Dr. Margaret McKinnon is Full Professor and Associate Chair, Research in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University, where she holds the Homewood Chair in Mental Health and Trauma. She is also the Research Lead for Mental Health and Addictions at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and a Senior Scientist at Homewood Research Institute. 

Work in Margaret’s unit focuses on identifying the neural and behavioural correlates of PTSD and trauma-related illnesses and on translating this knowledge to the development and testing of novel treatment interventions aimed at reducing the cognitive and affective sequelae of these conditions. 

A licensed clinical psychologist and clinical neuropsychologist, Margaret has a special interest in military, veteran, and public safety populations (including healthcare providers), and has worked with these groups clinically and in her research program. She has published or in press nearly 150 scientific works. 

Under Margaret’s leadership, the Trauma & Recovery Research Unit is supported by federal and provincial funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Institute for Military and Veterans Health Research, Veterans Affairs Canada, Defence Canada, the PTSD Centre of Excellence, MITACS, and the Workers Safety Insurance Board of Ontario; by a generous donation to Homewood Research Institute from Homewood Health Inc.; and by generous gifts from private foundations including True Patriot Love, the Cowan Foundation, the Military Casualty Support Foundation, the FDC Foundation, and the AllOne Foundation. 

Margaret is a frequent commentator in the media on matters related to PTSD, moral injury, and the impact of trauma on special populations.