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.
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.
McQuaid R.J., Gabrys, R.L., McInnis, O.A., Anisman, H., & Matheson, K. (2019). Understanding the relation between early-life adversity and depression symptoms: The moderating role of sex and an interleukin-1β gene variant. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10: 151.
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.
McQuaid, R.J., McInnis, O.A., Paric, A., Al-Yawer, F., Matheson, K., & Anisman, H. (2016). Relations between plasma oxytocin and cortisol: The stress buffering role of social support. Neurobiology of Stress, 3, 52-60.
McQuaid, R.J., McInnis, O.A., Matheson, K., & Anisman, H. (2015). Distress of ostracism: Oxytocin receptor gene polymorphism confers sensitivity to social exclusion. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 10, 1153-1159.
McQuaid, R.J., McInnis, O.A., Abizaid, A. & Anisman, H. (2014). Making room for oxytocin in understanding depression. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 45, 305-322.
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