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Sakina Rizvi

PhD, MACP, RP

Scientist

Email: Sakina.Rizvi@unityhealth.to
Tel: 416-864-6060 ext. 6489
Other: Arthur Sommer Rotenberg Suicide & Depression Studies Program

Research Programs

Biography

Dr. Sakina Rizvi is a Scientist and Psychotherapist in the Arthur Sommer Rotenberg (ASR) Suicide and Depression Studies Program at St. Michael’s Hospital, and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Her research program aims to characterize the neurobiology of suicide risk and treatment resistant depression (TRD), primarily through the use of fMRI and PET neuroimaging. Within her biomarker research, she is evaluating brain reward and pain processing as markers to stratify depression and suicide risk, as well as treatment outcome. In addition to neuroimaging research, Dr. Rizvi develops and tests novel psychotherapies for suicide risk and depression. She also conducts patient-engagement research to create community-based suicide prevention strategies. Dr. Rizvi is actively involved in outreach and advocacy projects with an emphasis on providing mental health education to the community through the creative arts. She led the Storybook Project, a lived experience short story collection on the impact of suicide published in September 2021 as “What it Takes to Make it Through: Stories of Suicide Loss and Resilience”.

Recent Publications

  1. Gill, M, Wu, M, Pierre, S, Joachim, L, Premnazeer, M, Scali, O et al.. Engagement in meaningful activities post suicide loss: A scoping review. PLoS One. 2025;20 (11):e0336640. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0336640. PubMed PMID:41248077 PubMed Central PMC12622850.
  2. Giacobbe, P, Rizvi, SJ, Ceniti, AK, Tomlinson, G, Elias, GJB, Germann, J et al.. Deep Brain Stimulation to the Subgenual Cingulate Gyrus for Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial and 2-Year Long-Term Follow-Up: Stimulation cérébrale profonde du gyrus cingulaire subgénual pour traiter la dépression résistante au traitement : Essai contrôlé à répartition aléatoire et suivi à long terme sur deux ans. Can J Psychiatry. 2025; :7067437251369226. doi: 10.1177/07067437251369226. PubMed PMID:41171999 PubMed Central PMC12578624.
  3. Lu, M, Tucci, V, Parakh, N, Pereira, SM, Leda, M, Mattina, G et al.. Prospective preference assessment for the Ecstasy for Alleviating Severe Chronic Neuropathic Pain (EASE-Pain) trial. Can J Anaesth. 2025;72 (9):1406-1415. doi: 10.1007/s12630-025-03031-0. PubMed PMID:40750953 .
  4. Benedetto, SR, Ionescu, A, Ge, T, Furey, M, Lin, S, Jha, MK et al.. A Phase 2 Randomized Trial of NBI-1065846 (TAK-041) in Patients With Anhedonia Associated With Major Depressive Disorder: Results of the TERPSIS Study. J Clin Psychopharmacol. ;45 (5):432-440. doi: 10.1097/JCP.0000000000002046. PubMed PMID:40719142 PubMed Central PMC12379779.
  5. Lalovic, A, Hyde, M, Bergmans, Y, Kiriakidis, A, Ebegbare, N, Verduyn, A et al.. Enhancing Trauma Resilience in Nurses and Personal Support Workers: A Feasibility Study of an 8-Week Supportive Trauma Exposure Preparation Intervention. Can J Nurs Res. 2025;57 (4):580-591. doi: 10.1177/08445621251354918. PubMed PMID:40589165 .
  6. Karakus, OB, Doganer, MZ, Turhan, İY, Cesur, TD, Cakir, EO, Yuksel, AS et al.. Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS) Turkish Version: Examination of Psychometric Properties in Depressed and Ultra-High Risk/Psychotic Adolescents. Psychiatr Q. 2025; :. doi: 10.1007/s11126-025-10177-z. PubMed PMID:40580261 .
  7. Lalovic, A, Hyde, M, Bergmans, Y, Morton, M, Razac, A, Nicoll, G et al.. Mitigating suicide risk with a single session of virtually-delivered psychotherapy: An open-label trial of Brief Skills for Safer Living. J Affect Disord. 2025;388 :119512. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2025.119512. PubMed PMID:40441633 .
  8. Elias, GJB, Iskin, SA, Beyn, ME, Omere, U, Rizvi, SJ, Ceniti, AK et al.. Fluorodeoxyglucose-Positron Emission Tomography as a Preoperative Biomarker for Predicting and Optimizing Response to Subcallosal Cingulate Area Deep Brain Stimulation. Biol Psychiatry. 2025; :. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.05.009. PubMed PMID:40403825 .
  9. Bean, S, Dhanda, R, Graham, CA, Hoffman, D, Rodriguez-Lee, M, Ionescu, A et al.. Establishing content validity of the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale. J Patient Rep Outcomes. 2025;9 (1):31. doi: 10.1186/s41687-025-00860-x. PubMed PMID:40069518 PubMed Central PMC11896914.
  10. Gholamali Nezhad, F, Tassone, VK, Khoo, Y, Wu, M, Lin, Q, Demchenko, I et al.. Lack of neuropsychological effects following short-term subcallosal cingulate gyrus deep brain stimulation in treatment-resistant depression: a randomised crossover study. BMJ Ment Health. 2025;28 (1):. doi: 10.1136/bmjment-2024-301408. PubMed PMID:40021211 PubMed Central PMC11873328.
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Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine Collaborative Program in Neuroscience, University of Toronto
  • Scientific Associate, Department of Psychiatry, University Health Network