William Gardner, University of Toronto

Research

Health Services Mental Health Schools Screening Youth

Latest papers

Association between a publicly funded universal drug program and antipsychotic and antidepressant medication dispensing to children.
BMC pediatrics · 2025
Impact of a Publicly-Funded Pharmacare Program on Prescription Stimulant use Among Children and Youth: A Population-Based Observational Natural Experiment.
Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2023
Impact of a publicly-funded pharmacare program policy on benzodiazepine dispensing among children and youth: a population-based natural experiment.
BMC pediatrics · 2023

All 6 publications

Latest funding

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of children and youth
CIHR · 2021 · Co-investigator
$149,844
Equity of virtual mental health care uptake for children and youth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CIHR · 2020 · Co-investigator
$87,756
Psychotropic drug use and safety among children and youth
CIHR · 2019 · Co-investigator
$481,952

All 4 grants and awards

6 publications.

01

Association between a publicly funded universal drug program and antipsychotic and antidepressant medication dispensing to children.

Kitchen SA, Gomes T, Tadrous M, Pajer K, Gardner W, Lunsky Y, Penner M, Juurlink D, Mamdani M, Antoniou T

BMC pediatrics2025

DOI: 10.1186/s12887-024-05345-2 PMID: 39923012

02

Impact of a Publicly-Funded Pharmacare Program on Prescription Stimulant use Among Children and Youth: A Population-Based Observational Natural Experiment.

Antoniou T, McCormack D, Kitchen S, Pajer K, Gardner W, Lunsky Y, Penner M, Tadrous M, Mamdani M, Juurlink DN, Gomes T

Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie2023

DOI: 10.1177/07067437231166836 PMID: 37016841

03

Impact of a publicly-funded pharmacare program policy on benzodiazepine dispensing among children and youth: a population-based natural experiment.

Antoniou T, McCormack D, Kitchen S, Pajer K, Gardner W, Lunsky Y, Penner M, Tadrous M, Mamdani M, Juurlink DN, Gomes T

BMC pediatrics2023

DOI: 10.1186/s12887-023-04331-4 PMID: 37858122

04

Adherence to antipsychotic laboratory monitoring guidelines in children and youth: a population-based study.

Antoniou T, Wang T, Pajer K, Gardner W, Lunsky Y, Penner M, Tadrous M, Mamdani M, Juurlink DN, Gomes T

Frontiers in psychiatry2023

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1172559 PMID: 37252150

05

Geographic variation and sociodemographic correlates of prescription psychotropic drug use among children and youth in Ontario, Canada: a population-based study.

Antoniou T, McCormack D, Kitchen S, Pajer K, Gardner W, Lunsky Y, Penner M, Tadrous M, Mamdani M, Juurlink DN, Gomes T

BMC public health2023

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-14677-6 PMID: 36631810

06

Cannabis-related emergency department visits by youths and their outcomes in Ontario: a trend analysis.

Bechard M, Cloutier P, Lima I, Salamatmanesh M, Zemek R, Bhatt M, Suntharalingam S, Kurdyak P, Baker M, Gardner W

CMAJ open2022Senior author

DOI: 10.9778/cmajo.20210142 PMID: 35135825

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of children and youth

Co-investigatorCIHR2021Op Gr:Understanding/mitigating impacts of COVID-19 on children, youth & families

Principal investigators: Antoniou, Tony; Pajer, Kathleen; Gomes, Tara

Keywords: Children And Youth; Covid-19; Mental Health

$149,844

Equity of virtual mental health care uptake for children and youth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Co-investigatorCIHR2020Op Gr: COVID-19 MH & Substance Use - Understanding Rapid System Transformations

Principal investigators: Saunders, Natasha R; Toulany, Alene

Keywords: Children And Youth; Health System Intervention; Inequities; Mental Health; Pediatrics; Rapid System Transformation; Virtual Care

$87,756

Psychotropic drug use and safety among children and youth

Co-investigatorCIHR2019Project Grant

Principal investigators: Antoniou, Tony; Gomes, Tara

Keywords: Children And Youth; Cohort Studies; Drug Access; Drug Safety; Interventional Time Series; Mental Health; Pharmacoepidemiology; Policy Evaluation; Psychotropic Drugs

$481,952

YouthCan 2020: A new vision for youth mental health in Canada

Principal investigatorCIHR2013Mental Health Network - LOI

Principal investigators: Szatmari, Peter; Ben Amor, Leila; Carveth, Nick; Chouchkova, Anna; Courey, Lynn; Dumont, Serge; Fisico, Alex G; Lesperance, Paul; Maybee, Alies; Pajer, Kathleen; Thibodeau, Guy; Addington, Donald E; Bennett, Kathryn J; Chaim, Gloria; Conrod, Patricia; Episkenew, Jo-Ann M; Gardner, William; Gingras, Nathalie; Henderson, Jo; Kates, Nick; Krank, Marvin D; Mâsse, Benoît R; Maziade, Michel G; McKinney, Veronica; Mela, Mansfield; Mushquash, Christopher J; Newton, Mandi S; Rehm, Jürgen T; Stewart, Sherry H; Tait, Caroline L; Uher, Rudolf

Keywords: Health Services; Mental Health; Schools; Screening; Youth

$25,000

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

Psychiatry
School of Epidemiology and Public Health
Department of Paediatrics
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology
Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care
Li Ka Shing Knowledge
Psychology
Other

Co-authors at University of Toronto, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

William Gardner

School of Epidemiology and Public Health

6 shared papers, latest 2025

Yona Lunsky

Psychology

5 shared papers, latest 2025

Tara Gomes

Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care

5 shared papers, latest 2025

Kathleen Pajer

Psychiatry

5 shared papers, latest 2025

Melanie Penner

Department of Paediatrics

5 shared papers, latest 2025

Mina Tadrous

Faculty

5 shared papers, latest 2025

Muhammad Mamdani

Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology

5 shared papers, latest 2025

Tony Antoniou

Li Ka Shing Knowledge

5 shared papers, latest 2025

Yona Lunsky

Faculty

5 shared papers, latest 2025

Paul Kurdyak

Psychiatry

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Roger Zemek

Faculty

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Roger Zemek

Faculty

1 shared papers, latest 2022

David Juurlink

Faculty

1 shared papers, latest 2025

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 mention

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Health Services Dear Professor Gardner, 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 "Association between a publicly funded universal drug program and antipsychotic and antidepressant medication dispensing to children." (2025), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] 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]