The people involved

The development of our recommended public health guidelines for social connection was made possible through the leadership of GenWell and the Canadian Alliance for Social Connection and Health, which played pivotal roles in coordinating our efforts. This process engaged over 100 experts in social connection, thousands of survey respondents, and 60 focus group interview participants. Through this broad engagement, we were able to develop evidence-based guidelines that reflect the lived experiences of real people. We are deeply grateful to all those who contributed to our consensus-building exercises and research activities, helping to shape these impactful guidelines.

Research and implementation team

Expert advisory panel members

  • Adam Frost: Post-doctoral Fellow, University of Toronto
  • Adam Kuczynski: Assistant Professor, University of Washington
  • Aliki Economides: Clinical Psychologist, CARE Medical Institute
  • Allison Farrell: Assistant Professor, Miami University
  • Amanda Jill Holmstrom: Professor, Michigan State University
  • Amene Saghazadeh: Researcher, Tehran University of Medical Sciences
  • Ami Rokach: Psychologist, York University
  • Anita Williams Woolley: Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
  • Anjali Rameshbabu: Health-Social Psychologist, Health2Wellbeing
  • Anne-Nicole Casey: Postdoctoral researcher, University of New South Wales
  • Anton Kall: Psychologist, Linköping University
  • Aparna Shankar: Professor, FLAME University
  • Bernie Carter: Professor, Edge Hill University
  • Callista Ottoni: Researcher, University of British Columbia
  • Carla Perissinotto: Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
  • Catherine Haslam: Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Queensland
  • Cecilia Benoit: Professor Emerita, University of Victoria
  • Charlotte Roddick: Researcher, University of British Columbia
  • Cheryl Harasymchuk: Professor, Carleton University
  • Cheryl L. Carmichael: Associate Professor of Psychology, Brooklyn College
  • Chris Segrin: Professor, University of Arizona
  • Christina R. Victor: Professor, Brunel University London
  • Colter D. Ray: Assistant Professor of Communication, The University of Tampa
  • Dale A. Blyth: Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota
  • Daniel P. Aldrich: Professor, Northeastern University
  • Danielle Varda: Associate Professor, University of Colorado, Denver
  • David Dodell-Feder: Assistant Professor, University of Rochester
  • Delia Fuhrmann: Lecturer in Psychology, King's College London
  • Diego De Leo: Professor, Griffith University
  • Edward Garcia: Founder/Executive, Foundation for Social Connection
  • Elizabeth Pinel: Professor, University of Vermont
  • Elvira Lara: Assistant Professor, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
  • Emily Long: Researcher, University of Glasgow
  • Enrico DiTommaso: Professor, University of New Brunswick
  • Erica Solway: Deputy Director, University of Michigan
  • Erin Dej: Associate Professor, Wilfrid Laurier University
  • Farhana Mann: Psychiatrist, University College London
  • Frances Chen: Associate Professor, University of British Columbia
  • Gillian Sandstrom: Senior Lecturer, University of Sussex
  • Gloria Gutman: Professor Emerita, Simon Fraser University
  • Gotaro Kojima: Clinician-Scientist, Well Medical Group
  • Hanne Collins: Doctoral Candidate, Harvard Business School
  • Hans Rocha IJzerman: Researcher, Université Grenoble Alpes
  • Heather Keam: Consulting Director-Asset Based Community Development, Tamarack Institute
  • Heather Love: Assistant Professor in Human Development and Family Studies, University of Alabama
  • Heather Orpana: Senior Research Scientist, Public Health Agency of Canada
  • Helen Stain: Professor, Leeds Trinity University
  • Iina Savolainen: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Tampere University
  • Jeffrey Hall: Professor, University of Kansas
  • Jennifer Chipps: Professor, Chair of Digital Health, University of the Western Cape
  • Jennifer Leong: Registered Social Worker, Private Practice
  • Johanna C. Badcock: , Adjunct Professor, University of Western Australia & Co-Founder, Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection
  • John Oliffe: Professor, University of British Columbia
  • Josephine A. Igwacho: Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Minneapolis VA
  • Juan Rafael Albertorio: Senior Advisor, Foundation for Social Connection
  • Julianne Holt-Lunstad: Professor, Brigham Young University
  • Julie Radlauer-Doerfler: Adjunct Professor, University of South Florida
  • Kasley Killam: Executive Director, Social Connection Labs
  • Kate Mulligan: Assistant Professor, University of Toronto
  • Kathryn Phillips: Associate Professor, Fairfield University
  • Kathy Rovito: Faculty Director, Rollins College in Winter Park
  • Keming Yang: Associate Professor, University of Durham
  • Kiffer Card: Assistant Professor, Simon Fraser University
  • Kory Floyd: Professor, University of Arizona
  • Kostadin Kushlev: Assistant Professor, Georgetown University
  • Lara Aknin: Professor, Simon Fraser University
  • Laura Riddleston: Researcher, Queen Mary University of London
  • Laura Sels: Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Ghent University
  • Laurie Ann Theeke: Professor, The George Washington University
  • Marco Solmi: Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa
  • Mareike Ernst: Psychologist, University of Klagenfurt
  • Margarita Azmitia: Professor, University of California Santa Cruz
  • Marie-Pierre Gagnon: Professor, Laval University
  • Marja Aartsen: Research Professor, Oslo Metropolitan University
  • Mark Van Ryzin: Mark Van Ryzin, University of Oregon
  • Marlies Maes: Assistant Professor, Utrecht University
  • Masanori Takano: Computational Social Science Researcher, CyberAgent, Inc.
  • Mathias Lasgaard: Senior Scientist, Central Denmar Region
  • Maximiliane Uhlich: Researcher, University of Basel
  • Maxwell Hartt: Assistant Professor, Queen's University
  • Meridith Sones: Researcher, Simon Fraser University
  • Michelle Lim: Associate Professor & Clinical Psychologist, University of Sydney
  • Miranda T. Schram: Professor of Diabetes Epidemiology, Maastricht University Medical Center
  • Miriam Kirmayer: Private Practice, Clinical Psychologist
  • Nancy Newall: Associate Professor, Brandon University
  • Natalie Pennington: Assistant Professor, Colorado State University
  • Neeru Gupta: Professor, University of New Brunswick
  • Nicole Dukers-Muijrers: Associate Professor Public Health, Maastricht University
  • Pamela Qualter: Professor of Psychology for Education, University of Manchester
  • Pete Bombaci: Executive Director, GenWell
  • Peter Helm: Assistant Professor, Montana State University
  • Phil McAuliffe: Creator, The Loneliness Guy
  • Rebecca Nowland: Senior Research Fellow, University of Central Lancashire
  • Risa Wilkerson: Executive Director, Healthy Places by Design
  • Robert J. Coplan: Chancellor's Professor, Carleton University
  • Robert Kraut: Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
  • Roberta L. Woodgate: Distinguished Professor, University of Manitoba
  • Robin Hewings: Programme Director, Campaign to End Loneliness
  • Rose Perry: Founder, Social Creatures Inc.
  • Roz Shafran: Professor, University College London
  • Shayna Skakoon-Sparling: Assistant Professor, University of Guelph
  • Simon C. Hunter: Professor of Applied Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University
  • Stav Atir: Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Steve Joordens: Professor, University of Toronto, Scarborough
  • Steven Crane: Researcher, Stanford University
  • Susan Sprecher: Distinguished Professor, Illinois State University
  • Suzanne Degges-White: Professor and Chair, Northern Illinois University
  • Sydney Elaine Butler: Administrator, Accessible Creates
  • Syed Sarwar Shah: Researcher, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • Taylor G. Hill: Lecturer in Psychology, University of Dundee
  • Tegan Cruwys: Associate Professor, Australian National University
  • Terri Orbuch: Professor, Oakland University
  • Theo van Tilburg: Professor, Vrije Universiteit
  • Theodore D. Cosco: Associate Professor, Simon Fraser University
  • Theodore F. Robles: Professor, UCLA Department of Psychology
  • Tiffany Petricini: Assistant Professor, Penn State University
  • Troy Glover: Professor, University of Waterloo
  • William Leever: Clinical Assistant Professor and Pediatric Psychologist, Department of Pediatrics, Nationwide Children's Hospital
  • William Magee: Associate Professor, University of Toronto
  • Yeeun Archer Lee: Researcher, University of British Columbia

Affiliated organizations