Jessica DeslauriersPh.D.

Dr. Jessica Deslauriers is a researcher within the Neurosciences Axis of the CRCHU de Québec-Université Laval, and an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Université Laval.

Dr. Deslauriers completed her graduate studies in physiology at Université de Sherbrookeunder the supervision of Drs. Sylvain Grignon and Philippe Sarret. She investigated the role of prenatal inflammation in the development of psychotic-like and depressive-like behaviors in mice. She then pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California San Diego and Veterans Affairs San Diego Medical Center under the supervision of Dr. Victoria Risbrough. The preclinical and clinical studies conducted by Dr. Deslauriers helped to gain a better understanding of the role of the inflammatory response following a psychological trauma in the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She acquired a strong expertise in pharmacology, molecular biology, neurodevelopmental models of psychiatric disorders, behavioral neuroscience and study of the immune signaling pathways.

Susceptibility to post-traumatic disorders: towards a personalized medicine in psychiatry

90% of the population has endorsed or will experience a traumatic event during their life, and more than half of these individuals develop psychiatric symptoms, such as PTSD, schizophrenia, or depression. The current available treatments have a limited efficacy. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop novel pharmacological therapies.

Dr. Deslauriers’ laboratory at the CRCHU de Québec-Université Laval uses translational and multidisciplinary approaches (1) to understand the mechanisms of susceptibility to psychological trauma, with a primary focus on immune signaling pathways; (2) to identify inflammatory and imaging biomarkers of increased susceptibility to trauma; and (3) to use a personalized medicine by targeting pharmacological approaches based on molecular and pathophysiological characteristics specific to the patient or the “at-risk” individual. Dr. Deslauriers uses a methodology translatable from rodents to humans, including behavioral paradigms, magnetic resonance imaging, as well as genetic and chemogenetic approaches. Her projects are currently funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the Fondation du CHU de Québec.