2025 Webster Postdoctoral Scholar Position in Child Development and Neuroscience

Duration: 2 years
Start date: March 2025 or negotiable

**Salary**: $60,000/yr + benefits

A collaboration between the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (LDI: Montreal, Quebec) and the BC
for the 2022 Webster Postdoctoral Scholars Program to support exceptional research trainees and generate
innovative research in Child Development and Neuroscience under the mentorship of Drs. Ashley Wazana
(McGill University) and Tim Oberlander (university of British Columbia) in the area of developmental
neuroscience. The postdoctoral scholar will also work closely with Drs. David P Laplante and François Freddy
Ateba (LDI) in onboarding the rich UBC longitudinal dataset, Pregnancy during the COVID-19 Pandemic
study, into the **D**evelopmental **R**esearch in **E**arly **A**dversity **M**ental Health **BI**ological Susceptibility and
**G**ender (DREAM BIG) consortium of perinatal longitudinal birth cohorts, focusing on the harmonization and
analysis of the UBC perinatal maternal adversity and child mental health outcomes from the so that
comparable analyses can be performed across the DREAM BIG cohorts in an effort to increase replication of
mental health findings that can inform treatment and public policy.

The DREAM BIG consortium is a multi-site cohort across multiple countries (Canada, UK, Netherlands,
Singapore, Norway, Finland, Australia) led by Dr Ashley Wazana at the LDI. We seek to better understand the
impact of prenatal adversity and genetics on development from birth to adulthood. Our interests thus lie in
the intersections of genes (using GWAS, PRS etc.) and environments and their interaction (Gene-by
- Environment interactions). Our team in Montreal consists of a mixture of McGill graduate students working
alongside various physicians and researchers from McGill and other Canadian and international universities.
The lab is academic-oriented with a focus on the theory of child and lifespan development, but always with
the goal of translating that research into future policies that can improve mental health resources for
mothers and their children. For more information on our team, see our website:
Dr. Wazana is a Child Psychiatrist, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Director, Early
Childhood Disorders psychiatric day hospital, Jewish General Hospital, studying pre
- and perinatal influences
on lifetime psychopathology. Dr. Oberlander is a Developmental Pediatrician, Professor, Dept of Pediatrics
and School of Population and Public Health, studying how early experiences influence child development. Dr
Laplante is a research scientist with expertise in perinatal impacts (disasters, maternal mood, socio
- environmental) on development across the lifespan. Dr. Ateba is a statistician with expertise in advanced
computational modeling.

The goal of the program is to support recent a PhD or MD graduate in conducting clinical and translational
research with the intent to develop future leaders in Child Developmental Health research.

Applicants should have training in neuroscience, psychology, medical sciences (Pediatrics), or other relevant
discipline, and experience with MR image acquisition, processing, and/or analysis.

The program provides scholars a generous stipend of $60,000/year plus benefits and additional funds are
available for research
- related expenses (up to $10,000/year) and for travel expenses to attend conferences
(up to $3,000/year).

The PDS will be affiliated with McGill University and the Lady Davis Institute and will be expected
to spend some of their time at the BCCHR. The LDI is among Canada’s leading health research
institutes. The LDI boasts over 200 affiliated researchers, 175 graduate students, and over 50
postdocs. studying a range of physical and psychosocial issues that contribute to the health and
well-being of Canadians. BCCHR is a University of British Columbia (UBC) Senate-approved
research institute located at BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre in
Vancouver, BC. BCCHR is the largest pediatric research facility in Western Canada with over 200
faculty members whose research areas include cancer, developmental neurosciences, diabetes,
nutrition & metabolism, genetics, immunity and infection, reproduction, molecular medicine,
health services, global health, and new technologies. For more information, visit
trainees will be held in Montreal and/or Vancouver to share research questions and findings,
and advance analytic methods.

Applicants should submit a letter of interest, CV, graduate transcript(s), and names and contact