Nadine Provençal
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Dr. Nadine Provençal completed her Ph.D. in epigenetics of early life adversity and aggression at McGill University in collaboration with the Research Unit on Children’s Psychosocial Maladjustment in 2013. She, then, did a short postdoctoral training at the University of Montreal continuing her research on epigenetics and child behavior. Thereafter, she received a research fellowship from the Canadian Institute of Health Research to complete a second postdoctoral training at the Max-Planck Institute of Psychiatry (MPIP) in Germany.
Dr. Provençal research group aims to understand the molecular mechanisms of how early life environmental exposures influence the development of an individual leading to disease versus health. The laboratory uses a translational approach to study the epigenetic mechanisms involved in the long-lasting effects of early life adversities and their impact on the developmental trajectories of behavioral and stress-related disorders. Research in the lab combines multi-omic data analysis from cellular and animal models, in order to study in depth the molecular mechanisms at play, as well as multiple longitudinal and cross-sectional cohorts to translate these findings to patients exposed to early life adversities.
Research interests: epigenetics, child health and developmental, influence of early-life environment on health and behaviours, neuropsychiatric disorders, stress