Congratulations Mackenzie Betteridge!
- Post by: Anastasia Soukhov
- 8:13PM Aug 26, 2026
- No Comment
The HEAL is proud to share that Mackenzie Betteridge has completed her master’s thesis in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Western University.
Her thesis, “Adolescent Cannabis Use in Canada: Patterns, Correlates, and Change Over Time During Early Cannabis Legalization and the COVID-19 Pandemic,” examined cannabis use among Canadian adolescents and explored how sociodemographic, psychological, lifestyle-behaviour and neighbourhood-level factors were associated with cannabis use across a post-recreational legalization of cannabis and COVID-19 pandemic context.
Using data from the QuaranTEENing project, Mackenzie’s research examined multiple frequency measures of cannabis use and assessed a range of potential correlates. The findings highlighted strong associations between cannabis use and other substance use behaviours, while also identifying key relationships with mental health, sleep, and region of residence.
Mackenzie is continuing her graduate training as she begins a PhD in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences specializing in Health Promotion. She remains part of the HEAL and hopes to continue her research in adolescent substance use.
Mackenzie is incredibly grateful to her supervisors, Dr Jamie Seabrook and Dr Jason Gilliland, committee members, colleagues, and the youth who contributed to this research. This work has been an invaluable opportunity to grow as a researcher, and she is excited to carry these lessons forward into future work focused on youth health and substance use.
Congratulations to Mackenzie (pictured second from the left) on her MSc in Epidemiology and Biostatistics!