About
Mark Ferro is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo, Canada. He holds the Canada Research Chair in Youth Mental Health. His research focuses on child and youth multimorbidity (co-occurrence of physical and mental illnesses), epidemiology of psychopathology, and mechanisms linking chronic physical illness to mental health outcomes. Ferro’s work emphasizes preventive strategies, healthcare system integration, and improving quality of life for affected children and families.
- Education: BSc Biochemistry (McMaster), MSc Community Health (U Sask), PhD Epidemiology (Western Ontario), Postdoc in Child Psychiatry (McMaster)
- Professional Roles: Scientist at Offord Centre for Child Studies and CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research (McMaster), affiliated with multiple academic societies including the Canadian Academy of Psychiatric Epidemiology.
Research interests include developmental epidemiology, mental health measurement, and service utilization patterns. Ferro has led studies on pandemic mental health impacts, child abuse epidemiology, and trajectories of psychopathology in medically complex populations. His work has been supported by awards from Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Ministry of Research, and Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation.
Selected grants include investigations into multimorbidity mechanisms, mental health service gaps, and longitudinal studies of youth well-being. Ferro collaborates with clinical teams to advance integrated care models for youth with chronic conditions. His lab (Advancing Research in Children’s Health) hosts graduate students researching epidemiological methods and child health policy.
