About Us
Members of the current research team enjoy a highly successful track record of collaboration and are excited to merge their different knowledge and skill sets to embark on this new and impactful line of inquiry focused on the impact of opioid exposure, with and without cannabis, on the development and function of the placenta and fetal growth profiles.
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We have a highly interdisciplinary research team to complete this ambitious and important project. Our team consists of peer researchers, clinicians, pathologists, placental biologists, and a systems biology expert - all with a strong track record of successful collaboration distributed in Toronto, Ottawa, Kingston, Hamilton and London.
Our Principal Investigators
Dr. Shannon Bainbridge
Co-Principal Investigator
Shannon Bainbridge is an associate professor in the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, with cross appointment to the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and affiliate investigator status at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI). She obtained her Ph.D. from Queen's University (Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology) with a dissertation that focused on the effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy. Professor Bainbridge went on to complete two post-doctoral fellowships, the first at Magee-Womens Research Institute (Pittsburgh, PA) and the second at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital (Toronto, ON). In both fellowships her research examined how different biological and genetic influences affect early placental development in the context of both healthy and pathological pregnancies. In 2011, Dr. Bainbridge established the Placenta Lab at the University of Ottawa. Her research program focuses on understanding the contributing role of the placenta to two common and debilitating conditions of pregnancy: preeclampsia and intrauterine fetal growth restriction (IUGR).
Dr. Laura Gaudet
Co-Principal Investigator
Laura Gaudet holds a Doctor of Medicine from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada where she also completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology. She then undertook subspecialty training in Maternal Fetal Medicine and a Master’s of Science in Epidemiology and Community Medicine at the University of Ottawa.
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Dr. Gaudet is an Associate Professor at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. She is Head of Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine and Head of Labour and Delivery. Her research interests include maternal fetal medicine, perinatal epidemiology, maternal medical conditions in pregnancy and obesity and pregnancy outcomes. In her clinical practice she specializes in the management of weight in pregnancy and the provision of maternity care to women on the fringe. Together with midwife Amy McGee, she founded ORACLE, an program that provides outreach prenatal care to patients who are unable to conform to the traditional care model.
Our Peer Researchers
Our Team
