Isabelle MarcM.D.

Dr. Isabelle Marc is a clinician researcher at the Research Centre of the CHU de Québec, and an associate professor at the Department of Pediatrics at Laval University. She has built her research environment around her clinical practice as a pediatrician. Dr. Marc works on the effects of maternal life habits (exercise, sleep, breastfeeding) on child growth and development. Several of her studies have been realised with her students in cohorts in which she is involved. She developed an exercise laboratory for pregnant women and children at the Research Centre, which allows her to collect objective measurements of this population’s physical condition.

Dr. Marc is interested in the effects of omega-3 on the neonatal morbidity of extremely premature infants (less than 28 weeks of gestation). A supplementation with omega-3 administered to the lactating mother is an effective way to provide a daily dose of omega-3 to the preterm child through breast milk. She now wants to demonstrate the positive effects of this intervention on the infant’s health, growth, and development.

Maternal omega-3 supplementation to reduce bronchopulmonary dysplasia in very preterm infants: A randomized controlled trial (MOBYDIck Trial)
This multicenter clinical trial, funded by the CIHR, is performed in collaboration with researchers from 18 Canadian neonatal level III intensive care units. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is defined as the need for ventilatory support/oxygen at 36 weeks of postmenstrual age. It is the most common and severe neonatal complication of extremely premature infants, but current approaches for the treatment and prevention are limited. After birth, breast milk becomes a source of omega-3 for preterm infants. The MOBYDIck Trial will evaluate the efficiency of maternal supplementation with omega-3 during lactation 1) to reduce the prevalence of BPD or it’s severity for the preterm infants and 2) to improve the neuro-development of the child at 2 years of age.

Sino-Canada HeLTI: A multifaceted community-family-mother-child intervention study for the prevention of childhood obesity
Obesity and its related metabolic syndrome disorders are a major public health concern. Increasing evidence points to the role of early life adverse factors in the developmental origins of the vulnerability to such metabolic disorders. Reducing the risk of overweight and obesity (OWO) from early life stages will produce substantial benefits to decrease population burdens of metabolic diseases. Dr. Marc is part of a research team in Canada and China that collaborates to identify the mechanisms that may underline the development of OWO, and the impacts of a community-family-mother-child intervention on OWO in children aged 5 years old in China.

3D cohort (Découvrir, Développer, Devenir) and the transition project of the Integrated Research Network in Perinatology of Quebec and Eastern Ontario (IRNPQEO)
The 3D cohort is following more than 2 300 families in the province of Quebec from pregnancy to childhood. The Integrated Research Network in Perinatology of Quebec and Eastern Ontario is a research team interested in the effects of various adverse prenatal risk factors (life habits, social, behavioral, environmental, and genetic) on the pregnancy, on the health of the mother and the father, and on infant development. The IRNPQEO will transfer much needed new knowledge to legislators, policy makers, clinicians, and consumers.