Faculty profile

Ashley Wazana

ResearcherPsychiatryMcGill University

This profile is built from public research funding records (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC) and PubMed. We have not imported them from a McGill University directory, so their courses may be missing. Find their university profile.

Ashley Wazana

Researcher

Psychiatry

Health Sciences

McGill University

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Supervision signals

Has led research grants, which requires an independent research appointment. Ask their department whether they supervise graduate students.
9 publications in the last five years, latest in 2026.
Senior (last) author on 5 recent papers, a sign of leading a research group.
Principal investigator on 9 research grants (9 CIHR), most recently in 2024.
Supervised 2 trainees who won CIHR awards, most recently in 2014.

These signals come from public records, including CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions. Ask the professor or the graduate program whether they are taking new students.

Academic metrics

Publications

Citations

h-index

Collaborators

Grants

Publications by year

Counts cover the works listed on the university profile; citation counts come from Dimensions.

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Signals and details

Research

Genetic Susceptibility Maternal Adversity Mental Health Anxious And Depressive Psychopathology Child Mental Health Differential Susceptibility Gene-Environment Interactions Prenatal Adversity (Maternal Distress)

Latest papers

Practitioner Review: Clinical insights from attachment theory and research for professionals working with young children and their families.
Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026
Interactive effects of prenatal adversity and COVID-19 hardship on youth psychological distress: a longitudinal study.
Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry · 2025
Examining the interaction between prenatal stress and polygenic risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder on brain growth in childhood: Findings from the DREAM BIG consortium.
Developmental psychobiology · 2024

All 25 publications

Latest funding

Identifying pathways for the emergence of mental health functioning in young adults from prenatal adversity, genetic susceptibility, the early environment, and intervening life stress - Leveraging hypotheses generated from an international birth cohort consortium.
CIHR · 2024 · Nominated PI
$1,494,429
Identifying pathways for the emergence of mental health functioning in young adults from prenatal adversity, genetic susceptibility, the early environment, and intervening life stress - Leveraging hypotheses generated from an international birth cohort consortium to test specific mechanisms about anxiety, depression, and wellbeing.
CIHR · 2022 · Nominated PI
$100,000
Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment (MAVAN): Youth mental health mental in the COVID pandemic
CIHR · 2021 · Nominated PI
$149,974

All 19 grants and awards

25 publications.

Practitioner Review: Clinical insights from attachment theory and research for professionals working with young children and their families.

Opie JE, Waters E, Duschinsky R, Hammarlund M, Madigan S, Foster S, Forslund T, Thompson R, Steele H, Steele M, Roisman GI, Groh AM, Fonagy P, Dagan O, Talia A, Rossen L, Sroufe LA, Tronick E, Fearon RMP, Granqvist P, Sagi-Schwartz A, Lieberman A, Carlson E, Zimmermann P, Dozier M, Wazana A, Belsky J, Shaver PR, Cicchetti D, Bosmans G, Schuengel C, Grossmann K, Cyr C, Dubois-Comtois K, Verhage M, Tharner A, Oosterman M, Allen B, Crowell JA, Vrtička P, Woolgar M, Raby KL, Galbally M, Holmes J, Marvin RS, van IJzendoorn MH, Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ

Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines2026

DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.70126 PMID: 41736561

Interactive effects of prenatal adversity and COVID-19 hardship on youth psychological distress: a longitudinal study.

Wang Y, Wang X, Voyer C, Brunet A, Ateba FF, Wazana A, Laplante DP

Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry2025

DOI: 10.3389/frcha.2025.1581135 PMID: 40746425

Examining the interaction between prenatal stress and polygenic risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder on brain growth in childhood: Findings from the DREAM BIG consortium.

López-Vicente M, Szekely E, Lafaille-Magnan ME, Morton JB, Oberlander TF, Greenwood CMT, Muetzel RL, Tiemeier H, Qiu A, Wazana A, White T

Developmental psychobiology2024

DOI: 10.1002/dev.22481 PMID: 38538956

Maternal prenatal depression is associated with dysregulation over the first five years of life moderated by child polygenic risk for comorbid psychiatric problems.

Babineau V, Jolicoeur-Martineau A, Szekely E, Green CG, Sassi R, Gaudreau H, Levitan RD, Lydon J, Steiner M, O'Donnell KJ, Kennedy JL, Burack JA, Wazana A

Developmental psychobiology2023Senior author

DOI: 10.1002/dev.22395 PMID: 37338256

The DREAM BIG project as a model for harmonizing early measures of parental care and parent-child interactions across epidemiological cohorts.

Szekely E, Laplante DP, Tiemeier H, Evans J, Pearson RM, Bekkhus M, Bakermans-Kranenburg M, van IJzendoorn MH, Wazana A

Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry2023Senior author

DOI: 10.3389/frcha.2023.1206922 PMID: 39816874

Negative emotionality as a candidate mediating mechanism linking prenatal maternal mood problems and offspring internalizing behaviour.

Gordon Green C, Szekely E, Babineau V, Jolicoeur-Martineau A, Bouvette-Turcot AA, Minde K, Sassi R, Atkinson L, Kennedy JL, Steiner M, Lydon J, Gaudreau H, Burack JA, Herba C, Pennestri MH, Levitan R, Meaney MJ, Wazana A, MAVAN Research Team

Development and psychopathology2023Senior author

DOI: 10.1017/s0954579421001747 PMID: 35440354

From temperament and parenting to attachment: a review of the interplay of gene and environment factors in the developmental pathway to attachment.

Shah S, Laplante D, Atkinson L, Wazana A

Current opinion in psychiatry2022Senior author

DOI: 10.1097/yco.0000000000000817 PMID: 35959551

Sharing and Safeguarding Pediatric Data.

Patrinos D, Knoppers BM, Laplante DP, Rahbari N, Wazana A

Frontiers in genetics2022Senior author

DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.872586 PMID: 35795212

Combined polygenic risk scores of different psychiatric traits predict general and specific psychopathology in childhood.

Neumann A, Jolicoeur-Martineau A, Szekely E, Sallis HM, O'Donnel K, Greenwood CMT, Levitan R, Meaney MJ, Wazana A, Evans J, Tiemeier H

Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines2022

DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13501 PMID: 34389974

Early life risk and resiliency factors and their influences on developmental outcomes and disease pathways: a rapid evidence review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Abdul-Hussein A, Kareem A, Tewari S, Bergeron J, Briollais L, Challis JRG, Davidge ST, Delrieux C, Fortier I, Goldowitz D, Nepomnaschy P, Wazana A, Connor KL

Journal of developmental origins of health and disease2021

DOI: 10.1017/s2040174420000689 PMID: 32746960

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 2024

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Genetic Susceptibility Dear Professor Wazana, 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 "Practitioner Review: Clinical insights from attachment theory and research for professionals working with young children and their families." (2026), 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 "Identifying pathways for the emergence of mental health functioning in young adults from prenatal adversity, genetic susceptibility, the early environment, and intervening life stress - Leveraging hypotheses generated from an international birth cohort consortium." (2024), 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]

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Ashley Wazana

Research

Latest papers

Latest funding

Practitioner Review: Clinical insights from attachment theory and research for professionals working with young children and their families.

Interactive effects of prenatal adversity and COVID-19 hardship on youth psychological distress: a longitudinal study.

Examining the interaction between prenatal stress and polygenic risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder on brain growth in childhood: Findings from the DREAM BIG consortium.

Maternal prenatal depression is associated with dysregulation over the first five years of life moderated by child polygenic risk for comorbid psychiatric problems.

The DREAM BIG project as a model for harmonizing early measures of parental care and parent-child interactions across epidemiological cohorts.

Negative emotionality as a candidate mediating mechanism linking prenatal maternal mood problems and offspring internalizing behaviour.

From temperament and parenting to attachment: a review of the interplay of gene and environment factors in the developmental pathway to attachment.

Sharing and Safeguarding Pediatric Data.

Combined polygenic risk scores of different psychiatric traits predict general and specific psychopathology in childhood.

Early life risk and resiliency factors and their influences on developmental outcomes and disease pathways: a rapid evidence review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Identifying pathways for the emergence of mental health functioning in young adults from prenatal adversity, genetic susceptibility, the early environment, and intervening life stress - Leveraging hypotheses generated from an international birth cohort consortium.

Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment (MAVAN): Youth mental health mental in the COVID pandemic

Identifying COVID-related mental health problems and resiliency in youth to inform intervention policy from pre-pandemic levels of maternal environmental adversity and mood: The Maternal Adversity Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment Study

'Real-time' measures of anxiety and physical activity in 15-18 year olds with prenatal antidepressant exposure

Prospective PET Study of High-Risk Youth

The THRIVE collaborative: an initiative to improve our understanding of the factors that determine resiliency and risk using a DOHaD framework

The gender specific effects of prenatal adversity on the development of anxious and depressive psychopathology in early adolescence - the moderating effect of genes and early maternal care

How the early environment interacts with prenatal adversity and genetic susceptibility to moderate the risk for anxious and depressive disorders from infancy to early adolescence - the moderating effect of maternal care and gender, and the mediating effect of temperament

An early Post-Natal Model of G X E Effects in Chronic Obesity based on Maternal Sensitivity and Reward System Genes

Frequent collaborators

Eszter Szekely

Robert Levitan

Alison Fleming

Michael Meaney

Catherine Herba

Marie-Hélène Pennestri

Pablo Nepomnaschy

Sheri Madigan

Roberto Sassi

Isabel Fortier

Catherine Herba

Celia Greenwood

Jill Hamilton

Daniel Goldowitz

Melissa Henry

Laurent Briollais