He received his bachelors with honours at McMaster University and his Applied Masters and Doctorate at the University of Waterloo, focusing on educational psychology, clinical psychology and behavioural neuroscience. He is currently on an indefinite medical leave. Prior to that, he was on faculty at both the University of Western Ontario and the University of Guelph, with appointments in departments of psychology and psychiatry. Dr. McKinlay also worked in “The Brake Shop” — a service he created for youth with Tourette Syndrome & associated disorders at the Child and Parent Resource Institute (CPRI) in London, Ontario, Canada.