Lei Cao

Lei Cao’s research focuses on how environmental factors, such as stress, influence developmental trajectories, to uncover the underlying mechanisms contributing to health and wellness through genome and epigenome exploration. In particular, her work examines the profound effects of natural disaster-induced stress on vulnerable populations, such as pregnant women, children and adolescents.

Professor Cao is accepting new students for thesis supervision.

• Stress and natural disasters
• Genetics and epigenetics
• Developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD)

• Cao-Lei L, Saumier D, Fortin J, Brunet A. A narrative review of the epigenetics of post-traumatic stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder treatment. Front Psychiatry. 2022 Nov 7;13:857087.
• Cao-Lei L, de Rooij SR, King S, Matthews SG, Metz GAS, Roseboom TJ, Szyf M. Prenatal stress and epigenetics. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2020 Oct;117:198-210.
• Cao-Lei L, Elgbeili G, Szyf M, Laplante DP, King S. Differential genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in childhood obesity. BMC Res Notes. 2019 Mar 25;12(1):174.
• Cao-Lei L, van den Heuvel MI, Huse K, Platzer M, Elgbeili G, Braeken MAKA, Otte RA, Witte OW, Schwab M, Van den Bergh BRH. Epigenetic Modifications Associated with Maternal Anxiety during Pregnancy and Children's Behavioral Measures. Cells. 2021 Sep 14;10(9):2421.
• Cao-Lei L, Yogendran S, Dufoix R, Elgbeili G, Laplante DP, King S. Prenatal Maternal Stress From a Natural Disaster and Hippocampal Volumes: Gene-by-Environment Interactions in Young Adolescents From Project Ice Storm. Front Behav Neurosci. 2021 Sep 10;15:706660.
• Cherif LS, Cao-Lei L, Farinelle S, Muller CP, Turner JD, Schroeder H, Grova N. Assessment of 9-OH- and 7,8-diol-benzo[a]pyrene in Blood as Potent Markers of Cognitive Impairment Related to benzo[a]pyrene Exposure: An Animal Model Study. Toxics. 2021 Mar 8;9(3):50.
• Cao-Lei L, Dancause KN, Elgbeili G, Laplante DP, Szyf M, King S. DNA methylation mediates the effect of maternal cognitive appraisal of a disaster in pregnancy on the child's C-peptide secretion in adolescence: Project Ice Storm. PLoS One. 2018 Feb 5;13(2):e0192199.
• Laplante DP, Simcock G, Cao-Lei L, Mouallem M, Elgbeili G, Brunet A, Cobham V, Kildea S, King S. The 5-HTTLPR polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene and child's sex moderate the relationship between disaster-related prenatal maternal stress and autism spectrum disorder traits: The QF2011 Queensland flood study. Dev Psychopathol. 2019 Oct;31(4):1395-1409.
• Cao-Lei L, Veru F, Elgbeili G, Szyf M, Laplante DP, King S. DNA methylation mediates the effect of exposure to prenatal maternal stress on cytokine production in children at age 13½  years: Project Ice Storm. Clin Epigenetics. 2016 May 12;8:54.
• Cao-Lei L, Dancause KN, Elgbeili G, Laplante DP, Szyf M, King S. Pregnant women's cognitive appraisal of a natural disaster affects their children's BMI and central adiposity via DNA methylation: Project Ice Storm. Early Hum Dev. 2016 Dec;103:189-192.
• Cao-Lei L, Dancause KN, Elgbeili G, Massart R, Szyf M, Liu A, Laplante DP, King S. DNA methylation mediates the impact of exposure to prenatal maternal stress on BMI and central adiposity in children at age 13½ years: Project Ice Storm. Epigenetics. 2015;10(8):749-61.