Jane A. Foster

Dr. Jane A. Foster serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University, where she has been appointed since 2003 and promoted in 2008. She additionally holds research appointments as a Scientific Associate at the University Health Network (Toronto, since 2013) and as a Scientist at St. Michael's Hospital (since May 2016). Her academic foundation includes a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto (1996).

Her research program investigates the critical interplay between gut microbiota, immune responses, and neural mechanisms in shaping neurodevelopment, behavior, and mental health outcomes. Focusing on how these interactions contribute to psychiatric conditions including neurodevelopmental disorders, anxiety, and depression, her work employs advanced behavioral assessment tools in a CFI-funded lab for high-throughput analysis across the lifespan. Key methodologies include automated measurement of communication, motor control, developmental milestones, and anxiety-like behaviors.

Dr. Foster actively contributes to two major translational research networks: the Province of Ontario Neurodevelopmental Disorders Network (POND) and the Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression (CAN-BIND). Her work receives substantial funding from NSERC, CIHR, Brain Canada, and the Ontario Brain Institute, supporting the development of tools for measuring behavioral and molecular mechanisms from postnatal stages through adulthood.

No scientific awards were documented in the provided text.

The Foster lab operates a state-of-the-art behavioral unit at McMaster University featuring Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) infrastructure. This facility enables comprehensive longitudinal studies of behavioral phenotypes including approach-avoidance dynamics, repetitive behaviors, and learning paradigms, with integrated molecular analysis capabilities spanning developmental milestones to adult behavioral patterns.