Dr. Robyn McQuaid completed her PhD in Neuroscience at Carleton University. Afterwards, she worked outside of academia as a Research & Policy Analyst at the Canadian Centre on Substance Use (CCSA), where she gained experience in research that informs policy and knowledge translation expertise. Then she worked at the Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, receiving this position through an international research competition called the Emerging Research Innovators in Mental Health.
Eligible to supervise at the undergraduate and graduate level. (please email me your CV, transcript and brief description of your interests)
The McQuaid Lab aims to understand the impacts of stressors and early-life trauma on mental health, specifically depression and other stress-related disorders. This includes a strong emphasis on considering the role of both peripheral biomarkers (genetic, epigenetics, or inflammation) and psychosocial determinants in the stress-depression link. To conduct their research, they work with different populations, such as university students in distress, clinical populations, and marginalized groups in Canada.
Franklyn, S.I., Stewart, J., Beaurepaire, C., Thaw, E., McQuaid, R.J. (2022). Developing symptom clusters: linking inflammatory biomarkers to depressive symptom profiles. Translational Psychiatry, 12(1): 133.
McQuaid, R.J. (2021). Transdiagnostic biomarker approaches to mental health disorders: Consideration of symptom complexity, comorbidity and context. Brain, Behaviour & Immunity – Health, 16: 100303.
Masama, C., Jarkas, D.A., Thaw, E., Daneshmend, A.Z.B., Franklyn, S.I., Beaurepaire, C., McQuaid, R.J. (2022). Hormone Contraceptive Use in Young Females: Altered Mood States, Neuroendocrine and Inflammatory Biomarkers. Hormones and Behavior: 144: 105229.
McQuaid, R.J., Cox, S., Ogunlana, A., Jaworska, N. (2021). The Burden of Loneliness: Implications of the Social Determinants of Health during COVID-19. Psychiatry Research, 296, 113648.
McQuaid, R.J., Schwartz, F.D., Blackstock, C., Matheson, K., Anisman, H., Bombay A. (2022). Parent-Child Separations and Mental Health among First Nations and Métis Peoples in Canada: Links to Intergenerational Residential School Attendance. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 19(11): 6877
McQuaid, R.J., Bombay, A., McInnis, O.A., Humeny, C., Matheson K., & Anisman, H. (2017). Suicide ideation and attempts among First Nations peoples living on-reserve in Canada: The intergenerational and cumulative effects of Indian Residential Schools. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 62, 422-430.
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