Jane A. Foster

Associate Professor at McMaster University

Dr. Jane Foster is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON and a Scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, ON. Dr. Foster is an active researcher in two large translational networks – the Province of Ontario Neurodevelopmental Disorders Network (POND) and the Canadian Biomarkers in Depression (CAN-BIND).

By combining basic science research with clinical collaboration in psychiatry, psychology, and gastroenterology, the Foster lab has developed a ‘bench to bedside’ and back again approach to studying microbiota-brain and immune-brain systems aimed at understanding how these relationships contribute to psychiatric disorders such as neurodevelopmental disorders, anxiety and depression.

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Harnessing the Potential of Microbiota-related Therapies for Brain Health

  • Communication between our microbiota and the brain influence brain health and behaviour
  • Microbes, metabolites, and gut-brain mechanisms in psychiatric illness – status update
  • Individual differences matter - can microbiota-brain biomarkers inform precision medicine approaches in psychiatry?