Dr. Marie-Ève Tremblay
Dr. Tremblay came to the University of Victoria from the Université Laval in Quebec, where she was an Associate Professor in the Molecular Medicine Department. While at the Université Laval, Dr. Tremblay received a CIHR Foundation grant and a Canada Research Chair, Tier II in Neuroimmune Plasticity in Health and Therapy, among other impressive grants and awards.
At the University of Victoria, Dr. Tremblay is a Professor at the Division of Medical Sciences and a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Neurobiology of Aging and Cognition. She is additionally a College Member of the Royal Society of Canada. She has developed national and international prominence for her work, and has collaborated with many scientists. She also supports diversity and inclusivity, whether she is recruiting trainees or organizing events that include speaker panels.
Dr. Tremblay received her PhD in Sciences eurologiques at Université de Montréal in 2009. She was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy and Center for Visual Science at the University of Rochester from 2009 - 2011 and in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 2011 - 2012.
What inspired you to become a neurobiologist?
Since I was a child, I have had a strong curiosity about nature, including flowers, animals, etc. I did my undergraduate studies in Biology, where I developed a fascination for the nervous system. I was amazed by our ability to learn and remember as well as the capacity of our brain to remodel and allow us to grow and change. I wanted to know more about the underlying mechanisms!
What was the educational pathway you took to become a neurobiologist?
I did an undergraduate degree in Biology with a specialty in Animal Physiology, then a MSC (with a direct transfer to a PhD) in Neurological Sciences at the Université de Montréal, in Montréal, Québec. After my PhD, I completed two postdoctoral trainings in the United States, before taking my first independent position as an Assistant Professor at Université Laval in Québec City.
Was there anyone who was particularly influential during your studies to become a scientist?
I had amazing mentors who shared their passion for science, encouraged me to pursue this path, and believed in me. My high school Biology teacher, Marie-Josée Salem, was highly influential. She was such an amazing person: highly balanced, with a positive attitude, lots of wisdom, and a healthy life philosophy. In my undergraduate studies, Kaveh Danechi and Michel Anctil, were also outstanding teachers. I subsequently had a series of excellent mentors, who really made a difference, including Richard Robitaille, Laurent Descarries, and Ania Majewska, and many of my collaborators.
What does a typical work day look like for Dr. Tremblay?
I keep in touch with lots of people on a daily basis: my trainees and other lab members (we are about 30 in the lab at the moment), but also my collaborators and other colleagues, mainly via our lab Slack platform, email, Zoom, and in-person meetings. We mainly discuss the progression of our research projects together and I do my best to guide my trainees and lab members with their work. In between these discussions, I generally revise lots of manuscripts, scholarship and fellowship applications, and grant applications. I also review papers submitted for publication and grant applications, present my work virtually and in-person, do some formal teaching, and participate in outreach activities. Human interactions (and writing!) are what I like most.
Could you describe your current research interests?
I am interested in determining how to keep microglia, which are the immune cells of the brain, healthy throughout life, especially with the exposure to various environmental risk factors for disease: chronic psychological stress, infection, sleep disturbances, unhealthy diets, etc. Microglia are important immune cells that play essential roles in brain development, maturation, activity, plasticity, and they maintain the brain’s integrity. They are also critical for its repair following injury and in disease. However, when microglia are challenged by the environment, with time, they can also become sick themselves. This is what we are trying to rescue!
We are studying the outcomes of various treatment strategies on microglia, including with physical activity, non-invasive light-flickering and vagus nerve stimulation, cannabinoids, psychedelics, and ketogenic treatments. With this, our goal is to potentiate the beneficial effects of lifestyle on microglia to prevent the onset and progression of neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric, and neurodegenerative disorders along the aging trajectory.
How has becoming a Canada Research Chair impacted your research?
I feel most grateful for this distinction! This has certainly increased the prestige and reputation of my lab, allowing me to recruit even more outstanding trainees and leverage additional external funding. It is difficult to tell exactly which positive outcomes in my career are related to the Canada Research Chair, but I am certain there have been many (and probably more than I think)!!
How do you maintain your work-life balance?
I started to investigate the outcomes of stress on microglia as I felt quite stressed in my first years as an independent investigator in Québec! I wanted to understand how to be more resilient to stress, something we are actively investigating in the lab! Similarly, when I was pregnant (with my 3 children), I wanted to know how to eat well for an optimal pregnancy and child development. This has led to me studying the effects of the diet on microglia! Maintaining my life-work balance (of note, I prefer life-work over work-life) is critical. This is also why I moved from Québec city to Victoria, as I found the environment there stressful.
I also fell in love with Victoria when visiting to give a seminar, loving both its nature and people! I thought this would be the perfect place for my lab, my family, and myself! I find the quality of life here amazing! Over the last three years, I have walked almost every day to go to work, year-round. I spend lots of time exploring trails and beaches with my family and also camping. I stay physically active, going to the gym and swimming pool (as well as the sauna), and do kettle bell exercises in my office between meetings! I also eat super healthy, doing my best based on the knowledge I have, with a low carb Mediterranean diet (mainly healthy fats, fish, vegetables, and nuts).
Where do you believe the future of your field is headed?
I am super hopeful and always extremely optimistic! I really hope that we can move our research, which is mainly done in animal models at the moment, towards clinical studies. It is possible to image microglia in humans using non-invasive imaging and I think it's so important to determine not only the longitudinal outcomes of lifestyle and the environment on microglia, but also treatment strategies.
What advice do you have for young women interested in pursuing a similar career path to yourself?
I think it’s most important to follow one’s dreams and listen to one’s heart. I am a very intuitive person and listening to my heart is quite important to me. I also think it’s very important to reach out to other scientists that could serve as potential role models and mentors. Don’t be shy! Receiving support and advice from other women in science is totally essential! Personally, I am mentoring many younger scientists, which I feel is my responsibility as a woman in science and something I enjoy most!
Five Fun Facts About Dr. Tremblay:
Best book you’ve read recently: I really liked Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake (https://www.merlinsheldrake.com/entangled-life). It really changed my way of seeing fungi (and gave me some inspiration for my research)!
Travel destination that inspired you the most: I love many places, including Berlin in Germany. It has such a positive vibe. I had a wonderful time in Berlin when attending a conference there this summer. Berlin is a very special place to me: it is where I gave my first invited talk (2011) and where I was traveling when preparing my interview for Victoria (2019). Returning this year gave me lots of insights into my career trajectory. It was also great to catch up with lots of collaborators and people I know in the field.
Favorite hobbies: Photography (of my kids, nature, and places I visit). I also used to do lots of drawing and painting, something I am hoping to restart soon.
Do you have a pet: Yes, a very affectionate ragdoll cat.
Coffee or tea in the mornings: I recently transitioned to decaffeinated coffee. I also love herbal teas (with antioxidant and hydrating properties) all day long.
Interview by Anna Dansereau
