Naguib Mechawar, PhD

Naguib Mechawar, PhD

Contact

 naguib.mechawar@mcgill.ca

 

6875 Boulevard LaSalle
Montréal, QC
H4H 1R3

 Office:F-2101.1, Frank B. Common Pavilion

 Office phone: (514) 761-6131 x3365

  Lab website: https://mgss.ca/naguib-mechawar

  ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4960-756X

  BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/naguibmechawar.bsky.social

Researcher and Leader, Stress, Anxiety, Depression and Suicide Theme-based group
Professor, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University
Director, Douglas – Bell Canada Brain Bank
Graduate Program Director, Dept of Psychiatry, McGill University

Co-DirectorRéseau québécois sur le suicide, les troubles de l’humeur et les troubles associés – RQSHA

Lab name: Molecular neuroanatomy of mood disorders and suicide

Theme-Based Group: Stress, Anxiety, Depression, and Suicide
Division: Human Neuroscience

 

Expertise: Glia, neuroplasticity, and neuroinflammation in the human brain

Naguib Mechawar, PhD, joined the Douglas Institute and the McGill Group for Suicide Studies in 2007. He investigates the molecular neuroanatomy of major depression and suicide, with a particular focus on the lasting consequences of childhood adversity.

Different research themes are explored in his laboratory, namely:

  • Neuroinflammation in depression and suicide;
  • Neuroplasticity in the human brain;
  • Astrocytic abnormalities in depression and suicide;
  • The lasting impact of child abuse on cerebral oligodendrocytes and myelination.

Dr Mechawar’s research is currently (2024) funded by CIHR, ERA-NET Neuron (FRQ-S).

CIHR New Investigator (2012-17)
Bell Senior Fellow in Mental Health (2012-14)

 

Lab members:

  • Maria Antonietta Davoli (research assistant)
  • Reza Rahimian (postdoctoral fellow)
  • Christa Hercher (PhD student)
  • Kelly Perlman (PhD student)
  • Refilwe Mpai (PhD student)
  • Candice Canonne (PhD student)
  • Sophie Simard (PhD student)
  • Elisa Gonçalves de Andrade (PhD student)
  • Rebecca Chen (MSc student),
  • Clémentine Hosdey (MSc student),
  • Dominique Lumley (MSc student),
  • Andrew VanderBerg (BSc Honors student)

Alumni:

  • Louise Toutée (BSc student)
  • Emanuel Curto (BSc Honors student)
  • Jamie Marshall (BSc student)
  • Gina Abajian (BSc student)
  • Lena Hug (BSc student)
  • Dongyue (Anne) Xi (BSc student)
  • Ally Huang (BSc student)
  • Stefanie Netto (BSc student)
  • Florence Mechawar (BSc student)
  • Roy Khalaf (BSc student)
  • Jasmine Kotsiopoulos (BSc student)
  • Liam O’Leary (PhD student)
  • Marina Wakid (PhD student)
  • Claudia Belliveau (PhD student)
  • Arnaud Tanti (postdoctoral fellow)
  • George Perlman (research technician)
  • Emily Clark (undergraduate research student)
  • Ashley McFarquhar (undergraduate research student)
  • Cynthia McMahan (undergraduate research student)
  • Christopher Ma (undergraduate research student)
  • Kimiya Adjedani (undergraduate research student)
  • Katharine Birkness (undergraduate research student)
  • Fanny Denux (undergraduate research student)
  • Katie Vandeloo (undergraduate research student)
  • John Kim (MSc student)
  • Qiyuan Huang (visiting PhD student)
  • Madelyn Barton (undergraduate research student)
  • Marilyn Cyr (PhD student, co-supervised by M-A Bédard)
  • Julia Devorak (MSc student)
  • Haseeb Khan (undergraduate research student)
  • Alexander Freibauer (undergraduate research student)
  • Sandra Yogendran (undergraduate research student)
  • Archchun Ariyarajah (undergraduate research student)
  • Samuel Comeau (undergraduate research student)
  • Diana Elwell (undergraduate research student)
  • Erika Freemantle (PhD student, co-supervised by G. Turecki)
  • Christa Hercher (MSc student, co-supervised by G. Turecki)
  • Alexandra Hoehne (undergraduate research student)
  • Masanobu Ito (postdoctoral fellow)
  • Donald MacIsaac (undergraduate research student)
  • Calvin Qiang (undergraduate research student)
  • Adeline Rachalski (postdoctoral fellow)
  • Stephanie Tan (undergraduate research student)
  • Ian Mahar (PhD student)
  • Marissa Maheu (PhD student)
  • Susana Gabriela Torres-Platas (PhD student)
  • Dominique Mirault (research technician)

Key publications

  • Simard S, Rahimian R, Davoli MA, Théberge S, Matosin N, Turecki G, Nagy C, Mechawar N (2024) Spatial transcriptomic analysis of adult hippocampal neurogenesis in the human brain. J Psych Neurosci (in press).
  • Rahimian R, Perlman K, Fakhfouri G, Mpai R, Richard VR, Hercher C, Penney L, Davoli MA, Nagy C, Zahedi RP, Borchers CH, Giros B, Turecki G, Mechawar N (2024) Proteomic evidence of depression-associated astrocytic dysfunction in the human male olfactory bulb. Brain Behav Immun (in press).
  • Simard S, Matosin N, Mechawar N (2024) Adult hippocampal neurogenesis in the human brain: updates, challenges, and perspectives. The Neuroscientist 17:10738584241252581.
  • Tanti A, Belliveau C, Nagy C, Maitra M, Denux F, Perlman K, Chen F, Mpai R, Canonne C, Théberge S, McFarquhar A, Davoli MA, Belzung C, Turecki G, Mechawar N (2022) Child abuse associates with increased recruitment of perineuronal nets in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex: a possible implication of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells. Mol Psychiatry 27:1552-1561.
  • Perlman K, Chouinard-Watkins R, Tanti A, Cisbani G, Orri M, Turecki G, Bazinet RP, Mechawar N (2021) Fatty acid dysregulation in the anterior cingulate cortex of depressed suicides with a history of child abuse. Transl Psychiatry 11(1):535.
  • O’Leary LA, Mechawar N (2021) Implication of cerebral astrocytes in major depression: A review of fine neuroanatomical evidence in humans. Glia 69:2077-99.
  • Tanti A, Lutz P-E, Kim J, O’Leary L, Turecki G, Mechawar N (2019) Evidence of decreased gap junction between astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in the anterior cingulate cortex of depressed suicides. Neuropsychopharmacology 44:2099-2111.
  • Tanti A, Kim JJ, Wakid M, Davoli MA, Turecki G, Mechawar N (2018) Child abuse associates with an imbalance of oligodendrocyte-lineage cells in ventromedial prefrontal white matter. Mol Psychiatry 23:2018-2028.
  • Lutz PE, Tanti A, Gasecka A, Barnett-Burns S, Kim JJ, Zhou Y, Chen GG, Wakid M, Shaw M, Almeida D, Chay MA, Yang J, Larivière V, M’Boutchou MN, van Kempen LC, Yerko V, Prud’homme J, Davoli MA, Vaillancourt K, Théroux JF, Bramoullé A, Zhang TY, Meaney MJ, Ernst C, Côté D, Mechawar N*, Turecki G* (2017) Association of a History of Child Abuse With Impaired Myelination in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex: Convergent Epigenetic, Transcriptional, and Morphological Evidence. Am J Psychiatry 174:1185-1194.
  • Mahar I, Labonte B, Yogendran S, Isingrini E, Perret L, Davoli MA, Rachalski A, Giros B, Turecki G, Mechawar N (2017) Disrupted hippocampal neuregulin-1/ErbB3 signaling and dentate gyrus granule cell alterations in suicide. Transl Psychiatry 7:e1161.
  • Mechawar N, Savitz J (2016) Neuropathology of mood disorders: do we see the stigmata of inflammation? Transl Psychiatry 6:e946.
  • Torres-Platas SG, Nagy C, Wakid M, Turecki G, Mechawar N (2016) Glial fibrillary acidic protein is differentially expressed across cortical and subcortical regions in healthy brains and downregulated in the thalamus and caudate nucleus of depressed suicides. Mol Psychiatry 21:509-515.
  • Torres-Platas SG, Cruceanu C, Chen GG, Turecki G, Mechawar N (2014) Evidence for increased microglial priming and macrophage recruitment in the dorsal anterior cingulate white matter of depressed suicides. Brain Behav Immun 42:50-59.
  • Maheu M, Davoli MA, Turecki G, Mechawar N (2013) Amygdalar expression of proteins associated with neuroplasticity in major depression and suicide. J Psych Res 47:384-390.

Recent Publications

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2021

Fiori, Laura M; Kos, Aron; Lin, Rixing; Théroux, Jean-Francois; Lopez, Juan Pablo; Kühne, Claudia; Eggert, Carola; Holzapfel, Maria; Huettl, Rosa-Eva; Mechawar, Naguib; Belzung, Catherine; Ibrahim, El Chérif; Chen, Alon; Turecki, Gustavo

miR-323a regulates ERBB4 and is involved in depression Journal Article

In: Mol Psychiatry, vol. 26, no. 8, pp. 4191–4204, 2021, ISSN: 1476-5578.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Vaillancourt, Kathryn; Yang, Jennie; Chen, Gary G; Yerko, Volodymyr; Théroux, Jean-François; Aouabed, Zahia; Lopez, Alberto; Thibeault, Kimberly C; Calipari, Erin S; Labonté, Benoit; Mechawar, Naguib; Ernst, Carl; Nagy, Corina; Forné, Thierry; Nestler, Eric J; Mash, Deborah C; Turecki, Gustavo

Cocaine-related DNA methylation in caudate neurons alters 3D chromatin structure of the IRXA gene cluster Journal Article

In: Mol Psychiatry, vol. 26, no. 7, pp. 3134–3151, 2021, ISSN: 1476-5578.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Bell, Scott; McCarty, Vincent; Peng, Huashan; Jefri, Malvin; Hettige, Nuwan; Antonyan, Lilit; Crapper, Liam; O'Leary, Liam A; Zhang, Xin; Zhang, Ying; Wu, Hanrong; Sutcliffe, Diane; Kolobova, Ilaria; Rosenberger, Thad A; Moquin, Luc; Gratton, Alain; Popic, Jelena; Gantois, Ilse; Stumpf, Patrick S; Schuppert, Andreas A; Mechawar, Naguib; Sonenberg, Nahum; Tremblay, Michel L; Jinnah, Hyder A; Ernst, Carl

Lesch-Nyhan disease causes impaired energy metabolism and reduced developmental potential in midbrain dopaminergic cells Journal Article

In: Stem Cell Reports, vol. 16, no. 7, pp. 1749–1762, 2021, ISSN: 2213-6711.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Maitra, Malosree; Nagy, Corina; Chawla, Anjali; Wang, Yu Chang; Nascimento, Camila; Suderman, Matthew; Théroux, Jean-François; Mechawar, Naguib; Ragoussis, Jiannis; Turecki, Gustavo

Extraction of nuclei from archived postmortem tissues for single-nucleus sequencing applications Journal Article

In: Nat Protoc, vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 2788–2801, 2021, ISSN: 1750-2799.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Kaul, Dominic; Schwab, Sibylle G; Mechawar, Naguib; Matosin, Natalie

How stress physically re-shapes the brain: Impact on brain cell shapes, numbers and connections in psychiatric disorders Journal Article

In: Neurosci Biobehav Rev, vol. 124, pp. 193–215, 2021, ISSN: 1873-7528.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Lutz, Pierre-Eric; Chay, Marc-Aurèle; Pacis, Alain; Chen, Gary G; Aouabed, Zahia; Maffioletti, Elisabetta; Théroux, Jean-François; Grenier, Jean-Christophe; Yang, Jennie; Aguirre, Maria; Ernst, Carl; Redensek, Adriana; van Kempen, Léon C; Yalcin, Ipek; Kwan, Tony; Mechawar, Naguib; Pastinen, Tomi; Turecki, Gustavo

Non-CG methylation and multiple histone profiles associate child abuse with immune and small GTPase dysregulation Journal Article

In: Nat Commun, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 1132, 2021, ISSN: 2041-1723.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Belliveau, Claudia; Nagy, Corina; Escobar, Sophia; Mechawar, Naguib; Turecki, Gustavo; Rej, Soham; Torres-Platas, Susana G

Effects of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Peripheral Markers of Stress and Inflammation in Older-Adults With Depression and Anxiety: A Parallel Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial Journal Article

In: Front Psychiatry, vol. 12, pp. 804269, 2021, ISSN: 1664-0640.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Guadagno, Angela; Belliveau, Claudia; Mechawar, Naguib; Walker, Claire-Dominique

Effects of Early Life Stress on the Developing Basolateral Amygdala-Prefrontal Cortex Circuit: The Emerging Role of Local Inhibition and Perineuronal Nets Journal Article

In: Front Hum Neurosci, vol. 15, pp. 669120, 2021, ISSN: 1662-5161.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

O'Leary, Liam Anuj; Belliveau, Claudia; Davoli, Maria Antonietta; Ma, Jie Christopher; Tanti, Arnaud; Turecki, Gustavo; Mechawar, Naguib

Widespread Decrease of Cerebral Vimentin-Immunoreactive Astrocytes in Depressed Suicides Journal Article

In: Front Psychiatry, vol. 12, pp. 640963, 2021, ISSN: 1664-0640.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

2020

Kaul, Dominic; Smith, Caine C; Stevens, Julia; Fröhlich, Anna S; Binder, Elisabeth B; Mechawar, Naguib; Schwab, Sibylle G; Matosin, Natalie

Severe childhood and adulthood stress associates with neocortical layer-specific reductions of mature spines in psychiatric disorders Journal Article

In: Neurobiol Stress, vol. 13, pp. 100270, 2020, ISSN: 2352-2895.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Nagy, Corina; Maitra, Malosree; Tanti, Arnaud; Suderman, Matthew; Théroux, Jean-Francois; Davoli, Maria Antonietta; Perlman, Kelly; Yerko, Volodymyr; Wang, Yu Chang; Tripathy, Shreejoy J; Pavlidis, Paul; Mechawar, Naguib; Ragoussis, Jiannis; Turecki, Gustavo

Single-nucleus transcriptomics of the prefrontal cortex in major depressive disorder implicates oligodendrocyte precursor cells and excitatory neurons Journal Article

In: Nat Neurosci, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 771–781, 2020, ISSN: 1546-1726.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Faria, Tathyane C; Maldonado, Héctor L; Santos, Leonardo C; DeLabio, Roger; Payao, Spencer L M; Turecki, Gustavo; Mechawar, Naguib; Santana, Dalileia A; Gigek, Carolina O; Lemos, Bernardo; Smith, Marilia A C; Chen, Elizabeth S

Characterization of Cerebellum-Specific Ribosomal DNA Epigenetic Modifications in Alzheimer's Disease: Should the Cerebellum Serve as a Control Tissue After All? Journal Article

In: Mol Neurobiol, vol. 57, no. 6, pp. 2563–2571, 2020, ISSN: 1559-1182.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Jefri, Malvin; Bell, Scott; Peng, Huashan; Hettige, Nuwan; Maussion, Gilles; Soubannier, Vincent; Wu, Hanrong; Silveira, Heika; Theroux, Jean-Francois; Moquin, Luc; Zhang, Xin; Aouabed, Zahia; Krishnan, Jeyashree; O'Leary, Liam A; Antonyan, Lilit; Zhang, Ying; McCarty, Vincent; Mechawar, Naguib; Gratton, Alain; Schuppert, Andreas; Durcan, Thomas M; Fon, Edward A; Ernst, Carl

Stimulation of L-type calcium channels increases tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine in ventral midbrain cells induced from somatic cells Journal Article

In: Stem Cells Transl Med, vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 697–712, 2020, ISSN: 2157-6580.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Perlman, Kelly; Couturier, Charles P; Yaqubi, Moein; Tanti, Arnaud; Cui, Qiao-Ling; Pernin, Florian; Stratton, Jo Anne; Ragoussis, Jiannis; Healy, Luke; Petrecca, Kevin; Dudley, Roy; Srour, Myriam; Hall, Jeffrey A; Kennedy, Timothy E; Mechawar, Naguib; Antel, Jack P

Developmental trajectory of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in the human brain revealed by single cell RNA sequencing Journal Article

In: Glia, vol. 68, no. 6, pp. 1291–1303, 2020, ISSN: 1098-1136.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Belzeaux, Raoul; Gorgievski, Victor; Fiori, Laura M; Lopez, Juan Pablo; Grenier, Julien; Lin, Rixing; Nagy, Corina; Ibrahim, El Chérif; Gascon, Eduardo; Courtet, Philippe; Richard-Devantoy, Stéphane; Berlim, Marcelo; Chachamovich, Eduardo; Théroux, Jean-François; Dumas, Sylvie; Giros, Bruno; Rotzinger, Susan; Soares, Claudio N; Foster, Jane A; Mechawar, Naguib; Tall, Gregory G; Tzavara, Eleni T; Kennedy, Sidney H; Turecki, Gustavo

GPR56/ADGRG1 is associated with response to antidepressant treatment Journal Article

In: Nat Commun, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 1635, 2020, ISSN: 2041-1723.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Dudek, Katarzyna A; Dion-Albert, Laurence; Lebel, Manon; LeClair, Katherine; Labrecque, Simon; Tuck, Ellen; Perez, Carmen Ferrer; Golden, Sam A; Tamminga, Carol; Turecki, Gustavo; Mechawar, Naguib; Russo, Scott J; Menard, Caroline

Molecular adaptations of the blood-brain barrier promote stress resilience vs. depression Journal Article

In: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, vol. 117, no. 6, pp. 3326–3336, 2020, ISSN: 1091-6490.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

O'Leary, Liam Anuj; Davoli, Maria Antonietta; Belliveau, Claudia; Tanti, Arnaud; Ma, Jie Christopher; Farmer, William Todd; Turecki, Gustavo; Murai, Keith Kazuo; Mechawar, Naguib

Characterization of Vimentin-Immunoreactive Astrocytes in the Human Brain Journal Article

In: Front Neuroanat, vol. 14, pp. 31, 2020, ISSN: 1662-5129.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

2019

Belleville, Sylvie; LeBlanc, Andréa C; Kergoat, Marie-Jeanne; Calon, Frédéric; Gaudreau, Pierrette; Hébert, Sébastien S; Hudon, Carol; Leclerc, Nicole; Mechawar, Naguib; Duchesne, Simon; and, Serge Gauthier

The Consortium for the early identification of Alzheimer's disease-Quebec (CIMA-Q) Journal Article

In: Alzheimers Dement (Amst), vol. 11, pp. 787–796, 2019, ISSN: 2352-8729.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Tanti, Arnaud; Lutz, Pierre-Eric; Kim, John; O'Leary, Liam; Théroux, Jean-François; Turecki, Gustavo; Mechawar, Naguib

Evidence of decreased gap junction coupling between astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in the anterior cingulate cortex of depressed suicides Journal Article

In: Neuropsychopharmacology, vol. 44, no. 12, pp. 2099–2111, 2019, ISSN: 1740-634X.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Pizzagalli, Diego A; Berretta, Sabina; Wooten, Dustin; Goer, Franziska; Pilobello, Kanoelani T; Kumar, Poornima; Murray, Laura; Beltzer, Miranda; Boyer-Boiteau, Anne; Alpert, Nathanial; Fakhri, Georges El; Mechawar, Naguib; Vitaliano, Gordana; Turecki, Gustavo; Normandin, Marc

Assessment of Striatal Dopamine Transporter Binding in Individuals With Major Depressive Disorder: In Vivo Positron Emission Tomography and Postmortem Evidence Journal Article

In: JAMA Psychiatry, vol. 76, no. 8, pp. 854–861, 2019, ISSN: 2168-6238.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

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