Sara Tremblay , PhD

Dr. Sara Tremblay is a scientist at The Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research (IMHR), affiliated with the University of Ottawa

She obtained her PhD in Neuropsychology (Clinical/Experimental) at the Université de Montréal, and completed postdoctoral fellowships in Neurology (University College London; London, UK) and Psychiatry (The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; Toronto, Canada). She has been a registered neuropsychologist in Québec since 2015 and is currently seeking licensure in Ontario.

Over the past ten years, Dr. Tremblay has developed extensive expertise in the use of neuromodulation techniques, including transcranial magnetic stimulation. Her early research focused on the combined use of neuromodulation and neuroimaging as biomarkers of neurological conditions such as sport concussions. She later worked to develop novel neuromodulation paradigms tailored towards the treatment of depression.

Dr. Tremblay’s overarching research objective is to optimize neuromodulation treatments to alleviate symptoms of mental health disorders, and offer alternative treatment options to individuals that do not respond to standard therapies (e.g. medication).

She has received many distinguished awards and grants, including the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship; postdoctoral fellowship awards from CIHR and the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ); and the Certificate of Academic Excellence from the Canadian Psychological Association.She is also a recipient of IMHR’s Emerging Research Innovators in Mental Health (eRIMh) incubator program.

Dr. Tremblay is currently establishing a neuromodulation laboratory at the IMHR, where she will work to continue to improve neuromodulation paradigms while simultaneously exploring neurobiological markers for treatment efficacy. Her ultimate goal is to offer shorter, more refined, better tolerated, and more effective neuromodulation treatment protocols for individuals with mental health disorders.