David Lindenbach - Headshot

Dr. David Lindenbach

PhD
Pronouns: he/him

Positions

Adjunct Assistant Professor

Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry

Director of Research, Hull Services

~ Other ~

Child Health & Wellness Researcher

Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute

Affiliations

Associate Member

Hotchkiss Brain Institute

Associate Member

Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education

I'm looking for...

Research partners

I am building a new program of research centred around the prevention and treatment of developmental trauma, and am looking to build collaborations.

Funding

We are also looking for funding to grow our research around developmental trauma.

Background

Educational Background

PhD Behavioral Neuroscience, 2015

MS Psychology, 2011

BA Sociology, 2008

Biography

Throughout my career, I have had a passion for developing and testing therapeutics for brain disorders.

In 2009, I began a PhD examining treatments for Parkinson’s disease using rat models. Next, I did a post-doctoral fellowship examining the neural circuits involved in motivation with an eye towards using brain stimulation as a treatment for anhedonia in mental illness. In 2018, I came to the University of Calgary because I wanted to perform clinical research that had a direct impact on service delivery in community settings.

In 2018, I re-focused my career towards preventing child maltreatment and developing therapies for youth exposed to trauma. As a Research Associate in Psychiatry, I performed research with schools, non-profits and AHS clinics to identify how frontline providers assess risk for maltreatment. In the same settings, I also used implementation science methods to identify how we can use novel transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural therapies to support families impacted by trauma and mental illness.

In 2023, I joined Hull Services to lead the development of a new program of research into developmental trauma as part of an official partnership with the University of Calgary's Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education and the Faculty of Social Work. Our research involves child maltreatment prevention and early intervention; therapeutic recreation for youth impacted by trauma; improving the success of transitions in care; and promoting wellness and professional development among frontline care providers. I strongly believe in involving clients and clinicians in research design and analysis because this maximizes the relevancy and sustainability of clinical research. I am passionately committed to EDI, especially working with Indigenous Elders and cultural advisors to incorporate Indigenous ways of being, knowing and doing into research. I also leverage my diverse research background to pursue a transdisciplinary line of research that incorporates biological, psychological and sociological perspectives because I believe a holistic approach is needed to heal the impact of developmental and intergenerational trauma on youth and families.

Research

Participation in university strategic initiatives

Projects

Applying Indigenous ways of being, knowing and doing to a talk therapy program for Indigenous youth, families and communities in Alberta

Nominated Principal Applicant. Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute: One Child Every Child Seedling Award. $50,000. 2024 - 2026.


Gathering youth perspectives to optimize therapeutic recreaton

Principal Investigator. Burns Memorial Fund for Children: Community Grant. $14,980. 2024 - 2025.


A beginner-level pump track to support trauma-informed sports for vulnerable youth

Project Holder. Parks Foundation Calgary: Amateur Sport Grant. $50,000. 2024 - 2025.


Preventing and mitigating developmental trauma through a transdisciplinary community-university partnership

Project Holder. University of Calgary: Transdisciplinary Scholarship Connector Grant. $17,000. 2024.


Capturing the youth voice to inform outcomes for child and youth advocacy centres

Co-applicant. Canadian Consortium on Child & Youth Trauma: Seed Grant. $25,000. 2023 - 2024.


LEAPS-IYS: Learning to Equitably Adapt Peer Support for Integrated Youth Services

Co-applicant. Canadian Institutes of Health Research: Catalyst Grant. $199,960. 2023 - 2024.


TransitionED: Co-designing and implementing Canadian Practice Guidelines for transitions for youth and young adults with eating disorders

Co-applicant. Canadian Institutes of Health Research Team Grant: Transitions in Care. $960,000. 2022 - 2026.


Optimizing school-based mental health interventions for Calgary students

Co-investigator. City of Calgary: Mental Health and Addiction Investment Framework. $471,525. 2022 - 2023.


Canadian Consortium on Child & Youth Trauma – Consortium Canadien sur le trauma chez les enfants

Co-investigator. Social Science and Humanities Research Council: Partnership Grant. $2,500,000. 2020 - 2027.


Enhancing resilience among vulnerable youth through online delivery of a brief, evidence-based psychotherapy

Co-investigator. Government of Alberta: Mental Health and Addiction COVID-19 Community Funding Grant. $48,000. 2020 - 2021.


A brief, online psychotherapy intervention to support UC students during the pandemic

Co-investigator. University of Calgary: COVID-19 Giving Day Funding Opportunity. $10,000. 2020 - 2021.


Treatment of Parkinson’s disease using intranasal delivery via electrospray atomization

Co-investigator. Binghamton University: Transdisciplinary Areas of Excellence Seed Grant. $15,000 USD. 2015.


D-512, a novel multifunctional D2/D3 receptor agonist for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease

Co-investigator. Michael J. Fox Foundation: Rapid Response Innovation Award. $75,000 USD. 2015.

Awards

  • Evolve to Innovate Trainee Award ($10,000; top 10%), Innovate Calgary. 2022
  • Outstanding Poster Award ($250), Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia. 2017
  • Best Project Presentation (runner-up), Frontiers in Neurophotonics, Universite Laval. 2016
  • Trainee Conference Travel Award ($1,000), Movement Disorders Society. 2014
  • Center for Development and Behavioral Neuroscience Graduate Scholarship ($18,500), State University of New York at Binghamton. 2013
  • Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Research (awarded to 10-15 students per year), State University of New York at Binghamton. 2013

Publications