Women's Health Research Cluster Trainee Presentation Series

Join us for our next WHRC Trainee Research Presentation Series event! 

This session will feature short, blitz-style presentations by trainees about their undergraduate, graduate, or postdoctoral research projects. The event is a great opportunity to learn about what the amazing WHRC trainees are working on, join an engaging discussion about women’s health research, and network with peers. Light refreshments will be served. Everyone is welcome! 

When: Friday September 27th, 3:00pm - 4:00pm

Where: BC Women's and Children's Hospital  – Shaughnessy(SHY) BLDG - D308 (Videoconference available).

Presenters:

Christine Anderl, Postdoctoral fellow, Social Health Lab, UBC.

Title: Teenage birth control pill use and depression risk

Summary: We analysed data on 1,236 women enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and found that women who had first used contraceptive pills as teenagers were at a higher risk for having clinical depression years later compared with women who had never used contraceptive pills and also compared with women who had only started taking contraceptive pills as adults. These group differences in depression risk remained robust when we statistically controlled for a large number of other differences between the three groups, including age at first period, age at sexual debut, relationship status, socio-economic status, ethnicity, and current contraceptive pill use. Our findings suggest that the use of oral contraceptives during the teenage years may have an enduring effect on a woman’s risk for depression—even years after she stops using them.

Tristan Philippe, PhD(c) and an IMH Marshal Scholar, Viau Lab, Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences, UBC

Title: Sex differences in transcriptome responses associated with stress HPA axis habituation in male and female rats.

Summary: Women are at significantly greater risk of developing mood disorders than men. In this presentation I will illustrate how male and female rats not only utilize different genes, but even use different brain regions to adapt to our stress paradigm. These sex differences imply that males and females have different capacities and mechanisms for stress adaption that must be explored to improve our treatment of mood disorders in humans.

Maya Koblanski, Undergraduate Student, Behavioural Neuroscience and Viau Lab, Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences, UBC

Title: Post-synaptic Serotonin (5-HT) 1A Receptor Responses to Repeated Restraint Stress in Female Rats

Summary: Most research on the neural consequences of stress has been conducted only in male subjects, despite sex differences in mood related disorders. In females, changes in serotonin 1A receptor levels and signaling was only identified in the hippocampus and zona incerta. These findings corroborate our previous data suggesting that male and female rats differentially use the serotonin 1A receptor to habituate to stress.

Kaylee Misener, Ph.D. student, Clinical Psychology, UBCO

Title: The development and implementation of a novel body dissatisfaction prevention program for adolescent females: A pilot project

Summary: Kaylee will be presenting her dissertation proposal which will examine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a novel and multi-faceted body dissatisfaction prevention program for youth. The proposed program, called BeMyself, integrates evidence-based techniques to promote positive body image with novel but promising avenues such as mindfulness, self-compassion, and yoga. 

Lexia Bao, Research Assistant, Viau Lab, Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences, UBC

Title: Pre-synaptic Serotonin (5-HT) 1A Receptor Responses to Repeated Restraint Stress in Male Rats.

Summary: Despite sex differences in mood related disorders, most research on the neural consequences of stress has neglected these differences. Based on previous findings, we hypothesized that males and females would show differential changes in serotonin 1A receptor levels when exposed to stress. Our data suggests that male, but not female rats exhibit changing levels of serotonin 1A receptors in the raphe nucleus as a mechanism for stress habituation.

Kiran Parmar, MSc student, School of Population and Public Health, UBC

Title: Painful Sex & Endometriosis: a patient-oriented knowledge translation project.

Summary: Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 reproductive-aged females, approximately 1 million people in Canada. Painful sex is a common symptom of endometriosis as it is reported in more than 50% of diagnosed individuals. Studies have shown that painful sex is associated with negative effects on sexual function, relationships and quality of life. The aim of the project was to develop an evidence-based, patient-oriented online platform to help people understand their condition, learn about treatment options, and to find support. 

If you are a trainee who wants to share your research in a low-pressure, friendly environment, contact Kate Wahl (kate.wahl@cw.bc.ca).

Please contact Ama Kyeremeh (ama.kyeremeh@ubc.ca) if you have any questions.

We hope to see you there! 

RSVP here