Dr. Burhan is a Geriatric Psychiatrist, Physician-in-Chief and Endowed Chair for Applied Mental Health Research at the Ontario Shores Centre of Mental Health Sciences in the Whitby Ontario, and Associate Professor in Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Also, he is Adjunct Research Professor in Psychiatry and Neurosciences at Western University and Geriatric Psychiatrist with the Operational Stress Injury Clinic at Saint Joseph’s Health Care and is associate scientist at the MacDonald Franklin Operational Stress Injury Research Centre and the Lawson Health Research Institute in London Ontario. He leads several pragmatic clinical trials in the area of neuropsychiatry of dementia and in therapeutic brain stimulation for resistant mental illness across the life-span in addition to being active in several initiatives to develop guidelines to standardize definitions, assessment and management of treatment resistant mental illnesses.
After graduating from the Medical College of Baghdad University he undertook a fellowship in basic neurosciences at the Montreal Neurological institute, residency in Psychiatry at the University of Rochester, and advanced training in geriatric neuropsychiatry at Western University.He is Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada certified in general Psychiatry since 2003 and in Geriatric Psychiatry since 2013, a diplomat in Neuropsychiatry from the United Council for Neurological Subspecialties in the US since 2007, and completed a Master’s of Science degree in community health from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and University of Toronto in 2015. He is a clinician educator and investigator and his career focus on complex mental health presentation in old age and on therapeutic brain stimulation.
Dr. Amer Burhan on Google Scholar »
Grants
Area of research: Development of Micro-credential in Dementia Care to Support Capacity Building in Long-Term Care Using GEM-TECH (Gamified Educational Multimodal Technology Platform)
Granting Body: Ministry of Colleges and Universities, Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development
Amount Awarded: $300,000
Role: Co-Investigator
Date of Award: September 2022
Area of research: Examining the physical, social and educational benefits of CLEAN exergame for persons with dementia to promote hand hygiene and influenza vaccine uptake: A feasibility study
Granting Body: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
Amount Awarded: $99,965
Role: Co-Investigator
Date of Award: March 2024
Area of research: Dementia Caregivers Skills Training Through Virtual Reality Simulation (VR-SIM CARERS)
Granting Body: National Research Council and Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Amount Awarded: $556,000
Role: Nominated Principal Investigator
Date of Award: 2025
Area of research: Physiological Signature of Emotional Distress in Persons with Dementia: Multi-sensory X Deep Learning to Facilitate Personalized Management of Agitation
Granting Body: CCNA
Amount Awarded: $40,000
Role: Principal Applicant
Date of Award: 2024