Ryan Van Lieshout

Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences

Dr. Van Lieshout is a perinatal psychiatrist with a PhD in research methods interested in how pregnancy and early postpartum exposures affect brain development in ways that increase the risk of mental disorders across the lifespan.

His work has used observational and experimental methods in humans to examine how maternal perinatal depression, maternal pre-pregnancy adiposity, and preterm birth affect fetal and infant neurodevelopment.

His current focus has been on increasing access to psychotherapies for women with depression during pregnancy and the postpartum period, and determining how to tailor these treatments to optimize infant neurodevelopment.

He has published over 160 peer-reviewed manuscripts, has an h-index of 29, and has secured over $25 million in research funding.