An international symposium on stress will be held in Montreal from July 11 to 14 to celebrate the centennial birth anniversary of Hans Selye, the researcher who coined the term “stress” that is now so familiar. The Douglas Mental Health University Institute participates in the organization of this event in association with the Hans Selye Foundation, the CHU Sainte-Justine, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the McGill University and the Université de Montréal.

Close to 120 of the world’s most distinguished researchers and clinicians will meet at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) to share their knowledge and discuss the most recent scientific advances in the field of stress research. Potential clinical applications that could result from these scientific discoveries are also on the program.

Among the discussion topics are discoveries of the underlying mechanisms of stress at the molecular levels and the pharmacological strategies used to reduce stress. Experts will present research showing how changes in biological systems and behaviors are attributable to stress.

Hans Selye’s Legacy and a Lecture by Roger Guillemin, Nobel Prize Recipient

Distinguished guest Professor Roger Guillemin, recipient of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Medicine, will give a lecture on Thursday that will trace the study of stress from Selye’s day to the present. This discipline is greatly indebted to Hans Selye not only because of his scientific legacy, but because he is considered the “father” of this science that seeks out the causes of stress and its effects on our lives. In 1936, while at McGill University, the researcher of austro-hungarian origin published an article in which he defined the term stress, and in doing so he identified a general adaptation syndrome. He devoted nearly fifty years to the study of stress at McGill University and the Université de Montréal, where he founded the Institut de médecine et de chirurgie expérimentales (IMCE). Hans Selye died in 1982.

The Douglas: leading in Mental Health Research, Teaching and Care

The Douglas Centre for Studies on Human Stress continues to pursue research in the spirit of Hans Selye’s legacy. Led by Sonia Lupien, PhD, the centre not only stimulates scientific research but also plays a major role in communicating this knowledge to the general public, as did Hans Selye in his time. In fact, some of his books, such as Stress Without Distress, were bestsellers. The Douglas Centre for Studies on Human Stress is also a unique reference centre for researchers and clinicians who wish to evaluate their intervention programs.

The Douglas is an active participant in this symposium. Rémi Quirion, OC, PhD, CQ, MS, Scientific Director at the Douglas, Professor of the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University and Scientific Director of the Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA) and Michael J. Meaney, PhD, Associate scientific Director of the Douglas Research Centre, James McGill Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University and Director of the Program for the Study of Behaviour, Genes and Environment at McGill University are both sitting on the scientific committee along with their Canadian, European and American colleagues. They will both chair a discussion forum as well.

Four researchers from the Douglas will give lectures during the symposium:

• Sonia Lupien, PhD, Director of the Centre for Studies on Human Stress and Co-director of the McGill Center for Studies on Aging. Associate Professor of the Department of Psychiatry at McGill.
• Suzanne King, PhD, Director of the Psychosocial Research Division and Chief of the McGill Centre for Research on Schizophrenia. Associate Professor of the Department of Psychiatry at McGill.
• Claire-Dominique Walker, PhD, Director of the Neuroscience Research Division and Co-Director of the Centre for Studies on Human Stress. Associate Professor of the Department of Psychiatry as well as Anatomy & Cell Biology at McGill.
• Researcher from Jens Pruessner’ s team. Jens Pruessner, PhD, is Director of research on Aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Assistant Professor of the Department of Psychiatry, Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill.

It is important to note that the work of Douglas Institute researchers is financially supported by the Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction, one of the thirteen Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Schedule of Presentations by Douglas Institute Researchers

Wednesday, July 11, 2 p.m., UQAM, Room SH 3420
Sonia Lupien, PhD
“Effect of low socio-economic status on children and older adults.”

Wednesday, July 11, 3:30 p.m., UQAM, Room SH 3420
Suzanne King, PhD
“The effects of a natural disaster on the unborn child: Project Ice Storm.”

Thursday, July 12, 2:30 p.m., UQAM, Room SH 3420
Michael J. Meaney, PhD
“Maternal separation, stress reactivity and CRF pathways.”

Friday, July 13, 9:30 a.m. UQAM, Room SH 3420
Member from the team of Jens Pruessner, PhD
“Neuroimaging correlates of stress and their associations with hippocampus- related memory: an FMRI study”

Friday, July 13, 10:45 a.m., UQAM, Room SH 3420
Claire-Dominique Walker, PhD
“Long-term consequences of perinatal high fat feeding on stress circuitry in the offspring.”