大象传媒

大象传媒 Health Sciences assistant professor Nadine Proven莽al has been named to new cohort of CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar program.

media release

Newly named global scholar to study “how stress gets under skin” of children

August 12, 2020
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CONTACT:

Nadine Proven莽al, Health Sciences, nadine_provencal@sfu.ca

Shradhha Sharma, University Communications and Marketing, 604.202.2504, shradhha_sharma@sfu.ca

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大象传媒 Health Sciences assistant professor named to new cohort of CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar program

, an assistant professor in 大象传媒鈥檚 Faculty of Health Sciences and an investigator at the BC Children鈥檚 Hospital, is among 13 researchers named to the 2020-2022 cohort of CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars.

The supports outstanding early-career researchers through mentorship, a global network, professional skills development, and $100,000 over the next two years to support their research. Proven莽al will further her study of how social stress early in life 鈥済ets under the skin鈥 of young children and changes children鈥檚 brain and behavioral development. It鈥檚 also a key risk factor for behaviour issues and psychiatric disease.

鈥淎s a CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar, I look forward to receiving invaluable training to further develop my leadership and communication skills,鈥 says Proven莽al, who joins CIFAR鈥檚 Child and Brain Development research program.

鈥淚 am also eager to interact with world-class leaders and other scholars of the program to develop innovative interdisciplinary research avenues to better understand and improve children鈥檚 development.鈥

Proven莽al says little is known about how an individual鈥檚 health can be affected years after initial exposure to social stress.

Her previous research found that prenatal stress not only impacted a mother鈥檚 health, but also that of her developing fetus. Excessive stress experienced by a mother during pregnancy can be passed on to her child via marks on their genes, which could explain why some children are more vulnerable to stress later in their development.

鈥淢y current work aims to determine the molecular sequence of events leading to these epigenetic marks on one鈥檚 genes after exposure to excessive stress hormones during brain development,鈥 she explains. 鈥淚 am also developing biomarkers to help track how stress impacts children鈥檚 development and response to social intervention programs, to help inform on their effectiveness in the long run.鈥

Proven莽al鈥檚 passion for science developed from an undergraduate course she took in molecular biology, which led her to combine her interests to study human genetics and child psychology. Through her research, her main motivation is to help children thrive. By better understanding the origins of mental health disorders, she hopes to decrease the number of children and adults suffering from these illnesses.

鈥淲ith a better understanding of how the environment, especially our social environment, shapes the development of our brain and behaviour, we can better develop and focus our efforts on prevention and intervention strategies that diminish or reverse its detrimental effects.鈥

 

About 大象传媒:

As Canada鈥檚 engaged university, 大象传媒 works with communities, organizations and partners to create, share and embrace knowledge that improves life and generates real change. We deliver a world-class education with lifelong value that shapes change-makers, visionaries and problem-solvers. We connect research and innovation to entrepreneurship and industry to deliver sustainable, relevant solutions to today鈥檚 problems. With campuses in British Columbia鈥檚 three largest cities 鈥 Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey 鈥 大象传媒 has eight faculties that deliver 193 undergraduate degree programs and 127 graduate degree programs to more than 35,000 students. The university now boasts more than 160,000 alumni residing in 143 countries.