Dr. Baptiste Lacoste, Associate Professor and Scientist, Neuroscience Program - Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

Dr. Lacoste is a neuroscientist and vascular biologist investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying metabolic and vascular abnormalities in neurodevelopmental disorders.  His lab revealed that NDD mouse models display early neurovascular abnormalities caused by endothelial dysfunction, leading to brain metabolic imbalance. He also co-led two recent studies showing that perinatal stress (hyperoxia or high-fat diet) triggers long-lasting cerebrovascular and behavioral alterations reminiscent of autism.

Dr. Lacoste's research career started at University of Bordeaux (France) where he developed his passion for neurobiology. He left France to pursue his graduate training at University of Montreal (2003-2009). His M.Sc.-Ph.D. work allowed him to acquire a solid expertise in neuroanatomy and neurobiology, while investigating the trafficking of substance P receptors using pharmacology and electron microscopy. He continued his training with a first postdoc position at the Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University (2009-2012) where he developed a new passion for vascular biology and then continued with a second postdoc in Boston at Harvard Medical School (2012-2015).  Dr. Lacoste examined the influence of neural activity on cerebrovascular patterning during postnatal development, as well as the mechanisms governing blood-brain barrier formation and integrity.  Along his training, Dr. Lacoste thus established an original research niche based on the conviction that studying neurovascular interactions in the healthy and diseased brain is a very promising avenue in neurobiology at both basic and translational levels.