Karilyn Harris

Karilyn graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BA in Psychology with distinction. She then began a Master of Science degree where she could gain more knowledge of the biological underpinnings of health and disease in children, prior to pursuing a PhD. She is currently a graduate student in Dr. Nadine Provençal’s EpiGenOmics of Developmental Trajectories (EGODT) laboratory. Her current research looks at stress throughout pregnancy and attempts to discover associations between prenatal stress and epigenetics (DNA methylation levels) as well as prenatal stress and brain morphology in newborn children. By doing this type of research, there is the potential to identify epigenetic biomarkers implicated in the endophenotypes that play a role in disease emergence in children. Such discoveries have the potential to aid in the early detection of children who might require additional care so that we can proactively assist these vulnerable children and their families.