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Kim Hellemans

Assistant Professor

Dr. Kim Hellemans is an award-winning educator, neuroscientist, and Associate Dean of Science at Carleton University. Recognized for her passion for teaching, she has earned prestigious awards, including the OCUFA Provincial Teaching Award. Her research focuses on the intersection of mental health, substance use, and academic outcomes among emerging adults, with recent work exploring problematic cannabis and social media use, graduate student mental health, and the experiences of gender and sexual minority students in higher education. A champion of knowledge translation, she has created widely viewed neuroscience animations on substance use and stigma. She also hosts the award-winning podcast Minding the Brain, bringing cutting-edge neuroscience to the public.

Eligible to supervise 4th year capstone courses (NEUR 4907/4908) and independent studies (NEUR 4900).
Eligible to supervise at the graduate level. 

Courses taught: 

Scholarly Work & Research Interests:

The Hellemans lab explores the complex interplay between stress, trauma, substance use, and mental health through an integrative neuroscience lens. We combine biological, psychological, and social approaches to understand how early adversity and systemic stigma impact well-being. Grounded in principles of equity, inclusion, and lived experience, our work aims to dismantle barriers to care and inform compassionate, evidence-based interventions. We are committed to meaningful knowledge mobilization and the training of interdisciplinary scholars equipped to transform mental health and substance use health systems.

Dr. Kim Hellemans and Dr. Jim Davies, co-hosts of the podcast, Minding the Brain

Selected Publications

Aubin, K., Thatchet, T., Hotston, I., Thompson, A., Hellemans KGC, Graduate Student Mental Health and Coping During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16, 153297, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1532987

Shannon, H., Montgomery, M., Funk,A., Kamyabi, A., Hunt, M., Pope, C., Hellemans, K., & Guimond,S. (2025). Beyond problematic social media use and the brain:A public health and policy perspective. Ann NY Acad Sci., 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.15409

Prowse, R, Gabrys, R, Abizaid, A, Aubin, K, Hotston, I, Patterson, Z, Villeneuve, PJ, McQuaid, R and Hellemans, KGC, Understanding Problematic Cannabis Use Among University Students: Gender Differences in Methods, Patterns and Motivations, Canadian Journal of Addiction, in press, 2025

Shannon H, Montgomery M, Guimond S, Hellemans K. Problematic social media use and inhibitory control among post-secondary students. Addict Behav. 2025 Jun;165:108307.  doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2025.108307.

Epp, T., Garner, G., DeMoor, C., Atif, S., McQuaid, R.J., and Hellemans, KGC, A comparison of alcohol-abstaining and non-alcohol abstaining Canadian University students: Mental health, substance use, and stigmatization, accepted, Current Research in Behavioural Sciences, Volume 8, 100172, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crbeha.2025.100172

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