Julie holds a B.Sc. Honours with Specialization in Biology from University of Ottawa and an M.Sc. from Mount Allison University. She is currently a PhD candidate at Université de Moncton working with Dr. Vett Lloyd, a professor at Mount Allison University, and Dr. Gilles Robichaud, a professor from Université de Moncton that has his lab at the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute.
Julie is a research professional intrigued by a multidisciplinary approach to knowledge, which explains her interest in studying psychoneuroimmunology, even though her background was almost purely in biology. She joined the Psychobiology of Stress & Health Lab (PSHL) in August 2011. In May 2015, Julie left the lab to join the Master of Science program at Mount Allison University, where she assessed the risk of Lyme disease in New Brunswick under the supervision of Dr. Vett Lloyd. She is now studying Morgellons disease and the epigenetic/transcriptional profiles of bacterial/host interactions using cell models and many other approaches. Congratulations, Julie!
During her time at the PSHL lab, Julie worked as the research coordinator of a PSHL multi-site clinical study entitled “Feelings matter when expecting a baby: the psychoneuroimmunology of pregnancy”. Other tasks within the lab included editorial activities, helping with the coordination of other research projects and participating in the organization of lab activities such as:
A CIHR Café Scientifique entitled “My body is simmering: Minimizing the inflammatory effect of stress & depression.” This community-based event was widely attended (Fall 2012).
Mount Allison University's research open house, where the PSHL was chosen, along with two other labs, to give a media tour in order to celebrate the contributions of funding agencies to the university, as well as highlight the novel research at MTA's labs (Fall 2011).
Julie co-authored a few published articles throughout her career path:
▶Lewis, J. and Lloyd, V.K. Identification of Borrelia bissettii in Ixodes scapularis ticks from New Brunswick, Canada. (submitted for publication) Canadian Journal of Microbiology.
▶Lewis, J., Boudreau, C.R., Patterson, J., Bradet-Legris and Lloyd, V.K. (2018) Citizen science and community engagement in tick surveillance – a Canadian case study. Healthcare, 6(1), 22;https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare6010022.
▶Lewis, J. and Azar, R. (2015) Depressive symptoms in men post-miscarriage. Journal of Men’s Health, 11(5): 8-13. Julie also did a few broadcast interviews with Radio Canada and presented her research at numerous conferences, including a conference of Morgellons disease in Austin, Texas, USA.
