Gordon J. G. Asmundson

Dr. Asmundson was born in August 1964. He spent his childhood living on several Canadian military bases with his parents and two older siblings. He was adventurous as a young child and enjoyed the competition associated with team sports. He grew up dreaming of being an astronaut, an NHL player, and later a fighter pilot in the military before eventually beginning university in pursuit of getting into medical school. He took an introductory psychology course as an elective and, little did he know, psychology would become his passion. Upon the completion of his honours degree in psychology, he accepted completed his Masters and doctoral studies at the University of Manitoba under the supervision of Drs. Lorna Sandler and G. Ron Norton. His post-doctorate years were completed under the supervision of Dr. Murray Stein. Throughout his graduate and post-doctorate studies he learned the importance of concise writing, publishing quality work, and accessibly extending current knowledge from his mentors, all things he has remained passionate about. In 2002, he began his first academic post at the university of Regina, where he remains today as the head of the Anxiety and Illness Behaviours Lab and maintains a small clinical practice.

Gordon J. G. Asmundson has published over 330 peer-reviewed journal articles, 9 book chapters, and 8 books. In addition to numerous prestigious awards received over the course of his career, Dr. Asmundson received the highest accolade available to scientists and scholars in Canada – induction as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2009) – as well as the Canadian Psychological Association Donald O. Hebb Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Science(2014),[1] the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2020.,[2] and the Canadian Pain Society Distinguished Career Award (2018). His graduate students are also regular recipients of prestigious awards and five have received the CIHR Brain Star Award in the past several years. He is actively involved in clinical research, clinical research supervision, and has a small private practice.

His research and clinical interests are in assessment and basic mechanisms of fear, the anxiety and related disorders, and chronic pain, and the association of these with each other, maladaptive coping, and disability. His pioneering work on fear and avoidance in chronic pain and his shared vulnerability model of co-occurring PTSD and chronic pain have led to significant advances in understanding and treating these prevalent, disabling, and costly conditions. His empirical work on PTSD and other anxiety-related conditions has also influenced changes in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Asmundson, G.J. G., Norton, G. R., & Stein, M.B. (2002). Clinical research: A practical guide. Sage.

Asmundson, G. J. G. & Taylor, S. (2005). It's not all in your head: How worrying about your health could be making you sick and what you can do about it. New York: Guilford.

Asmundson, G. J. G., Taylor, S., & Cox, B. J. (Eds.) (2001). Health anxiety: Clinical and research perspectives on hypochondriasis and related disorders. John Wiley & Sons.

Asmundson, G. J. G., Vlaeyen, J. W. S., & Crombez, G. (Eds.) (2004). Understanding and treating fear of pain. Oxford University Press.

Hofmann, S., & Asmundson, G. J. G. (Eds.) (2017). The science of cognitive behavioral therapy. Academic Press.

McKay, D., Abramowitz, J. S., Taylor, S., & Asmundson, G. J. G. (2009). Current perspectives on the anxiety disorders: Implications for DSM-V and beyond. New York: Springer.

Taylor, S. & Asmundson, G. J. G. (2004). Treating health anxiety: A cognitive-behavioral approach. New York: Guilford.

• Asmundson, G. J. (2015). The village that helped me face fear: Reflections on the training and early career experiences of the 2014 Donald O. Hebb Award recipient. Canadian Psychology, 56(1), 29.

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• Gordon J. G. Asmundson publications indexed by Google Scholar