The Life-course Suicide Epidemiology Research Lab studies what makes people at risk of engaging in suicidal behavior and developing mental health problems using large population-based cohort studies that follow individuals from childhood to adulthood. Our research is multidisciplinary and builds on different traditions, including psychiatric epidemiology, developmental psychopathology, and behavioral genetics.
The lab is based at the Douglas Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry of McGill University, within the McGill Group for Suicide Studies (Montreal, Canada)
About
We are a research laboratory in the Department of Psychiatry of McGill University and the Douglas Research Centre.
Our research aims to understand the factors contributing to the emergence of suicidal behavior and related mental health problems (mood disorders, emotional regulation difficulties) across the lifespan. Suicide takes a staggering toll on public health globally (700,000 deaths worldwide each year), and touches individuals across the life-course, including young children, adolescents (second leading cause of death in this age group), and adults, with far-reaching consequences for families, friends, and society. Our lab aims to contribute to suicide prevention by conducting rigorous scientific studies to inform researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and the general populations involved in suicide prevention.
To this aim, we use large longitudinal cohort studies that follow up individuals from childhood to adulthood to understand how factors occurring during key developmental periods in the life-course contribute to increasing suicide risk later in life. Furthermore, as most individuals who face adversity do not engage in suicidal behavior, we are interested in discovering the factors that contribute to increasing resilience and protecting against suicidal behavior.
Suicide is a complex and multifactorial phenomenon whose risk arises from a combination of genetic vulnerability, exposure to environmental risk factors, and mental disorders. To take into account such complex etiology, we conduct interdisciplinary research that integrates methods from complementary approaches including psychiatric epidemiology, developmental psychopathology, psychology, behavioral genetics, and biological psychiatry.
Discover our scientific environment
McGill University, Department of Psychiatry
McGill University is a leading research and education institution globally, consistently ranked among the top universities worldwide (ranked 31st worldwide in the 2022 QS ranking) and in Canada (Canada’s top-ranked university in the 2022 QS ranking; 1st medical doctoral school in Canada from 2004 according to the Maclean ranking). The Department of Psychiatry is a research-intensive department hosting word-caliber researchers, research institutes, and research facilities that make the department one of the most prestigious and interdisciplinary in the world.
The Department consists of an integrated network of hospitals and research institutes including the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and its Research Centre.
Douglas Mental Health University Institute Douglas Research Centre
The Douglas Hospital Research Centre (DHRC) is a unique environment that unites specialized clinical care of mental disorders and groundbreaking research in mental health. Its mission is to understand, prevent, and treat mental disorders through science. It is the second largest mental health research centre in Canada and counts 68 principal investigators conducting ground-breaking research on virtually all aspects of mental health, from genes to society. Research at the DHRC is conducted across 4 main research divisions (clinical science, basic neuroscience, human neuroscience, and mental health & society), creating a truly interdisciplinary environment covering mental health in its complexity.
McGill Group for Suicide Studies (MGSS)
The MGSS, founded in 2002, is a multidisciplinary team of researchers using complementary approaches (genomics, epigenetic, anthropology, psychology, epidemiology, neuroanatomy, and molecular biology) to understand what makes people at risk for suicide.
Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health (CEYMH)
The CEYMH at the Douglas Institute and McGill University, directed by Dr. Lena Palaniyappan, is a major strategic initiative that aims to foster research, healthcare, training, and advocacy in youth (12-25 years) mental health. We actively collaborate with the CEYMH on projects related to mental health and suicide risk of young people.
Québec Network for Suicide, Mood Disorders, and Related Disorders (RQSHA)
The RQSHA is a lead actor in suicide research in Québec, bringing together investigators with unique expertise and research interests from across the province and across disciplines to advance research on suicide, mood disorders, and addictions. The RQSHA is composed of 55 regular members and over 200 student members, and counts more than 15 financial partners including research, government, and community organizations. It is organized around 4 axes (Neurobiological Aspects of Mood Disorders; Clinical Research and Innovative Treatments; Addictions; Psychosocial, Ethical, and Indigenous Mental Health Research) and 4 transversal platforms (Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank; Biopsychosocial Analysis of Mental Health Trajectories; Québec Suicide Social Regulation Analysis; Services Analysis and Public Health).
The Life-course Suicide Epidemiology lab has a very close collaboration with the Biopsychosocial Analysis of Mental Health Trajectories platform and their experts in behavioral genetics.
Research Unit on Children Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP)
The GRIP is an interuniversity and interdisciplinary research center. It brings together more than 50 researchers from 8 universities (including McGill) and complementary disciplinary backgrounds (education, economics, criminology, psychoeducation, psychology, pediatrics, psychiatry, public health) to advance knowledge and practices related to the promotion of children’s development and prevention of mental health and adaptation problems across the lifespan. Over the past 35 years, the group has built 5 longitudinal datasets that trace human development from birth to adulthood.
WHO/PAHO Collaborating Centre on Research and Training in Mental Health
The Montreal WHO Collaborating Centre (WHOCC) on Research and Training in Mental Health is based at the DHRC and is affiliated with McGill University. The Collaborating Centre has built a very active relationship both with the WHO in Geneva (and specifically the WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Use) and its American regional office (Pan-American Health Organization, PAHO). Over the years, the WHOCC has been responsive to regional and global requests of the WHO and PAHO across a number of global health themes: 1) Training in mental health at primary care systems levels, including on suicide prevention; 2) Mental health and culture, including indigenous mental health; 3) Human rights in mental health care; 4) Mental health in disasters and emergencies, including related to climate change and forced migration; 5) Prevention and promotion of mental health, including education and training in low- and middle-income country settings; 6) Mental Health Services, including assisting countries in developing their mental health policies and action plans, integrating stakeholders and service users input.
The Life-course Suicide Epidemiology lab collaborates with the WHO Collaborating Centre on projects related to Promotion and Prevention of mental health in youth and suicide prevention.
