Dr. Ellen McGarity-Shipley, PhD

Education
BSc(Kin) (Queen’s University), MScPT (Western University), PhD (Queen’s University) 

Research interests: Ellen is generally interested in understanding the role of shame in the relationship between stigma and health. This includes studying the physiological impact of shame in the context of stigmatization, as well as the relationship between chronic shame and physical health outcomes among stigmatized populations in epidemiological studies. She is also interested in healthcare quality improvement interventions focused on destigmatization or routine consideration of social determinants of health (social prescribing) in healthcare practice.

Ellen’s research generally explores the role of shame in the relationship between stigma and health across three research pillars:

• Psychophysiology – Investigate the impact of shame on endothelial function and potential physiological mechanisms.
• Social epidemiology – Study the role of chronic shame in the relationship between stigma and physical health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease.
• Healthcare quality improvement – Work with community partners to design, incorporate, and evaluate the integration of health equity interventions into healthcare such as routine consideration of social determinants of health (social prescribing) and destigmatization interventions.