Robin McQuaid

Biography

Dr. Robyn McQuaid’s research program examines the impacts of stressors and traumatic experiences on mental health disorders among various populations. One theme of her research explores the neuroendocrine, inflammatory and genetic/epigenetic pathways through which early-life adversity and adult stressors promote depression and comorbid disorders. Another theme, together with Dr. Amy Bombay, examines Indigenous wellness and looks at the continued intergenerational impacts of historical traumas on current mental health disparities of Indigenous peoples in Canada. Her research program uses various approaches that range from molecular techniques to community-based participatory research and prioritizes the examination of how sociodemographic, psychosocial, and biological correlates of various stressors come together to explain mental illnesses.