Members of the working group are an interdisciplinary team that assess the factors that affect how early experiences set the stage for later pathology and the interventions that can be adopted to prevent this cycle of adverse outcomes. Using a variety of approaches to explore these issues, our members conduct research at multiple levels of analysis to identify the mechanisms responsible for the development of stress-related pathology as well as how to buffer these effects and/or increase resilience. Efforts are ongoing to develop prevention and treatment strategies relevant to stress-related psychological disorders that range from depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD, and suicide, as well as the constellation of physical illnesses, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular, infectious and neurodegenerative diseases. Considerable attention is also devoted to the repercussions related to chronic illness and chronic pain.
Alfonso Abizaid
|
My name Alfonso (Alfie) Abizaid, and I completed my BA, MA and PHD in Psychology at Concordia University. At the end of my studies at Concordia, I received the Governor’s General Medal for my PhD work and the Valedictorian for the class of 2002. Then, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to continue my scientific training at Yale University School of Medicine with support from an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship. I am currently interested on the brain processes that integrate information from the environment to regulate feeding and energy balance. My NSERC funded research is focused on how metabolic hormones like ghrelin influence reward seeking behaviors via actions on the brain systems related to rewards and fears. My CIHR funded research examines how the hormone ghrelin influences feeding as a coping mechanism to mitigate the effects of chronic social stress. I am also interested on how prenatal factors like diet, environmental pollutants, or gestational diabetes influence the development of brain systems implicated in the regulation of feeding and energy balance in their offspring.
|
Hymie Anisman
|
Anisman’s research focuses on the impact of stressful events on neurobiological, immune, and microbial processes and their ultimate effects on both vulnerability and resilience to diverse diseases. These have included anxiety, depression, and PTSD, as well as inflammatory processes that may be tied to a range of physical illnesses (e.g., cancer heart disease). A primary focus of this research has been appreciation of the psychosocial processes that moderate the effects of chronic stressor experiences on illness and wellness. In addition to these lines of research, together with Robyn McQuaid, Amy Bombay, and Kim Matheson, his work has concerned the development of intergenerational and transgenerational actions of severe trauma, most prominently among Indigenous peoples in Canada. Finally, Anisman has been involved in writing books on diverse stress-related processes and outcomes, including texts used in the classroom and for the lay public.
|
Marie-Claude Audet
|
My name is Marie-Claude Audet (MC pour les intimes) and I am an Assistant Professor in the School of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Ottawa. I also hold a cross-appointment in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (University of Ottawa) and adjunct appointments at the Institute of Mental Health Research (Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre) and the Department of Neuroscience at Carleton University. My current research aims to understand how early-life and adult stressful experiences may come to promote vulnerability to mental illnesses, with a specific focus on the gut microbiome-immune-brain axis (inflammatory signalling routes between the gut environment and the brain that are modulated by gut microbes). A central component of my research involves the development of lifestyle interventions, including dietary interventions and changes in physical activity levels, to prevent and/or attenuate symptoms of mental illnesses, through the modulation of this axis. A major focus of my work is also on the establishment of sex differences in relation to the microbial, inflammatory, and behavioral effects of stressors and of lifestyle interventions.
|
Melissa Chee
|
Obesity is a disease that can result from metabolic stress when calorie intake exceeds energy expenditure. The brain is a critical organ that controls food intake, and while food is necessary for survival, we do not eat only for survival. When, what, or how much we eat can be affected by internal (hormones) and external factors (nutrients, lifestyle, past experiences). The Chee lab investigates the role of the brain in obesity by understanding how internal and external factors affect food-related behaviors. Work in the Chee lab strives to define the specific brain networks and circuits that control feeding. Furthermore, some major questions are based on understanding how stressors, like nutrient deficiency or in excess can alter these fundamental brain connections leading to obesity
|
Sarah Everts
|
Sarah Everts is the CTV Chair in Digital Science Journalism and an Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and Communication. She joined Carleton University in 2019 after more than a decade in Berlin, Germany, where she reported on science and technology for a variety of publications including Scientific American, New Scientist, Smithsonian, Chemical & Engineering News, and others. Her work has garnered several awards and accolades, such as inclusion in the 2017 Best American Science and Nature Writing anthology. She is currently leading a quantitative project to assess the Canadian news media's use of stigmatizing words to describe people who use drugs, from the beginning of the opioid crisis through to the present. Her hope is to inspire the news media towards stigma-free coverage of people who use drugs, to develop anti-stigma workshops for journalists, and to help news media craft harm-reduction-inspired style guides. She has a Master of Journalism from Carleton, a Master of Science in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia, and a Bachelor of Science in Biophysics from the University of Guelph.
|
Katie Gunnel
|
I am interested in understanding the psychological correlates and mechanisms of mental health and behaviour across various populations including youth, adults, and individuals diagnosed with osteoporosis. I examine all aspects of the mental health continuum including ill-being (e.g., symptoms of depression), hedonic well-being (e.g., positive affect), and eudaimonic well-being (e.g., vitality). The behaviours I am interested in understanding include physical activity and recreational screen time (e.g., watching TV, playing video games). In an effort to better understand how to enhance mental health and physical activity and decrease screen time, I am particularly interested in psychological needs (e.g., competence, autonomy, and relatedness) and motivation as mechanisms for change. In a secondary line of research, I am interested in psychometrics and quantitative statistics.
|
Kim Hellemans
|
Dr Kim Hellemans is interested in exploring how stress and trauma predict later life mental health vulnerability, with a focus on substance use and addictions. Here current research focus is on understanding factors that relate to student mental health, and in particular, how patterns and motivations of cannabis use relate to both mental health symptoms and academic outcomes among university students. Dr Hellemans also has significant expertise in knowledge translation and knowledge mobilization, and has developed a suite of animations depicting diverse aspects of brain function for the lay public as well as for student use. She is the co-host of the award-winning podcast "Minding the Brain", along with her colleague Dr Jim Davies.
|
Matthew Holahan
|
Holahan uses various approaches (e.g., vitro cell cultures, ex vivo brain preparations, in vivo animal and human model) to study endogenous and exogenous influences on neural structure and function. His research has focused considerable attention on the impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and concussion, including the possible involvement of inflammatory processes in producing neurobiological and behavioral disturbances. These actions are sex-dependent and may be linked to the elevated depressive symptoms often associated with TBI. In addition, collaborative work with Maria DeRosa (Chemistry), Holahan explores the use of aptamers to quell neurodegenerative processes underlying Parkinson’s disease. In particular, they are in the process of 1) designing aptamers to bind to alpha-synuclein and 2) developing a strategy to deliver these aptamers across the blood brain barrier to diminish features of Parkinson’s disease. Finally, his research aims to uncover how memories are stored and become stable, durable, and persistent. This has entailed the identification the crucial structures, proteins and morphological changes that occur during recent and remote memory consolidation and storage. This work will help provide the basic knowledge required to address issues of memory enhancement and deficits.
|
Robyn McQuaid
|
Robyn McQuaid’s research takes a multidisciplinary approach that examines the impacts of stress and trauma on mental health. Specifically, she explores how adverse experiences and biomarkers, such as genetics, epigenetics and inflammation, come together to promote depression and suicide. A key feature of her research is to take a personalized approach to understanding mental health disorders by considering gender, culture and environmental experiences.
|
Chantal Trudel
|
I am a faculty member on the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Abilities Living Laboratory (ALL), a lab focused on design to support personal mobility, habilitation, rehabilitation, as well as accessibility and inclusion in public life. With my colleagues and students, I have been working in design to support health and wellness within public health settings.
|
Paul Villeneuve
|
Dr. Villeneuve is currently leading research that is investigating the impacts of urban built environments, including air pollution, noise and greenness, on chronic disease and depression. He works with large scale administrative datasets that are housed with Statistic’s Canada Research Data centers. His research has funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, and the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada.
|
Jenny Bruin
|
My research program aims to better understand the pathogenesis of diabetes, with a focus on insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cells. I am particularly interested in how environmental stressors, such as exposure to pollutants, impact the endocrine pancreas during critical windows of fetal development and periods of metabolic stress in adulthood. My lab uses a diverse range of complementary tools and experimental approaches including mouse models of diabetes and cell-based studies with primary mouse and human islets, immortalized beta cell lines, and human stem cells.
|
