Dr. Wendie Marks PhD

Dr. Wendie Marks has dedicated her career to health-related research focused on using preclinical models to examine the effectiveness of novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of psychiatric and neurological diseases. Her career aspirations began with a desire to research the physiological root of mental health conditions, mainly depression and anxiety, that are disproportionately represented in Canadian Indigenous peoples. Following her graduate work, which focused on the effects of stress hormones in a rat preclinical model of depression, Dr. Marks expanded her research focus to other disorders and diseases including schizophrenia and epilepsy. As a research officer for the Coronavirus Variants Rapid Response Network, Dr. Marks gained experience in the research and writing of social policy recommendations focused on federal and provincial COVID-19 responses. The breadth of Dr. Marks' research experience spans the fields of psychology, physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and social policy. With this breadth of research experience, and with lived experience as a First Nations woman, Dr. Marks applies a multidimensional approach to Indigenous health and wellness-related research.

Dr. Marks holds a Tier II Canada Research Chair in the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) in Indigenous People. DOHaD is a research framework that proposes the state of health and risk from disease in later childhood and adult life is significantly affected by environmental factors that act during the pre-conceptional, prenatal, and/or early postnatal periods. Dr. Marks uses a DOHaD lens to investigate the physiological consequences of intergenerational stress and malnutrition, and how this relates to health and wellness in Indigenous children. Dr. Marks' program of research aims to identify and address potential barriers to wellness that may be passed from generation to generation in Indigenous peoples resulting from colonialist policies in Canada.

• PhD in Psychology, University of Saskatchewan (2014)
• SHRF Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Saskatchewan (2015 - 2019)
• Eyes High Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Calgary (2019 - 2021)

See Google Scholar for a full list of publications