Dr. Eszter Szekely, PhD is the Principal Investigator of the Perinatal And Family Research on Emotional Needs, Therapy, and Support Lab. Her research lab is focusing on improving families’ mental health during the perinatal period (from pregnancy through the baby’s first year of life) using observational, clinical, genomic, and neuroimaging research methods. She is the Director of the Perinatal Multisite Databank, an ongoing clinical cohort of patients receiving perinatal mental health services at one of seven participating hospital sites in Quebec. The aim of the databank is to improve patient care and promote evidence-based practice in perinatal psychiatry. She is also an integral member of the DREAM BIG research consortium that harmonizes key measures across seven longitudinal birth cohorts to explore the early life origins of major psychiatric disorders in childhood. Within DREAM BIG, her work explores how the prenatal environment, genomic variability, and the early parental care affect child mental health, particularly the development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). She is also a member of the advisory board of The Curious Neuron.
Contact information:
Eszter.szekely@mcgill.ca
Kathelijne Keeren is the Research Coordinator at the PARENTS Lab, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research. She specializes in women’s mental health and its effects on infants and children. In her current role, Kathelijne coordinates projects including the Perinatal Multisite Databank, which she has been involved in for over six years, and the Babywearing Intervention Study, which recently received ethics approval in May 2024. Kathelijne holds a BHSc in Midwifery from Toronto Metropolitan University. In her free time, she has been learning to play the violin for the past six years—a rewarding yet slow-progressing hobby.
Contact information:
Kathelijne.keeren@ladydavis.ca
Julia Schwartz, MA, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Creative Arts Therapies from Concordia University. She is preparing to pursue a MSc(A) in Couple and Family Therapy at McGill University in Fall 2026, where she aims to further explore relational and family systems perspectives. Her academic interests centre on the perinatal period, with a particular focus on postpartum mood disorders and the emotional complexities of pregnancy and early parenthood. Julia is actively involved as a research assistant with the PARENTS Lab, where she contributes to ongoing research on perinatal mental health and family wellbeing.
Contact information:
julia.schwartz2@mail.mcgill.ca
adrianne.tan@mail.mcgill.ca
Linda Ma is a current medical student at McGill University. As a research student, she studies perinatal and postpartum mental health, aiming to explore the relationship between adult attachement and perinatal/postpartum depression and anxiety. Her current research interests also include neonatal health. Linda holds a college degree in Arts and Sciences at Marianopolis College. A fun fact about her is that her pinky fingers are crooked outwards, perhaps from playing too much piano at a young age?
Contact information:
lindama.xijia@gmail.com
Mariane Aumais, Research Volunteer
Morgan Sharpe, Research Volunteer
Linda Ma, Research Volunteer
Christina Rigas, Research Assistant
François Freddy Ateba, Data Scientist
