Gustavo Turecki (born May 11, 1965) is a Canadian

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

, suicidologist,

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, Biological neural network, neural circuits, and glia, and their Behavior, behavioral, biological, and psycholo ...

who is a professor at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. He holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair Tier in Major Depressive Disorder and Suicide. He is the sitting Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University, the Scientific Director of the Douglas Research Centre, and the Psychiatrist-in-Chief of the ''Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal'' (CIUSSS ODIM). He works at the

Douglas Mental Health University Institute The Douglas Mental Health University Institute (; formerly the Douglas Hospital and originally the Protestant Hospital for the Insane) is a Canadian psychiatric hospital, located in the borough of Verdun in the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is also ...

, where he heads both the McGill Group for Suicide Studies and the Depressive Disorders Program, and is the co-director of the Douglas Bell-Canada Brain Bank. Turecki is both a clinician and a neuroscientist. He has published over 500 peer-reviewed publications and 30 book chapters examining the influence of life experiences on brain function and their relationship to depression and

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

risk. One of his major contributions is the first description of the long-term impact of

childhood abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, emotional and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

on the brain, particularly how it affects the activity of key genes involved in the stress response.

Scientific contributions

Turecki's neurobiological work has focused on the processes underlying depression and suicide. In collaboration with

Michael Meaney Michael J. Meaney, CM, CQ, FRSC, (born 1951) is a professor at McGill University specializing in biological psychiatry, neurology, and neurosurgery, who is primarily known for his research on stress, maternal care, and gene expression. His re ...

and

Moshe Szyf Moshe Szyf is a geneticist and professor of pharmacology and therapeutics at the McGill University, where he also holds a GlaxoSmithKline-CIHR chair in pharmacology. Szyf's main research interests lie with epigenetics, including behavioral ep ...

, Turecki uncovered that early-life adversity epigenetically regulates the glucocorticoid receptor gene, a key component of response to stress. This study helped to reconcile debate about the relative influences of genes and environment on behaviour (‘nature vs. nurture’ debate), and led to Turecki's selection as the scientist of the year by Radio Canada/Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 2009, along with Meaney and Szyf. Turecki's further research on the human brain explored the epigenetic control of genes related to stress-response systems, such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, particularly in association with childhood abuse and suicide. The results obtained in studying the epigenetic control of the HPA axis prompted Turecki to expand his interest in the epigenetic regulation of the brain, focusing on mechanisms that may explain what happens when individuals are exposed to traumatic experiences early in their lives, as well as what epigenetic processes are involved in depression and suicide. In addition, his work has focused on epigenetic mechanisms explaining response to antidepressants. Turecki leads the Depressive Disorders Program, a clinical group that treats patients affected with major depression and integrates research projects into clinical practice. Two key aspects of this work are exploring how impulsive-aggressive behaviours contribute to suicide risk, and implementing novel protocols and standards in the field.

Personal life

He was born in Argentina and moved to Montreal, Canada in 1994.

Awards and honours

Turecki is a fellow of the

Canadian Academy of Health Sciences The Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) is one of three national academies that comprise the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), the highest honour granted to scholars in Canada. The two other CCA academies are the Royal Society of Cana ...

and a member of the

American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Founded in 1961, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) is a professional organization of leading brain and behavior scientists. The principal functions of the College are research and education. Their goals in research are to offer ...

. * 2005 William Dawson Scholar, McGill University * 2009 Scientist of the year Award, Radio Canada/CBC * 2009 Top 10 findings of the year, Québec Science * 2012 Heinz Lehmann Award, CCNP * 2012 Research Career Award, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention * 2014 Samarthji Lal Award for Mental Health Research, Graham Boeck Foundation * 2014 Top 10 findings of the year, Québec Science * 2015 Joel Elkes Award for Clinical Research, ACNP * 2016 Léo-Pariseau Prize, Acfas * 2016 Distinguished Investigator Award, NARSAD * 2019 Margolese National Brain Disorders Prize, University of British Columbia * 2020 Sumitomo/Sunovion Brain Health Clinical Research Award, CINP * 2020 Colvin Prize in Mood Disorders Research, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Selected publications

Neurobiology studies

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Clinical and behavioural studies of depression and suicide

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References

External links

MGSS

Douglas Research Centre

PubMed Search

Google Scholar Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turecki, Gustavo 1965 births Living people Canadian psychiatrists Academic staff of McGill University McGill University alumni Canadian geneticists Physicians from Montreal Scientists from Montreal