Headshot of Karin Cinalioglu.

Karin Cinalioglu, MSc

MA2, Counselling Psychology 

Research Interests: Mindfulness, VR mindfulness, Perfectionism, Motivation

Biography: Karin is a graduate student in the Counselling Psychology program, and she holds a BA in Psychology and an MSc in Psychiatry, both from McGill University. Over the course of her MSc, Karin conducted clinical research on mindfulness, including tech-assisted interventions for older adults in a geriatric psychiatry lab at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal. Her current research interests include mindfulness and the development of mindfulness-based interventions aimed at reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and maladaptive perfectionism. She is also interested in the motivational and self-regulatory mechanisms underlying these processes.

Supervisor: Dr. Bassam Khoury

  • MSc in Psychiatry, McGill University

    BA in Psychology, McGill University

  • Cinalioglu K., Elbaz S., Sekhon K., Su C-L., Rej,S., Sekhon, H., (2023). Exploring Differential Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence in Health Care Among Younger Versus Older Canadians: Results From the 2021 Canadian Digital Health Survey. Journal of medical Internet research, 2023;25:e38169) doi: 10.2196/38169.

    Cinalioglu K., Lavín P, Bein M, Lesage M, Gruber J, Se J, Bukhari S, Sasi N, Noble H, Andree-Bruneau M, Launay C, Sanders J, Gauthier S, Rosa P, Lifshitz M, Battistini BJ, Beauchet O, Khoury B, Bouchard S, Fallavollita P, Vahia I, Rej S and Sekhon H (2023). Effects of virtual reality guided meditation in older adults: the protocol of a pilot randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychology. 14:1083219. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1083219.

    Novielli, J.*, Cinalioglu K.*, Potes, A., Thomas, Z., Inhaber, J., Nassim, M., ... & Rej, S. (2022). Tai Chi/Qigong in Adults with Depression and Anxiety: A Pilot Retrospective Study. Integrative Medicine Reports, 1(1), 131-139.

    Sekhon, H., Lavin, P., Vacaflor, B., Rigas, C., Cinalioglu K., Su, C. L., ... & Rej, S. (2022). Isolating together during COVID-19: Results from the Telehealth Intervention Program for older adults. Frontiers in Medicine, 9, 948506.

    Elbaz, S.*, Cinalioglu K.*, Sekhon, K., Gruber, J., Rigas, C., Bodenstein, K., ... & Sekhon, H. (2021). A systematic review of telemedicine for older adults with dementia during COVID-19: an alternative to in- person health services?. Frontiers in Neurology, 12, 761965.

    Dikaios, E., Sekhon, H., Allard, A., Vacaflor, B., Goodman, A., Dwyer, E., Cinalioglu K., ... & Bukhari, S. N. (2020). Connecting during COVID-19: a protocol of a volunteer-based telehealth program for supporting older adults' health. Frontiers in psychiatry, 11, 1289.

    Lavin P, Lesage M, Monroe E, Kanevsky M, Gruber J, Cinalioglu K, Rej S, Sekhon H. Humanoid robot intervention vs. treatment as usual for loneliness in long-term care homes: Study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in psychiatry. 2022 Oct 21;13:1003881.

    Chintha S, Escobar S, Nassim M, Nazar R, Wu J, Gloeckler SG, Cinalioglu K, Torres-Platas SG, Rej S. Does MBCT affect psychodynamic defense mechanisms and self-rated mindfulness in older adults?. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy. 2024 Sep;54(3):217-23.

    Ben m'rad M, Rigas C, Bodenstein K, Cinalioglu K, Gautier M, Sekhon H, Rej S. Virtual Mindfulness Based Intervention for Hemodialysis Patients During COVID-19 for Chronic Pain, Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: PUB023. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. 2022 Nov 1;33(11S):890.

    Sekhon H, Sekhon K, Elbaz S, Cinalioglu K, Se J, Gruber J, Ridge L, Rej S, Innocente N. Promoting Aging in the Community Through the Community Care Access Centre Reform in Ontario, the Weaknesses and Strengths. International Journal of Integrated Care (IJIC). 2025 Jan 2.

    Sansfaçon, J., Cinalioglu K., Gloeckler, S. G., Kern, M., Yarns, B. C., Lesage, M., ... & Rej, S. (2024). Subspecialty Selection and Fellowship Training Satisfaction among American and Canadian Geriatric Psychiatry Fellows. Canadian Geriatrics Journal, 27(2), 178.

    R Lesage, M.*, Cinalioglu K.*, Chan, S., Kumar, S., Rajji, T., Melichercik, A., ... & Rej, S. (2024). Are Opioids Agitating? A Data Analysis of Baseline Data from the STAN Study. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease Reports, 8(1), 1297-1300.

    Book Chapters

    Bodenstein, K. C., Paquin, V., Sekhon, K., Lesage, M., Cinalioglu K., Rej, S., ... & Sekhon, H. (2023). Digital markers of mental health problems: phenotyping across biological, psychological, and environmental dimensions. In Biomarkers in Neuropsychiatry: A Primer (pp. 105-122). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

  • Cinalioglu, K., Yepez, A. F. T., Sekhon, H., Dickinson, R. A., Gruber, J., Se, J., ... & Vahia, I. (2022). Implementation Barriers to Using Virtual Reality to Administer Mindfulness Therapy: Lessons from the Field. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 30(4), S98.

    Klil-Drori, S., Cinalioglu, K., & Rej, S. (2022). The aging brain and benefits of exercise versus increased prevalence of sedentary lifestyle: lessons learned from behavioral economics on irrational decision making. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 30(4), S72-S73.

    Cinalioglu, K., Sekhon, H., & Rej, S. (2023). Effects of a virtual reality assisted mindfulness intervention in older adults. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 31(3), S133-S134.

    Klil-Drori, S., Cinalioglu, K., & Rej, S. (2022). Brain health and the role of exercise in maintaining late-life cognitive reserve: a narrative review providing the neuroprotective mechanisms of exercise. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 30(4), S72.

    Cinalioglu, K. 2022. The effects of virtual-reality-assisted guided meditation in older adults with depression. Canadian Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (CAGP) Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada.

    Cinalioglu, K. 2022. Implementation Barriers to Using Virtual Reality to Administer Mindfulness Therapy: Lessons from the Field.American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry Annual Meeting, Orlando, United States of America.

    Cinalioglu, K. 2022. Brain health and the role of exercise in maintaining late-life cognitive reserve: a narrative review providing the neuroprotective mechanisms of exercise. American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) Annual Meeting, Orlando, United States of America.

    Cinalioglu, K. 2022.The aging brain and benefits of exercise versus increased prevalence of sedentary lifestyle: lessons learned from behavioural economics on irrational decision making. American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) Annual Meeting, Orlando, United States of America.

    Cinalioglu, K. 2022. Effects of a virtual reality assisted mindfulness intervention in older adults. American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) Annual Meeting, Orlando, United States of America.

    Benm’rad, M., Lesage, M., Cinalioglu, K., Lavin, P., Malouin, J. F., Drouin, P. O., Nobel, H., Rej, S., Greenway, K., & Suri, R. 2024, June 6. Virtual reality use for exercise in hemodialysis: Co-creation of the VIRTUE-HD program by patient partners, healthcare professionals, and an industrial partner [Poster]. Jewish General Hospital's 2024 Student Research Day, Montreal, Canada.

    • Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems (MITACS) Accelerate Fellowship (2024) - $15,000

    • Tri-Council Agency - AGE-Well Graduate Student Award (2023) - $10,000

  • Email: karin.cinalioglu@mail.mcgill.ca