The Royal

Zachary Kaminsky, PhD

Suicide Prevention
Research / Research at The Royal / Research Team / Zachary Kaminsky, PhD

Zachary Kaminsky 

DIFD-Mach-Gaensslen Chair in Suicide Prevention Research   

Affiliations 

Associate Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa. 

Research Focus 

My research focuses on understanding the biological and environmental factors that contribute to mental illness, with the goal of developing tools that can help identify people at risk and connect them to support before a crisis occurs. 

A Point of Pride  

A key achievement in my work is the development of artificial intelligence algorithms that analyze both public social media posts and electronic health records to detect suicide risk. One algorithm scans social media for subtle patterns in language that may signal emerging suicidal thoughts, while another uses hospital data to help clinicians identify patients at high risk of suicide after discharge—delivering tailored insights that can guide more effective follow-up care. 

How I am Working to Make a Difference for Those Living with Mental Illness 

My research bridges science and real-world impact. By combining epigenetics, data science, and clinical insight, his work helps improve how we detect and respond to mental health challenges—especially among youth and vulnerable populations. 

Ottawa Campus

1145 Carling Ave.,
Ottawa, ON K1Z 7K4
(613) 722-6521

Long-Term Care

1141 Carling Ave.,
Ottawa, ON K1Z 7K4
(613) 722-6521

Brockville Campus

1804 Highway 2 E, P.O. Box 1050,
Brockville, ON K6V 5W7
(613) 345-1461

Community Mental Health

2121 Carling Ave.,
Ottawa, ON K2A 1H2
(613) 722-6521

The Royal