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Experts: 2025 Holiday Season

Published: 8 December 2025

The 91˿Ƶ Media Relations Office offers the following resources for your holiday stories:

Health

Perry Adler, Faculty Lecturer, Department of Family Medicine,can speak to a range of mental health topics, including seasonal depressive disorder and its treatments, the “holiday blues,” family and social pressures during the holidays, as well asstress and expectations tied to New Year’s Eve and resolutions.

perry.adler [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)

Christopher Labos, MD, Associate, Office for Science and Society, can debunk popular health myths, from post-holiday detox trends to the supposed benefits of chocolate and red wine, and comment on whether immune-boosting supplements actually help prevent illness.

christopher.labos [at] mail.mcgill.ca (English, French)

Jesse Papenburg, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, and infectious disease specialist, Montreal Children’s Hospital, can speak to the latest flu and COVID-19 trends, vaccine guidance and tips for avoiding illness over the holidays, including what to watch for when travelling.

jesse.papenburg [at] mcgill.ca (English, French) 

is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and researcher at the Douglas Research Centre. As the festive season often brings alcohol consumption into focus, she can discuss the neuroscience behind addiction and how and why to moderate consumption, including the benefits of Dry January.

rachel.rabin [at] mcgill.ca (English)

Mitch Shulman, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, and attending physician, Montreal General and Royal Victoria hospitals, can speak about the rise in emergency room visits from seasonal health risks, including heart attacks from snow shovelling and slips on icy sidewalks, and offer practical advice for managing allergy and asthma triggers such as scented candles and Christmas trees.

mitchell.shulman [at] mcgill.ca (English)

Impacts on children

Adam Dubé, Associate Professor, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, Director of the Faculty of Education’s , can speak about technology and kids/families/society as well as children and screens.

adam.dube [at] mcgill.ca (English)

Sara Grimes, Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy and a Professor in the Department of Art History and Communication Studies, can speak about children, youth and media/technology; teens and social media; the digital game industry, children's rights and policy in the digital environment; responsible AI and children; AI in toys and games, children's play, creativity and digital literacy.

sara.grimes [at] mcgil.ca (English)

Tina Montreuil, Associate Professor, Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, Director of Childhood Anxiety and Regulation of Emotions C.A.R.E. Research Group, Faculty of Education, can talk about what happens when familiar school routines are removed and children face difficulties in managing holiday social expectations, and dealing with stress, anxiety and isolation.

tina.montreuil [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)

Food and food preparation

Alexandra Ketchum is an Associate Professor at the Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies. She is the co-editor of and the co-founder and editor of , a website dedicated to food studies scholarship. She can discuss feminist and LGBTQ+ holiday food traditions, as well as food security for these communities.
Alexandra.ketchum [at] mcgill.ca (English, French, Spanish)

Xiaonan Lu is a Professor in the Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry. He is also Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Food Safety, William Dawson Scholar and holds the Ian and Jayne Munro Chair in Food Safety. He can comment on food safety best practices and provide practical tips on handling, preparing and storing holiday foods, and proper kitchen hygiene.

Xiaonan.lu [at] mcgill.ca (English, Mandarin)

Jennifer Ronholm is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, an Associate Member at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and Canada Research Chair in Agricultural Microbiology. She can comment on food safety best practices and provide practical tips on handling, preparing and storing holiday foods and proper kitchen hygiene.

Jennifer.ronholme [at] mcgill.ca (English)

Pascal Thériault, Faculty Lecturer, Farm Management and Technology Program (Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences), can comment on the broader economic and environmental implications of overconsumption around the holidays in Quebec’s agri-food sector.

Pascal.theriault [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)

Gisèle Yasmeen is the JW McConnell Visiting Professor of Practice at the Max Bell School of Public Policy. She can discuss rising food insecurity and food bank usage, and the increased demand for these services at this time of year.

Gisele.yasmeen [at] mcgill.ca (English, French, Thai, Spanish)

Shopping

Vivek Astvansh, Associate Professor of Quantitative Marketing and Analytics, Desautels Faculty of Management, can speak about Canadians' holiday spending, including comparisons with last year's figures; the impact of tariffs, exchange rates, and nationalism; regional differences in spending; retail strategies; AI-assisted online shopping; and this year's trends.

Vivek.astvansh [at] mcgill.ca (English)

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