Team Leads
Andrew Baxter
MSW, RSW
Andrew Baxter is the Program Director of Mental Health Literacy (MHL) within the Team for Innovation in Medicine and Education for Mental Health (TIIME4MH) Initiative at the University of Alberta. His work focuses on the implementation and evaluation of evidence-informed mental health literacy approaches, examining their impact on knowledge, attitudes, and help-seeking across education, healthcare, and community service systems. The initiative is dedicated to enhancing mental health knowledge, improving recognition of mental disorders, reducing stigma, and promoting help-seeking, leading to earlier access to appropriate care for improved outcomes.
For more than a decade, Andrew has worked at the interface of research and practice, translating mental health evidence into scalable, system-level interventions. Since 2013, during his career at Alberta Health Services, he facilitated the implementation of mental health literacy initiatives reaching more than 50,000 educators across Canada, while also leading program launches in healthcare and community-based social service settings.
Andrew’s background as a mental health therapist working with children, adolescents, and young adults informs his applied approach. He has extensive experience consulting with educators, clinicians, and families, supporting the integration of mental health knowledge into real-world settings.
Internationally, he has collaborated with partners, including the Pan American Health Organization and education and health systems across the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia to adapt and implement mental health literacy initiatives in diverse contexts.
Daniel Moreno De Luca
MD, MSc
Daniel Moreno De Luca, MD, MSc is the CASA (Child, Adolescent, and Family Mental Health) Research Chair, Associate Professor at the University of Alberta, and Principal Investigator of the Precision Medicine in Autism (PRISMA) research group. He is a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist with a research focus on the genetic and biological factors that contribute to autism and related conditions that affect brain development.
Dr. Moreno De Luca’s work integrates clinical care, research, and education to better understand why neurodevelopmental conditions present differently across individuals, and how this knowledge can support more personalized approaches to diagnosis, care, and support. His team has identified rare genetic variants, including the 17q12 deletion, as risk factors for neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions, and continues to expand research aimed at developing genomically informed interventions.
In addition to leading research, Dr. Moreno De Luca mentors trainees in adult, child, and adolescent psychiatry through the genomic psychiatry consultation service, supporting the development of future clinicians and researchers. A central focus of his work involves collaboration with individuals and families affected by rare genetic changes that influence neurodevelopment, ensuring their experiences and perspectives inform research, clinical care, and educational initiatives.
Through outreach, education, and media engagement, Dr. Moreno De Luca and the PRISMA team strive to make research discoveries accessible and actionable, advancing precision medicine to improve understanding, treatment, and support for individuals and families affected by autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions.
David A. Ross
MD, PhD
Dr. David A. Ross is Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta. The primary focus of his academic work is on designing, implementing, and disseminating innovative educational resources. He is a Co-Founder and Executive Director of the National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative, the goal of which is to help integrate cutting-edge neuroscience into psychiatry. Through this work, he has helped create a set of shared curriculum resources that are now in use at more than 200 programs around the world.
Dr. Ross is the Founding Director of the TIME4MH Initiative and helps lead the ANCHOR-MH and OASIS pillars, which aim to: enhance access to care; improve mental health outcomes, especially with historically underserved communities; and reduce stigma towards psychiatric illness.
Yifeng Wei
PhD, MSc
Dr. Yifeng Wei, PhD is an Associate Professor and Research Director in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta. She is also the Research Lead for Mental Health Literacy (MHL) within the TIME4MH Initiative.
Dr. Wei is a leading expert in youth mental health, dedicated to improving outcomes for children, adolescents, and young adults by strengthening mental health knowledge and understanding within schools and communities. Her research focuses on the development, evaluation, and systemic implementation of evidence-based MHL interventions. By bridging the gaps between education, community services, and healthcare, her work aims to reduce stigma, facilitate early identification of mental health concerns, and increase help-seeking to support earlier access to appropriate care.
Dr. Wei has led and co-led the creation and scaling of several foundational MHL resources currently being used across Canada and globally, including the Elementary Mental Health Literacy Resource (Grades 4 - 6), Mental Health & High School Curriculum Guide (Grades 7 - 12), Know Before You Go (Grade 12), Transitions (Post- secondary youth). She has also contributed to stakeholder-focused initiatives, such as the Go-To Educator training program and educator web-based MHL resources, supporting educators, parents, coaches, public servants, and primary care providers in identifying youth mental health needs.
Prior to joining the University of Alberta, Dr. Wei worked for over a decade at Dalhousie University and the IWK Health Centre. During this time, she collaborated closely with Dr. Stan Kutcher as part of the Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health team, playing a pivotal role in developing and evaluating school-based mental health literacy frameworks.
An accomplished scholar, Dr. Wei has also authored a book on school mental health, and more than 70 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters.
Jeremy Weleff
DO
Dr. Jeremy Weleff, DO is a clinician-researcher and educator in psychiatry at the University of Alberta, with an adjunct appointment at Yale School of Medicine. His work focuses on addiction and substance abuse disorders, psychiatric epidemiology, and social determinants of health. He also collaborates with the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute on community-engaged research aimed at supporting vulnerable populations.
Dr. Weleff is a key researcher in OASIS (Overcoming and Addressing Stigma In Substance Use Disorders), an ongoing study within the TIME4MH Initiative, that evaluates a community-facing educational intervention designed for clinicians and individuals with lived experience of opioid use, to reduce stigma and barriers to care, and improve treatment engagement and outcomes.
Prior to joining the University of Alberta, Dr. Weleff completed advanced training in public psychiatry and addiction psychiatry fellowships at Yale-affiliated programs, where he developed expertise in complex clinical care and innovative therapeutic approaches.
Dr. Weleff maintains active involvement in scholarly networks and services as a peer reviewer and research collaborator internationally, reflecting his ongoing commitment to advancing psychiatric science and improving mental health outcomes worldwide.