Dr. Ospina is an Associate Professor with the Department of Public Health Sciences at Queen’s University, and former Canada Research Chair in Life Course, Social Environments and Health. Her research program, DMETRE (Developmental, Maternal and perinatal Epidemiology and Translational Research Evidence, uses a life course approach, epidemiological and mixed-methods to assess how social inequalities in critical periods of human development such as pregnancy and the first 2,000 days of life influence future health.
Jenna works with The Women and Children's Health Research Institute and has a Masters of Science in Clinical Exercise Physiology with a speciality in pregnant populations. Throughout the years, Jenna has remained passionate about advancing female health through engaging in research, both as an academic and research participant! Outside of work, Jenna stays active with numerous hobbies, sports, and travels. She looks forward to meeting our study participants and helping them on their SPPIN journey!
Jamila works with The Women and Children's Health Research Institute and is the SPPIN Participant Recruiter Coordinator. She holds a degree in Nutrition and has expertise in person-oriented approaches for study recruitment among diverse communities. Passionate about maternal and infant health, Jamila is dedicated to ensuring inclusion and representation in research. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending quality time with her loved ones. She looks forward to building our SPPIN community and welcoming SPPIN families.
Dr. Van Lieshout is an Associate Professor with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at McMaster University, and Canada Research Chair in in the Perinatal Programming of Mental Disorders. Dr. Van Lieshout is a perinatal psychiatrist with a PhD in research methods interested in how pregnancy and early postpartum exposures affect brain development in ways that increase the risk of mental disorders across the lifespan. His work has used observational and experimental methods in humans to examine how maternal perinatal depression, maternal pre-pregnancy adiposity, and preterm birth affect fetal and infant neurodevelopment.
Dr. Sycuro is an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases. The broad goal of her research program is to harness the microbiome to promote maternal and child health. Her lab is working to advance the precision with which we define the composition of the microbiome and mechanistically link its species, strains, and genes to health outcomes. T microbiota (by preventing common yet potentially pathogenic bacteria from colonizing) can affect the ecology and stability of the microbial community.
Dr. Kozyrskyj is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta and an expert in human cohort studies and the epidemiology of microbial communities. She leads the SyMBIOTA research program on environmental shaping of the infant gut microbiome, and development of childhood allergies, asthma, obesity and developmental disabilities in the CHILD Cohort Study.
Dr. Giesbrecht is a registered Clinical Psychologist in Alberta and Professor in the Departments of Paediatrics and Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary. His research program focuses on the psychobiology of stress, and especially on the effects of in utero and early life stress on child development. He is currently studying the effects of risk and resilience factors, such as adverse childhood experiences, nutrition, temperament, and the gut microbiota on children’s neurodevelopment and mental health outcomes. The overall objectives of his research program are to identify the mechanisms by which early life exposure to stress becomes biologically embedded in children’s development, to identify risk and resilience factors that modify the effects of early life stress exposure on children’s development.
Dr. Hicks is a Neonatologist, Developmental Pediatrician, and Perinatal Epidemiologist. He has clinical and research interests in hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, complex neonatal interventions, neonatal abstinence syndrome, multifactorial exposures, and developmental outcomes, as well as neonatal follow up including a special interest in early assessment and diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Cerebral Palsy.
Dr. Jain is a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Alberta with subspecialty training in maternal fetal medicine.
Dr. Pei is s a Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and a practicing Registered Psychologist for the past eighteen years, Her research focuses on the identification and evaluation of interventions to support healthy neuropsychological outcomes. Dr. Pei currently leads the Intervention Network Action Team (iNAT), and is Senior Research Lead for the Canada FASD Research Network, roles that facilitates the link between research, policy, and practice.
Dr. Serrano-Lomelin is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Public Health sciences at Queen's University. He has a PhD in Epidemiology and academic background in Biology, Data Mining and Statistical learning, and Specialization in Applied Statistics. Dr. Serrano-Lomelin especializes in the application of modern/novel statistical, spatial, and data mining methods in epidemiology, and in environmental, social, and biological sciences.
Dr. Walter is a professor of Ecology, Food and the Microbiome at the University College Cork – National University of Ireland, School of Microbiology, Department of Medicine and APC Microbiome Ireland. Dr. Walter's research program focuses on different facets of the microbiome. Topics covered include the effects of diet to the microbiota and immunity; determining levels and strains of microbiota in relation with fecal microbiota transplant, drug therapy, and clinical cases; and harnessing the microbiome to prevent global biodiversity loss among others.
Queen’s University and the SPPIN Lab are located on the unceded lands of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Anishinaabek Nation.
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