Zdenka Pausova

Research Synopsis

Dr. Pausova’s research investigates the relationships between cardiometabolic and brain health across lifespan, combining clinical and preclinical studies.

Dr. Pausova leads cardiovascular and genetic components of the Saguenay Youth Study, which is a longitudinal, two-generational study of 2,000 adolescents and their parents, investigating the etiology, early stages and trans-generational trajectories of common cardiometabolic and brain diseases. The study combines deep ‘systems’ phenotyping (including magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and body) with multi-omics assessments. It involves a multidisciplinary team of researchers from six Canadian universities.

Dr. Pausova’s research group partners with research groups from the USA and Europe through international consortia, such as CHARGE, BRIDGET and ENIGMA.

Dr. Pausova lab’s main findings suggest that (i) excess body fat (and visceral fat in particular) associates adversely with cardio-metabolic health, brain structure and cognition already during adolescence; (ii) early life modifiers of the brain-reward system relate to both obesogenic eating and illicit drug use; and (iii) early (pre-natal and post-natal) and late (adolescent) environments shape the brain to influence brain ‘biological reserve’ in adulthood.