Pablo Nepomnaschy

Dr. Pablo Nepomnaschy is an assistant professor and the director of the Maternal and Child Health Laboratory in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University (SFU). He is also an affiliate investigator in the Child & Family Research Institute and a funding member of the Human Evolutionary Studies Program (HESP). His research program is currently funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, the Dr. Djavad Mowafaghian Child Health Foundation Endowment Fund, SFU’s vice president, the PARC/PSC/Boettner Institute at the University of Pennsylvania (USA), and HESP.

Nepomnaschy’s academic interests center on the effects of stress on growth, development and health throughout the human life course. He and his colleagues study these subjects using a multi-disciplinary approach that includes physiology, ecology, genetics, evolution, anthropology and epidemiology and a broad range of other complementary fields. Currently, his investigations are focused on assessing the effects that stress has on female reproduction, early pregnancy, fetal development and its postnatal consequences for child development.

Nepomnaschy is particularly interested in the origin of inter-individual differences in stress physiology and its role in explaining inter-individual differences in morbidity, cognitive abilities, behavior, and energy metabolism.

Recent Publications

Nepomnaschy PA, Lee TC, Zeng L, Dean CB. Who is stressed? Comparing cortisol levels between individuals. Am J Hum Biol. 2012 Jul-Aug;24(4):515-25. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.22259. Epub 2012 Mar 21. (PubMed abstract)

Nepomnaschy PA, Altman RM, Watterson R, Co C, McConnell DS, England BG. Is cortisol excretion independent of menstrual cycle day? A longitudinal evaluation of first morning urinary specimens. PLoS One. 2011 Mar 31;6(3):e18242. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0018242. (PubMed abstract)

Flinn MV, Nepomnaschy PA, Muehlenbein MP, Ponzi D. Evolutionary functions of early social modulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis development in humans. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2011 Jun;35(7):1611-29. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.01.005. Epub 2011 Jan 18. (PubMed abstract)

Nepomnaschy PA, Sheiner E, Mastorakos G, Arck PC. Stress, immune function, and women’s reproduction. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2007 Oct;1113:350-64. (PubMed abstract)

Nepomnaschy PA, Welch KB, McConnell DS, Low BS, Strassmann BI, England BG. Cortisol levels and very early pregnancy loss in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Mar 7;103(10):3938-42. Epub 2006 Feb 22. (PubMed abstract)