Baycrest Health Sciences & Baycrest Foundation Publications
Issue link: http://baycrest.uberflip.com/i/141186
How genes and environment shape our health Population neuroscientist Tomáš Paus (left) studies how the interplay of genes and environment shape our brains. Working in concert with his wife and fellow scientist Dr. Zdenka Pausova, he is embarking on an ambitious project at Baycrest aimed at finding ways to help prevent or slow breakdowns in our brain and body health as we age. addiction, obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure. These diseases are all associated with cognitive decline. The findings could potentially transform the way we age by guiding the development of interventions and treatments for use earlier in the lifespan – as early as childhood – to prevent or slow breakdowns in our health later on. Dr. Paus and Dr. Pausova will co-direct the Centre. A scientist with the Hospital for Sick Children, Dr. Pausova is leading the "body" or metabolism part Dr. Paus, who has an impressive and extensive back- of the endeavour. Her research focuses on cardiovas- ground in this field, comes to Baycrest from the United cular disease in adolescence. Kingdom, where he founded the Brain and Body Centre at the University of Nottingham. Toronto is an ideal location for large population-based research, Dr. Paus notes. "The consequences of differ- A brain-mapping expert, Dr. Paus is co-director of the ent risks for these complex diseases, whether environ- new Toronto Trans-generational Brain and Body Centre mental or genetic, develop over time. To understand at Baycrest. The Centre will recruit generations of fami- fully the mechanisms that underlie the emergence of lies (children, parents and grandparents) from different disease or protection against disease we must study ethnic groups for a large scale investigation into how large numbers of at least three generations of families." our genetic traits combined with environmental factors — what we eat, how we manage stress, our level of physical activity, for example — influences whether or not we will develop health problems such as depression, 7 Baycrest and baycrest foundation Annual Report 2009 | 2010