Dr. Liisa Galea

Dr. Galea obtained her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Western Ontario in 1994 and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Rockefeller University in New York City until 1996. She has been an invited speaker and a keynote speaker at numerous international conferences over the past 10 years. Dr. Galea is a Distinguished University Scholar, twice winner of the an Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)- Discovery Accelerator Supplement, has held a Michael Smith Senior Scholar Award, Cattell Sabbatical Award and won the Vancouver YWCA Women of Distinction award (Technology, Science and Research). She was recognized as a Fellow at International Behavioral Neuroscience Society (IBNS) and the Kavli Foundation. She has over 130 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals and has over 6000 citations with over 500 citations per year for the past five years. Dr. Galea is the chief editor of FiN (Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology IF: 9.425), an editor of Neuroscience and eNeuro and serves/served on the editorial boards of Endocrinology, and Hormones and Behavior. Dr. Galea has served on a National Institute of Health (USA) peer-review study section and review panels for the major federal agencies: Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) and NSERC. She has held operating grants from CIHR, NSERC and Alzheimer Society of Canada and has secured over $6.5M as the principal investigator and $2M as co-principal investigator PI in operating grants over her career. Although sex differences exist in many brain diseases, research targeting sex as a factor in brain health has been scarce. Dr. Galea’s research is vital in filling this knowledge gap, specifically in understanding how sex and hormones influence neuroplasticity in females as too often women’s health is ignored in research. This preclinical work is essential for developing tailored treatments for brain disease in both women and men. Her research examines the effects of hormones, stress, reproductive experience and exercise on neuroplasticity, including adult neurogenesis (the birth of new brain cells in the adult), and subsequent behaviour. Liisa developed the first animal models of postpartum depression, was among the first researchers worldwide to study hormonal control of adult neurogenesis and the impact of motherhood on the brain in later life. An understanding of how neurogenesis is regulated may provide clues for devising new therapeutic treatments for diseases that involve neuronal loss and show greater prevalence in women, such as Alzheimer’s disease and depression. Liisa is also investigating how lifestyle choices (such as exercise, diet) and pharmacological interventions can affect brain health via hormones in both males and females.