Dr Hymie Anisman is a Professor of Neuroscience at Carleton University where his research and writings have concerned the impact of stressful experiences on processes that influence the risk of psychological and physical health disturbances. His primary area of research involves the analysis of stressor effects and coping processes on neurobiological and inflammatory diseases. He has evaluated the impact of a broad range of stressor experiences, including those that entail early life adverse experiences and diverse lifestyle factors (e.g., diet, exercise, exposure to indoor and outdoor toxicants) on psychological disorders (depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, and eating disorders) and physical illnesses (immune dysfunctions and cancer). His research has also involved health challenges in diverse disadvantaged groups, such as First Nations People, refugee populations, and displaced persons. As well, his work has been at the forefront of analyses of the intergenerational (parent to offspring) and transgenerational (i.e., across several generations) consequences of stressors, including those that involved collective, historical trauma experiences.

Based on his research, Professor Anisman received the Heinz Lehman award from the Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and he received an Ontario Mental Health Fellowship, a coveted Canada Research Chair in neuroscience, and he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He has published more than 400 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, 40 chapters in edited books, and has produced 10 books intended for university courses, advanced texts for scientists, as well as for lay audiences. His ‘h-index’ of 120 (a valid measure of scientific impact reflected by the frequency of papers being cited in the scientific literature), places him in the top 2% of all scientists in Canada and worldwide, irrespective of discipline, and he is likewise among the top 2% of scientists in the medical and health sciences.