Melanie Noel, PhD, RPsych is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary and directs the PEAK (Pain Education, Advocacy, Knowledge) Research Laboratory. Dr. Noel’s expertise is on children’s memories of pain, and intersections of pediatric chronic pain, trauma, and mental health, as well as its intergenerational transmission.
Dr. Noel adopts a bio-psycho-social-structural conceptualization of pain, which is rooted in early life trauma across generations, dismantles biomedical models that have stagnated progress, and harnesses population health data to advocate for broader systems level changes globally. In tandem, she partners to co-design trauma- and equity-informed solutions to prevent and treat this rising epidemic.
Dr. Noel published guiding conceptual models on pain memory development and the co-occurrence of trauma and mental health issues and chronic pain. She published > 240 papers in peer-reviewed journals (H index = 51). In recognition of her contributions to advancing knowledge of children’s pain, Dr. Noel received early career awards from the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), the Canadian and American Pain Societies, the Canadian Psychological Association, and the Society of Pediatric Psychology. She was named Avenue Magazine Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40 (Class of 2017), a Killam Emerging Research Leader (2020), and holds the inaugural Killam Memorial Emerging Leader Chair (2021-2026). In 2022, she was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists.
