Dr. Zachary Kaminsky
Adjunct Research Professor
Dr. Zachary Kaminsky is a leading researcher in the biological underpinnings of suicide risk and stress-related psychiatric illness. His work bridges molecular neuroscience, psychiatry, and precision medicine, with a particular focus on the epigenetic mechanisms that link environmental stress to changes in gene expression. He is best known for discovering epigenetic biomarkers that may help predict suicide risk and for advancing the development of accessible, biologically informed mental-health assessment tools.
Dr. Kaminsky is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Suicide Prevention at the University of Ottawa. Before joining uOttawa, he completed his doctoral training at the University of Toronto and his postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University, where he established foundational work in stress-responsive gene regulation. He has since built a multidisciplinary research program that integrates clinical psychiatry, genomics, machine learning, and ethical considerations around predictive mental-health technologies.
His team has developed several pioneering approaches, including potential blood-based biomarkers of suicide risk and predictive models that combine biological, psychological, and behavioural indicators. He collaborates widely with clinicians, policy makers, and lived-experience experts to translate molecular insights into practical tools aimed at reducing suicide deaths and improving care pathways.
Dr. Kaminsky is also deeply engaged in mentoring the next generation of neuroscientists and clinician-scientists. His work has been featured in major scientific outlets and international media, and it contributes to global efforts to build proactive, preventive, and compassionate mental-health systems.