, 2020.
- Concordia Undergraduate Student Research Award ($5,760). Concordia University, 2020.
- Lebanese American University Honor’s Scholarship ($8,000). Lebanese American University, 2017-2018.
- Rookie of the Year Annual Athletic Award. Lebanese American University, 2018.
Publications:
Nassar, E.L., Levis, B., Neyer, M.A., Rice, D.B., Booij, L., Benedetti, A., & Thombs, B.D. (2022). Sample Size and Precision of Accuracy Estimates in Studies of Depression Screening Tool Accuracy: A Meta-research Review of Studies Published in 2018–2021. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 1-8, e1910. https://doi.org/10/1002/mpr.1910
Nassar, E.L., Levis, B., Rice, D.B., Booij, L., Benedetti, A., & Thombs, B.D. (2022). Inclusion of Currently Diagnosed or Treated Individuals in Studies of Depression Screening Tool Accuracy: A Meta-Research Review of Studies Published in 2018-2021. General Hospital Psychiatry, 76, 25–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2022.02.005
Gordon, J.K., Showalter, K., Wu Y., Kwakkenbos, L., Carrier M-E, Henry, R.S., Østbø, N., Nordlund, J., Bourgeault, A., Cañedo-Ayala, M., Carboni-Jiménez, A., Denton, C.P., Mouthon, L., Thombs, B.D., Spiera, R.F., SPIN SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Patient Advisory Team, & the SPIN Investigators (2022). Experiences and Perceptions of People with Systemic Sclerosis with SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination: A Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network (SPIN) Cohort Cross-sectional Study. Lancet Rheumatology. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2665-9913(21)00416-1
Selected Presentations:
Selected Poster Presentations:
Nassar, E.L., Levis, B., Neyer, M.A., Rice, D., Booij, L., Benedetti A., & Thombs, B.D. (2022, August). Transparency and Completeness of Reporting of Depression Screening Accuracy Studies. American Psychological Association Annual Convention, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Nassar, E.L., Levis, B., Neyer, M.A., Rice, D., Booij, L., Benedetti A., & Thombs, B.D. (2022, August). Population Appropriateness and Sample Size Specification in Depression Screening Accuracy Studies. American Psychological Association Annual Convention, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Nassar, E.L., Levis, B., Neyer, M.A., Rice, D., Booij, L., Benedetti A., & Thombs, B.D. (2022, June). Sample Size Specification and Precision of Estimates in Studies Assessing the Accuracy of Depression Screening Tools. The Canadian Psychological Association’s 83rd Annual National Convention, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Nassar, E.L., Levis, B., Neyer, M.A., Rice, D., Booij, L., Benedetti A., & Thombs, B.D. (2022, June). Transparency and Completeness of Reporting of Depression Screening Tool Accuracy Studies: A Meta-research Review of Adherence to the STARD Statement. The Canadian Psychological Association’s 83rd Annual National Convention, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Nassar, E.L., Levis, B., Rice, D., Booij, L., Benedetti A., & Thombs, B.D. (2022, June). Population Appropriateness in Studies Assessing the Accuracy of Depression Screening Tools. The Canadian Psychological Association’s 83rd Annual National Convention, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Nassar E.l., Herba C, Lippé S, Vaillancourt C, Booij L. Resilience and perinatal stress during pandemic times: What about pregnant women?.
Concordia University Undergraduate Research Showcase, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. April 2021.
Nassar E.l., Herba C, Lippé S, Vaillancourt C, Booij L. Neuroticism during pandemic times: a moderator of the relationship between prenatal
maternal depressive symptoms and emotional eating. Center for Clinical Research in Health 8th Annual Conference, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
January 2021.
Selected Oral Presentations:
Nassar, E.L., Levis, B., Neyer, M.A., Rice, D., Booij, L., Benedetti A., & Thombs, B.D. (2022, June). Design, Reporting, and Risk of Bias in Depression Screening Accuracy Studies. The Canadian Psychological Association’s 83rd Annual National Convention, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Herba, C.M., Lippé, S., Giac, R., Sacco, S., Aubin, D., Lelièvre-Blais, S., Nassar, E.L., Rodriguez, M., Harvison, M., Léger, C., Gingras, M.P., Morisset, A.S., Boucoiran, I., St-André, M., Ruchat, S.M., Charton, Bernier, A., Beauregard-Lepage, K., Côté, S.L., Beaudet, C., Babineau, V., Vaillancourt, C., Booij, L. (2022, June). Prenatal Well-being in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study Across Diverse Regions of Quebec. 9th Annual Canadian National Perinatal Research Meeting. Virtual.
Nassar, E.L., Discepola, M.N., & Thombs, B.D. (2022, May). Effectiveness of Non-pharmacological and Non-surgical Interventions to Improve Health Outcomes in Systemic Sclerosis: Living Systematic Review and Patient-engaged Knowledge Translation to Support Shared Decision-making. The 5th Annual Integrative Psychiatry Conference, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Nassar, E.L. (2022, April). How can I effectively engage patients or the public in my trial planning, conduct, interpretation, and dissemination of results? Invited guest lecture given to graduate students in PSYT 640: Non-Pharmacological Clinical Trial, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Cordahi-Tabet, C. & Nassar, E.L. (2019, October). Bullying and Self-harm. The 24th Annual Congress of the St. Georges University Hospital Conference, Beirut, Lebanon.