Dr. Daisy Singla is a senior scientist with the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Dr. Singla joined CAMH in July 2021 as the inaugural womenmind independent scientist.
A clinical psychologist by training and global mental health researcher at heart, Dr. Singla aims to improve access to evidence-based psychological treatments conducts. She conducts large, randomized controlled trials in real-world settings across the world. She now brings those lessons learned to improve mental healthcare here in North America. In 2018, she became the youngest recipient of a $13.1USD million Pragmatic Clinical Study Award. In 2021, she became the first recipient to receive simultaneously the Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Careers from Association of Psychological Science, the Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution in Applied Psychology from the American Psychological Association (APA), and the Gerald L. Klerman Young Investigator Award from the Depression & Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA). In 2022, Dr. Singla was named a fellow in Association of Psychological Science.
Areas of Research
Dr. Singla’s research interests involve improving access to evidence-based talk therapies for women worldwide. She is currently leading a PCORI-funded Scaling Up Maternal Mental healthcare by Increasing access to Treatment (SUMMIT) Trial of 120 team members in Toronto, Chapel Hill and Chicago. SUMMIT compares non-specialist providers and telemedicine to traditional models of specialist providers and in-person therapy for perinatal populations with depressive and anxiety symptoms. Upon completion, SUMMIT will be among the largest psychotherapy trials in the world. Globally, Dr. Singla has conducted or contributed to psychotherapy and behaviour change trials targeting depression, anxiety and child outcomes in rural Uganda, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Kenya. In addition to improving what works, Dr. Singla has developed a global reputation for implementation science and treatment mechanisms. She is currently leading the Promoting Effective mental healthcare through peER Supervision (PEERS) Trial funded by Grand Challenges Canada (GCC), which aims to scale-up measurement-based peer-supervision to improve treatment quality among healthcare working delivering psychotherapy in India. She has consulted for the World Health Organization in areas of women and youth mental health and serves on several scientific advisory boards including MQ Mental Health Research.
Publications
View Dr. Singla’s publications on PubMed.