Dr. Robert Martin 1926-2014

Dr. Martin was the first head of Clinical Health Psychology, serving in that role for over 20 years.  He was a visionary for the role of psychologists in medical schools and teaching hospitals.  After he formally retired in 1997, and until his death in 2014, he held the rank of Senior Scholar, was a mentor to colleagues and subsequent department heads, and served as confidential advisor to the department’s residents. In 2013, he received the Canadian Psychological Association’s Gold Medal for Lifetime Contribution to Canadian psychology.

2021 ROBERT M. MARTIN MEMORIAL LECTURE

     
Health Resilience in the Age of Fear and Misinformation
Timothy Caulfield
Professor, Faculty of Law and Public Health, University of Alberta

Thursday, February 18, 2021, 3:00-4:30PM
Via Zoom- please contact kate.walsh@umanitoba.ca to register

Timothy Caulfield is a Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy and Research Director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta. His interdisciplinary research on topics like stem cells, genetics, research ethics, the public representations of science and public health policy has allowed him to publish over 350 academic articles. He has won numerous academic and writing awards and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Called the’ Canadian nemesis of pseudoscience’ by the Globe and Mail, he contributes frequently to the popular press, debunking pseudoscience and educating the public on evidence-based health information. He is the author of two national bestsellers: The Cure for Everything: Untangling the Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness and Happiness (Penguin 2012) and Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash (Penguin 2015). His most recent book is Relax, Dammit!: A User’s Guide to the Age of Anxiety (Penguin Random House, 2020). Caulfield is also the host and co-producer of the award winning documentary TV show, A User’s Guide to Cheating Death, which has been shown in over 60 countries, including streaming on Netflix in North America.

Objectives:
1. Understand the scope and nature of the "infodemic" of misinformation with COVID-19 as a prime example;
2. Identify the harms associated with the spread of misinformation including on mental health;
3. Review effective positive action, including strategy of "debunking" and the role of resiliency and reflection on slowing the spread of misinformation.