Françoise Maheu

Françoise Maheu is a Professor at the Université de Montréal, affiliated with the Centre de recherche Azrieli du CHU Sainte-Justine and the CESH (Centre d'études sur le stress humain). Her research focuses on emotional development, psychopathological disorders (anxiety, depression), and the neural circuits governing fear and reward systems, with a particular interest in the biological underpinnings of parental practices. She has led multiple projects investigating the impact of coercive parenting, environmental contaminants, and adolescent brain development.

Key Projects:

• Effects of Delaying Age of Onset of Binge Drinking (2013–2020), funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
• Developmental Exposure to Environmental Contaminants (2011–2016), exploring Inuit youth brain organization
• Harsh Parenting Conditions and Fear Circuitry (2009–2015), examining anxious and healthy youths

Funding & Grants: Multiple grants from CIHR (IRSC) and Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS), including junior researcher fellowships and programmatic grants.

Advising & Mentorship: Supervised three doctoral students focusing on neural correlates of reward circuits, parental practices, and structural MRI studies in at-risk youths.

Labs/Teams: Active in multidisciplinary teams at the Azrieli Research Centre and CESH, combining neuroscience, psychology, and clinical research to address developmental psychopathology.