Rébecca Robillard , PhD

Dr. Rébecca Robillard is the co-chair of the Canadian Sleep Research Consortium. She also directs clinical sleep research at University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research (IMHR) at The Royal and co-directs the sleep laboratory of the school of psychology at the University of Ottawa, where she is also an associate professor.

After completing her PhD in clinical neuropsychology at the University of Montreal, she obtained national awards to support her post-doctoral work in psychiatric sleep, chronobiology, and neuroimaging research at the University of Sydney in Australia, the IMHR, and the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience.

Dr. Robillard has received the Young Investigator Award of the Canadian Sleep Society and the New Investigator Award of the Australasian Sleep Association, the Young Investigator Inspiration Award of the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, and the IMHR’s Emerging Research Innovators in Mental Health (e-RIHM) award.

Her scientific work has significantly contributed to the understanding of sleep disturbances in mental health disorders. Currently, her research group comprising psychiatrists, undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral trainees focusses on the interactions between mental illness, the sleeping brain, and the sleeping heart. Through a translational research framework, Dr. Robillard is working in close collaboration with the Sleep Disorders Clinic, the Operational Stress Injury Clinic, and the Youth Program at The Royal to bridge the gap between research and care.

Dr. Robillard’s work also seeks to optimize sleep and chronobiological interventions targeting mental disorders with particular attention to major depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. By supplementing standard clinical care with extended assessment and treatment options, her team hopes to improve quality of life, and potentially accelerate recovery in people with mental health disorders and sleep problems.

Coming soon
researchsleep.ca