CINIM Staff

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  Dr. Badri G. Rickhi
  MB, BS, FRCP (C), Director and Founding Member

  A physician with specialty training in psychiatry, Dr. Rickhi is the Research Chair at CINIM. He is a Clinical Associate Professor with the University of Calgary in the Faculty of Medicine and the vice-president of the Canadian Medical Acupuncture Society. He has trained in various levels of Ayurvedic medicine (developed in India), traditional Chinese medicine, Tibetan medicine, German biological medicine, acupuncture, Ryodaraku (Japanese medicine) and homeopathy. Dr. Rickhi has studied Spirituality and Eastern philosophy. He has been an appointed advisor to Health Canada on complementary therapies and a past collaborator with the World Health Organization.

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  Dr. John Toews
  MD, FRCPC, Programme Director

  John graduated from Medicine at the University of Manitoba in 1969 and received his Fellowship in Psychiatry in 1974. He remained at U of M until 1988. While there, his writing was focused on community psychiatry and on the implications of the adult life cycle on the psychotherapeutic treatment of individuals and families. He joined the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Calgary in 1988 where his writing focused on medical education. Concomitantly, he developed an interest in the relationship between spirituality and mental health. He is a founding member of the Canadian Research Institute of Spirituality and Healing. He is also a member of the Integrative Health Collaborative Committee of the Calgary Health Region. In 1994 he published No Longer Alone: Mental Health and the Church as a primer on psychiatry and mental health issues for church based study.

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  Sabine Moritz
  B.Sc., M.Sc., Research Director

  Sabine holds a B.Sc. and a M.Sc. in Biology from the University of Aachen in Germany, as well as a M.Sc. in Research and Evaluations Methods for Health Care Professionals from NESCOT, London, England. After completing the first part of a PhD programme in Epidemiology at the University of Calgary, Sabine studied acupuncture at the Alberta College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She has over 15 years experience as a medical researcher, particularly in the area of clinical trials.

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  Patricia Paccagnan
  R.N., B.N., Clinical Research Nurse

  Patti holds a Bachelors of Nursing degree from the University of Calgary. She brings over 15 years of experience working in collaborative settings with physicians, alternative practitioners and researchers. She has had the opportunity to interact directly with clients to administer a wide range of complementary testing and treatment modalities. Patti is passionate about her recent work in the area of mental health and spirituality. She is currently involved in overseeing the clinical aspects of the LEAP Project pilot (an online teen depression treatment program).

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  Tracy Maracle
  Administrative Director

  Tracy graduated from the Business & Programme Development – Sports and Recreation Programme at Mount Royal College. Tracy’s background is in administration business management and she has spent her entire career in the health field. Tracy has completed the Non Profit Management Programme at Mount Royal University and the Strategic Coach Assistants Programme in Vancouver. She is currently working on Project Management designation.

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  Charlotte Dennis, BA
  

  Charlotte holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Victoria with a major in Recreation and Health Education and a minor in Psychology. Charlotte has helped introduce and implement holistic health models to an Alberta outdoor adventure camp and the B.C. Ministry of Environment, and has done recreational programming for people living with Alzheimer’s. She has pursued learning and research in alternative healing therapies, and has special interest in body energy and life force therapies. In the future, Charlotte hopes to contribute to finding and relaying truth with regards to the level of effectiveness in conventional and complementary therapies.

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  Niki Venika Rickhi
  Research Coordinator

  Niki brings to CINIM a unique understanding of the impacts of depression in the lives of young people. Her strengths are in developing relationships, organization and administrative management. Niki brings over 3 years of experience as an executive assistant and patient liaison at a psychiatric clinic in Calgary. Niki’s voluntary involvement and passion has included 4 years as the President of the Community Action Council in Scarborough, leading event planning and fundraising for an annual winter carnival in support of underprivileged children. She also provides on-going support towards health, education and income development for families in southern India. She is currently completing her BA with a double major in Sociology and Psychology at the University of Calgary.