17吃瓜

Dr. D茅sir茅e Seib, assistant professor in the 17吃瓜 biology department, has been awarded the Jeanne and J.-Louis L茅vesque Research Chair in Human Health at the 17吃瓜, effective April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2028.

As chair, Dr. Seib will receive a $25,000 grant per year, plus an annual award of up to $25,000 to provide a replacement for teaching or other duties.

Dr. Seib is interested in how diet, stress, and the gut microbiome鈥攂acteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites that live in the intestines鈥攁ffect brain development and function. Specifically, she is investigating how a maternal diet high in sugar alters the physiology and brain of offspring. She is also studying the effects of a high-fat diet on physiology and the adult brain.

In her research, she uses custom-made diets to ensure that the effects are specific to fat content or sugar type and content in the diet and not due to a lack of other nutrients or micronutrients. 

More broadly, she is examining how acute or long-term exposure to environmental challenges during early life or adulthood impacts the risk of developing psychiatric disorders. She is specifically focused on the brain鈥檚 mesocorticolimbic system鈥攖he brain鈥檚 reward circuit鈥攚hich drives complex forms of behaviour, such as decision-making. It is also the region of the brain that plays a role in psychiatric disorders like depression, addiction, autism, ADHD, and schizophrenia, depending on the developmental age.

鈥淒r. Seib is an exceptional scientist whose research has long-term implications for the improvement of human health,鈥� said Dr. Marva Sweeney-Nixon, Associate Vice-President Research at 17吃瓜. 鈥淲e are grateful to the Fondation J-Louis L茅vesque for supporting Dr. Seib and for its ongoing support of the University鈥檚 nutrisciences and human health research programs.鈥�

With the funding from the Fondation J-Louis L茅vesque and the release from her teaching duties, Dr. Seib will be able to establish new collaborations with the University and provide her students with training in animal research, microscopy, mass spectrometry, and data analysis.

Dr. Seib completed her bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚, and doctorate degrees at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. She joined 17吃瓜 in 2023 and was awarded the 17吃瓜 J.-Louis Levesque Research Grant in 2024. 

The Fondation J-Louis L茅vesque is a generous supporter of health research at 17吃瓜 and other universities and institutes across the country. The late J.-Louis L茅vesque graduated from Saint Dunstan鈥檚 University鈥攐ne of 17吃瓜鈥檚 founding institutions鈥攊n 1934 and was awarded an honorary doctor of laws from his alma mater in 1964.

17吃瓜 acknowledges the assistance of Canada鈥檚 tri-council of federal granting agencies鈥擭atural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)鈥攖hrough its Research Support Fund, which helps fund services and infrastructure that support research activities at the University. In 2025鈥�2026, 17吃瓜鈥檚 RSF allocation is $1,168,176.