Kristina Gicas, University of British Columbia

Research

Blood Biomarkers Community Based Research Harm Reduction Marginalized Populations Neurocognition Neuroimaging Non-Fatal Overdose Incidence And Risk Opioid Related Harms

Latest papers

Differential associations of mental health, mild traumatic brain injury and substance use between male and female university students.
PloS one · 2026
Reduced SNAP25 Protein Fragmentation Contributes to SNARE Complex Dysregulation in Schizophrenia Postmortem Brain.
Neuroscience · 2019

All 2 publications

Latest funding

Dynamic Clinical Risk States and Neurostructural Consequences of Community Non- Fatal Opioid Overdose
CIHR · 2026 · Principal investigator
$1,725,076
Traumatic brain injury and cerebral small vessel disease in a vulnerably housed cohort, a prelude to early neurodegeneration and dementia
CIHR · 2022 · Co-investigator
$1,434,376
Neuropsychiatric complications of co-morbid illness in people living in homelessness or precarious housing
CIHR · 2019 · Principal investigator
$1,235,475

All 3 grants and awards

2 publications.

01

Differential associations of mental health, mild traumatic brain injury and substance use between male and female university students.

Wilson A, Cherry J, Gicas K, Wojtowicz M

PloS one2026

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0346562 PMID: 41945601

02

Reduced SNAP25 Protein Fragmentation Contributes to SNARE Complex Dysregulation in Schizophrenia Postmortem Brain.

Ramos-Miguel A, Gicas K, Alamri J, Beasley CL, Dwork AJ, Mann JJ, Rosoklija G, Cai F, Song W, Barr AM, Honer WG

Neuroscience2019

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.12.015 PMID: 30579835

Dynamic Clinical Risk States and Neurostructural Consequences of Community Non- Fatal Opioid Overdose

Principal investigatorCIHR2026Project Grant

Principal investigators: Panenka, William J; Gicas, Kristina M; Thornton, Allen E

Keywords: Blood Biomarkers; Community Based Research; Harm Reduction; Marginalized Populations; Neurocognition; Neuroimaging; Non-Fatal Overdose Incidence And Risk; Opioid Related Harms; Substance Use Disorders; Within Person Longitudinal Design

$1,725,076

Traumatic brain injury and cerebral small vessel disease in a vulnerably housed cohort, a prelude to early neurodegeneration and dementia

Co-investigatorCIHR2022Project Grant

Principal investigators: Panenka, William J; Field, Thalia S; Thornton, Allen E; Wellington, Cheryl L

Keywords: Brain Structure; Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy; Dementia; Homeless And Vulnerably Populations; Longitudinal; Mri; Neuropsychiatry

$1,434,376

Neuropsychiatric complications of co-morbid illness in people living in homelessness or precarious housing

Principal investigatorCIHR2019Project Grant

Principal investigators: Honer, William G; Gicas, Kristina M; Panenka, William J

Keywords: Cognition; Neuropsychiatry; Parkinsonism; Substance Use; Traumatic Brain Injury

$1,235,475

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Weihong Song

Psychiatry

1 shared papers, latest 2019

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their CIHR grant from 2026

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Blood Biomarkers Dear Professor Gicas, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Differential associations of mental health, mild traumatic brain injury and substance use between male and female university students." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your CIHR-funded project "Dynamic Clinical Risk States and Neurostructural Consequences of Community Non- Fatal Opioid Overdose" (2026), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]