I recently joined the department as a postdoctoral research fellow to work with Prof. Thalia Eley, whom I met in 2018 during a 3-month PhD internship at the SGDP. After completing my PhD in psychology with Prof. Michel Boivin at Université Laval, Canada, I was granted postdoctoral fellowships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et Culture (FRQSC) to continue my research projects with Prof. Eley.

 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London (2022- )

• PhD Psychology (Distinction), Université Laval, Canada (2017-2021)
• MA Psychology (Distinction), Université Laval, Canada (2014-2016)
• BA Psychology (First class honours), University of Hartford, United States (2010-2013)

Research Interests:

I am interested in understanding why some children and adolescents suffer from persistent anxiety and depression and what are the factors exacerbating these internalising problems over time. My work also focuses on the role that social relationships play in the development of these problems. To answer these questions, I use longitudinal twin data and genomic approaches to document how genetic and environmental factors drive the development of anxiety, depression, and social relationships. In previous projects, I have worked with large datasets (UK Biobank) and longitudinal cohorts from Canada (Quebec Newborn Twin Study and Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development) to investigate the etiology and outcomes related to internalising problems, including social withdrawal, social isolation, anxiety and depression.

Awards:

• 2021 Postdoctoral Fellowship - Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (24 months)
• 2021 Postdoctoral Fellowship - Fonds de recherche du Québec Société et Culture (24 months)
• 2021 Postdoctoral Partial funding - Quebec Network on Suicide, Mood Disorders and Related Disorders (6 months)
• 2019 PhD Research Scholarship - Fonds de recherche du Québec Société et Culture (32 months)
• 2018 PhD Partial funding - Quebec Network on Suicide, Mood Disorders and Related Disorders (6 months)
• 2017 Doctoral Excellence Scholarship - Faculté des sciences sociales, Université Laval (12 months)
• 2015 Canada Graduate Scholarship (Master’s) - Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (12 months)

Grants and Scholarships:

• Postdoctoral Fellowship (2022-2024). Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The persistence of anxiety in adolescence: the roles of genetic factors and peer victimization. Amount: 90,000 $ CA
• Postdoctoral Fellowship (2022-2024) - Fonds de recherche du Québec Société et Culture The persistence of anxiety in adolescence: the roles of genetic factors and peer victimization. Amount: 110,000 $ CA (partially declined, 20,000 $ CA accepted as supplement to SSHRC fellowship)
• Postdoctoral Partial funding (2021) - Quebec Network on Suicide, Mood Disorders and Related Disorders. Genetic pathways to anxiety in adolescence. Amount: 10,000 $ CA
• PhD Research Scholarship - Fonds de recherche du Québec Société et Culture (2019-2021). La timidité et le désintérêt social à l’enfance : liens longitudinaux avec la victimisation par les pairs et distinction étiologique. Amount: 35,000 $ CA
• PhD Partial funding - Quebec Network on Suicide, Mood Disorders and Related Disorders (2018). Les symptômes dépressifs à l'adolescence: associations avec un score polygénique d'anxiété et la victimisation par les pairs à l'enfance. Amount: 10,000 $ CA
• Doctoral Excellence Scholarship - Faculté des sciences sociales, Université Laval (2017). Amount: 12,000 $ CA
• Canada Graduate Scholarship (Master’s) - Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (2015-2016). The genetic and environmental etiology of shyness through childhood. Amount: 17,500 $ CA

Publications:

Morneau-Vaillancourt, G., Ouellet-Morin, I., Pouliot, S., Poliakova, N., Provost, L., Forget- Dubois, N., Matte-Gagné, C., Petitclerc, A., Brendgen, M. R., Vitaro, F., Tremblay, R. E., Dionne, G., & Boivin, M. (2022). Early temperamental and biological predictors of dimensions of social withdrawal in childhood. Developmental Psychobiology, 00(e22348). https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.22348

 

Gagnon, É., Boivin, M., Mimeau, C., Feng, B., Morneau-Vaillancourt, G., Aubé, S., Brendgen, M., Vitaro, F., & Dionne, G. (2022). The intensity of formal child-care attendance decreases the shared environment contribution to school readiness: A twin study. Child Psychiatry & Human Development. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-022-01440-6

 

Carpentier, P., Morneau-Vaillancourt, G., Aubé, S., Matte-Gagné, C., Denault, A.-S., Brendgen, M. R., Larose, S., Petitclerc, A., Ouellet-Morin, I., Carbonneau, R., Feng, B., Séguin, J., Côté, S., Vitaro, F., Tremblay, R. E., Dionne, G., & Boivin, M. (2022). A sequential model of the contribution of preschool fluid and crystallized cognitive abilities to later school achievement. PlosOne. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0276532

 

Tielbeek, J. J., Uffelmann, E., Williams, B. S., Colodro-Conde, L., Gagnon, E., …, Morneau- Vaillancourt, G., …, Andlauer, T. F. M., Ouellet-Morin, I., Tremblay, R. E., Cote, S. M., Gouin, J.-P., Brendgen, M. R., Dionne, G., Vitaro, F., …, Boivin, M., …, Moffit, T. E., Caspi, A., Polderman, T. J. C., & Posthuma, D. (2022). Uncovering the genetic architecture of broad antisocial behavior through a genome-wide association study meta-analysis. Molecular Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.19.462578

 

Perret, L., Boivin, M., Morneau-Vaillancourt, G., Andlauer, T. F. M., Paquin, S., Langevin, S., Girard, A., Turecki, G., O’Donnell, K., Tremblay, R. E., Côté, S., Gouin, J.-P., Ouellet-Morin, I., & Geoffroy, M.-C. (2022). Polygenic risk score and peer victimization independently predict depressive symptoms in adolescence: Results from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Children Development. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13706

 

Demers, I., Camden, C., Morneau-Vaillancourt, G., Corriveau, G., Lamontagne, M.-È., Moffet, H., & Maltais, D. (2022). A clinical practice guide to enhance physical activity participation for children with developmental coordination disorder in Canada. Physiotherapy Canada, e20210071. https://doi.org/10.3138/ptc-2021-0071

 

Armitage, J. M., Morneau-Vaillancourt, G., Pingault, J.-B., Andlauer, T. F. M., Paquin, S., Brendgen, M. R., Dionne, G., Séguin, J. R., Rouleau G. A., Vitaro, F., Ouellet-Morin, I., & Boivin, M. (2022). A multi-informant multi-polygenic approach to understanding predictors of peer victimization in childhood and adolescence. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry Advances, e12063. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.12063

 

Morneau-Vaillancourt, G., Andlauer, T. F. M., Ouellet-Morin, I., Paquin, S., Brendgen, M. R., Vitaro, F., Gouin, J.-P., Séguin, J. R., Gagnon, É., Cheesman, R., Forget-Dubois, N., Rouleau, G. A., Turecki, G., Tremblay, R. E., Côté, S. M., Dionne, G., & Boivin, M. (2021). Polygenic scores differentially predict developmental trajectories of subtypes of social withdrawal in childhood. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13459

 

Morneau-Vaillancourt, G., Matte-Gagné, C., Cheesman, R., Brendgen, M. R., Vitaro, F., Tremblay, R. E., Dionne, G., & Boivin, M. (2021). Social wariness, preference for solitude, and peer difficulties in middle childhood: A longitudinal family-informed study. Developmental Psychology, 57(3), 410-420. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000961

 

Morneau-Vaillancourt, G., Coleman, J. R. I., Purves, K., Cheesman, R., Rayner, C., Breen, G., & Eley, T. (2020). The genetic and environmental hierarchical structure of anxiety and depression in the UK Biobank. Depression and Anxiety, 37(6), 512-520. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22991

 

Morneau-Vaillancourt, G., Dionne, G., Brendgen, M. R., Vitaro, F., Feng, B., Henry, J., Forget-Dubois, N., Tremblay, R. E., & Boivin, M. (2019). The genetic and environmental etiology of shyness through childhood. Behavior Genetics, 49(4), 376-385. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-019-09955-w

 

Cheesman, R. Coleman, J. R. I., Rayner, C., Purves, K., Morneau-Vaillancourt, G., Glanville, K., Choi, S. W., Breen, G., & Eley, T. (2019). Familial influences on neuroticism and education in the UK Biobank. Behavior Genetics, 50, 84-93. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-019-09984-5

 

Rayner, C., Coleman, J. R. I., Purves, K., Cheesman, R., Huebel, C., Gaspar, H., Glanville, K., Krebs, G., Morneau-Vaillancourt, G., Breen, G., Eley, T. (2019). Genetic influences on treatment-seeking for common mental health problems in the UK Biobank. Behavior Research and Therapy, 121, 103413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2019.103413