Ecologist Determined to Understand Human Health from a Holistic Perspective

Dr. Pablo Nepomnaschy brings his varied and multi-disciplinary approach to the Faculty of Health Sciences, fueled by an ecologist’s determination to understand human health from a holistic perspective.

"As an ecologist, my goal is to understand the interaction between human biology and the physical and social environments" says Dr. Nepomnaschy. The interaction of most interest to him these days is that between stress (broadly defined as any challenge that activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) and women’s reproductive function as they transition through different stages of life. Dr. Nepomnaschy's attention to the full life cycle brings an important contribution to studies of human stress and reproduction, which often overlook how transitions through the life cycle impact stress response and fertility.

Dr. Nepomnaschy is extremely excited about joining the interdisciplinary Faculty of Health Sciences. His own background includes training in ecology, anthropology, physiology and epidemiology, and he anticipates great synergy to develop between members of his diverse team of colleagues. In his words, he is "thrilled about the prospect of being able to tackle issues that have to do with human health from a multitude of angles, so that we can get a more integrative, holistic, picture of each aspect of human health."

Dr. Nepomnaschy is currently working on a research paper that evaluates how stress response varies across the menstrual cycle and how often bio-specimens should be collected in order to accurately assess stress levels in women. In the future he plans to tackle an area we know precious little about - the effects of stress on mother and child at the earliest stages of gestation.