Liisa Galea, University of British Columbia

Research

Cognition Aging Cognitive Function Cardiovascular Health Exercise Neuroimaging Perimenopause Hippocampus

Latest papers

Sex differences in predictors and regional patterns of brain age gap estimates.
Human brain mapping · 2022
The influence of sex, gender, age, and ethnicity on psychosocial factors and substance use throughout phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.
PloS one · 2021 · senior author
Effects of aging, high-fat diet, and testosterone treatment on neural and metabolic outcomes in male brown Norway rats.
Neurobiology of aging · 2019

All 4 publications

Latest funding

Healthy Heart, Healthy Brain: Aerobic Exercise to Promote Brain Health in Perimenopause
CIHR · 2025 · Principal investigator
$929,476
Perimenopause & Exercise: Moving For a Stronger and Resilient Brain by the EPIC Team
CIHR · 2024 · Principal investigator
$1,075,000
EPIC Health: Exercise in Perimenopause to Improve Cognitive Health
CIHR · 2023 · Principal investigator
$100,000

All 34 grants and awards

4 publications.

01

Sex differences in predictors and regional patterns of brain age gap estimates.

Sanford N, Ge R, Antoniades M, Modabbernia A, Haas SS, Whalley HC, Galea L, Popescu SG, Cole JH, Frangou S

Human brain mapping2022

DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25983 PMID: 35790053

02

The influence of sex, gender, age, and ethnicity on psychosocial factors and substance use throughout phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brotto LA, Chankasingh K, Baaske A, Albert A, Booth A, Kaida A, Smith LW, Racey S, Gottschlich A, Murray MCM, Sadarangani M, Ogilvie GS, Galea L

PloS one2021Senior author

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259676 PMID: 34807908

03

Effects of aging, high-fat diet, and testosterone treatment on neural and metabolic outcomes in male brown Norway rats.

Moser VA, Christensen A, Liu J, Zhou A, Yagi S, Beam CR, Galea L, Pike CJ

Neurobiology of aging2019

DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.09.016 PMID: 30359877

04

A new beginning.

Galea L

Frontiers in neuroendocrinology2016First author

DOI: 10.1016/s0091-3022(16)30038-3 PMID: 27646055

Healthy Heart, Healthy Brain: Aerobic Exercise to Promote Brain Health in Perimenopause

Principal investigatorCIHR2025Project Grant

Principal investigators: Liu-Ambrose, Teresa Y; Barha, Cindy; Galea, Liisa A; Li, Linda C

Keywords: Behaviour Change; Cardiovascular Health; Cognitive Function; Exercise; Females; Neuroimaging; Perimenopause

$929,476

Perimenopause & Exercise: Moving For a Stronger and Resilient Brain by the EPIC Team

Principal investigatorCIHR2024Team Grant: CCNA Phase III: Sex/Gender/Dementia in Black/Racialized commu

Principal investigators: Liu-Ambrose, Teresa Y; Barha, Cindy; Galea, Liisa A; Nagamatsu, Lindsay S

Keywords: Cardiovascular Health; Exercise; Female Brain Health; Neuroimaging; Perimenopause; Primary Prevention; Sex Hormones

$1,075,000

EPIC Health: Exercise in Perimenopause to Improve Cognitive Health

Principal investigatorCIHR2023Project Grant - Priority Announcement: Aging

Principal investigators: Liu-Ambrose, Teresa Y; Barha, Cindy; Galea, Liisa A; Li, Linda C

Keywords: Behaviour Change; Cardiovascular Health; Cognitive Function; Exercise; Females; Neuroimaging; Perimenopause

$100,000

Mind the Gap: Hormonal Contraceptives and the Brain

Nominated PICIHR2022Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Principal investigators: Galea, Liisa A

Keywords: Age; Cognition; Hormonal Contraceptives; Intersectionality; Major Depressive Disorder; Mental Health; Reproductive Health; Stress

$10,000

Advanced Expansion Microscopy Imaging System for Brain Microglia

Co-investigatorNSERC2021Research Tools and Instruments

Principal investigators: Ciernia, Annie

$150,000

Motherhood and brain aging: the effects of hormone therapy, immune and metabolic challenges later in life

Nominated PICIHR2020Project Grant

Principal investigators: Galea, Liisa A

Keywords: Aging; Alzheimer'S Disease; Apoe4; Cognition; Hippocampus; Metabolic Factors; Microglia; Neuroinflammation; Neuroplasticity; Parity

$884,186

Sex Matters: Understanding Sex Differences in Exercise Efficacy on Brain Health in Mild Cognitive Impairment

Principal investigatorCIHR2019Project Grant

Principal investigators: Liu-Ambrose, Teresa Y; Galea, Liisa A

Keywords: Aerobic Exercise; Biological Sex; Cognitive Function; Mild Cognitive Impairment; Randomized Controlled Trial

$661,724

Minding the Brain Gap: A National Meeting on Advancing Women's Brain Health

Nominated PICIHR2019Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Principal investigators: Galea, Liisa A

Keywords: Aging; Brain Health; Cognition; Female; Gendered Health; Mental Health; Metabolism; Pregnancy; Women

$15,000

Healthy Aging: The effects of Parenthood and APOE Genotype on Cognitive Decline

Nominated PICIHR2019Catalyst Grant: Analysis of CLSA Data

Principal investigators: Galea, Liisa A

Keywords: Aging; Apoe Polymorphism; Cognitive; Parenthood; Sex Differences

$63,000

Hormones and Learning and Memory

Principal investigatorNSERC2018Discovery Grants Program - Accelerator Supplements

Principal investigators: Galea, Liisa

$120,000

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Physical Therapy
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
School of Population and Public Health
Pediatrics
Psychiatry
Other

Co-authors at University of British Columbia, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Angela Kaida

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

1 shared papers, latest 2021

Anna Gottschlich

School of Population and Public Health

1 shared papers, latest 2021

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their CIHR grant from 2025

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Cognition Dear Professor Galea, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Sex differences in predictors and regional patterns of brain age gap estimates." (2022), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your CIHR-funded project "Healthy Heart, Healthy Brain: Aerobic Exercise to Promote Brain Health in Perimenopause" (2025), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]

Liisa Galea

Research

Latest papers

Latest funding

Sex differences in predictors and regional patterns of brain age gap estimates.

The influence of sex, gender, age, and ethnicity on psychosocial factors and substance use throughout phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Effects of aging, high-fat diet, and testosterone treatment on neural and metabolic outcomes in male brown Norway rats.

A new beginning.

Healthy Heart, Healthy Brain: Aerobic Exercise to Promote Brain Health in Perimenopause

Perimenopause & Exercise: Moving For a Stronger and Resilient Brain by the EPIC Team

EPIC Health: Exercise in Perimenopause to Improve Cognitive Health

Mind the Gap: Hormonal Contraceptives and the Brain

Advanced Expansion Microscopy Imaging System for Brain Microglia

Motherhood and brain aging: the effects of hormone therapy, immune and metabolic challenges later in life

Sex Matters: Understanding Sex Differences in Exercise Efficacy on Brain Health in Mild Cognitive Impairment

Minding the Brain Gap: A National Meeting on Advancing Women's Brain Health

Healthy Aging: The effects of Parenthood and APOE Genotype on Cognitive Decline

Hormones and Learning and Memory

Frequent collaborators

Angela Kaida

Angela Kaida

Manish Sadarangani

Sophia Frangou

Anna Gottschlich