Five Questions with Nicole Edgar
As part of our “Five Questions” series, we connected with Nicole Edgar, our Clinical Research Program Manager to learn what makes her tick!
Nicole has been a lab member since 2018 and manager since 2020. Nicole brings over 10 years of experience in clinical research related to mental health. Her passion for our work is unmatched - she is quite literally the beating heart of our team. Without Nicole, we would be in T. R. O. U. B. L. E.
What brought you to the area of mental health?
What initially brought me to mental health was sheer chance – I was looking for work as a new grad and mental health research was the home that took me in. Over the past 8 years, it has become so much more than that. Through my entire life, my family has been affected by mental illness. While discussing living with mental illness and medications was always an open and judgement-free conversation in my home, coming to work in this area showed me that for so many this was still not the case. This has led me into my career of research and advocacy in mental health.
What work do you do in the lab and what has been your proudest moment so far?
I am the Clinical Research Program Manager in the lab. I oversee all of our research projects from start to finish, support funding applications, support and mentor our research staff and students, and really anything else that comes my way! My proudest moment – this is a hard one – I can’t say there is just one. I always feel proud when a staff member overcomes a hurdle or challenge they have been stuck on, when we get our first participant into a new study, when participants tell us how much of a difference our study made to them, and, lastly, my first lead publication this year was a huge personal milestone.
Would you rather be a tiny elephant or a giant hamster?
Definitely a tiny elephant. For one, elephants have amazing family herd structures and are known to be incredibly empathic animals. Elephants are also one of my grandmother’s favourite animals (how fitting). Lastly, elephants are just the best. (Hamsters have to live alone and they eat their own babies. Hardly seems worth it).
What is the best (or worst) advice you’ve ever been given?
I think the best advice I have ever been given is that not everything is your problem to fix. I am a notorious “fixer”, wanting to help everyone and resolve all of the issues on my radar. It was burning me out. One of my mentors reminded me that being part of a team means that not everything is your problem to fix. You can help when needed, or offer your advice, but not everything is your issue. To this day, when I start feeling overwhelmed, I take a step back and think “Is this really my issue to fix or should I be reaching out for help”.
What’s your favourite way to unwind after a busy day?
Number one is cuddles with the dog and a nice long walk if the weather is cooperating. Also sitting down with some crochet or a good book. If it was a REALLY busy day, there may be wine involved.