The Owerko Family Distinguished Lecture is an invited annual lecture where some of the world's leading researchers in the areas of neurodevelopment and children's mental health are invited to present their research to the Owerko Centre research community and the general public.
This lecture is supported by the Developmental Neurosciences Endowment Fund through the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation.
This year's topic
Does Increased Stress Responsiveness Increase Your Health Risk?
Increased stress responsiveness is a trait found in both healthy individuals and those with chronic diseases, such as gastrointestinal disorders. It is linked to changes in the brain, immune system, and gut microbiome. In healthy individuals, it heightens disease risk when exposed to environmental stress, while in patients, it can worsen symptoms and disease progression. This talk will explore how identifying those with this trait can help personalize treatments for better outcomes.
Event Details
Date:
Tuesday April 1, 2025
Time and Location:
Lecture: 2:30 p.m., Theatre 4, Health Sciences Building, Foothills Campus
Reception: 4:00 p.m., HRIC Atrium, Health Sciences Building, Foothills Campus
About our speaker

Dr. Emeran Mayer, MD
Emeran Mayer is a Gastroenterologist, Neuroscientist and Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, the Executive Director of the G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress & Resilience and Founding Director of the Goodman Luskin Microbiome Center at UCLA.
Dr. Mayer is one of the pioneers and leading researchers in the bidirectional communication within the brain gut microbiome system with wide-ranging applications in intestinal and brain disorders. He has published 428 scientific papers, co-edited 3 books and has an h-index of 125. In 2016, he published the best selling book The Mind Gut Connection followed by The Gut Immune Connection in 2021 and the recipe book Interconnected Plates in 2023. He has recently produced a documentary film for PBS on the mind gut immune connection and is featured in a piece by MasterClass.com on the same topic. Dr. Mayer is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2016 David McLean award from the American Psychosomatic Society and the 2017 Ismar Boas Medal from the German Society of Gastroenterology and Metabolic Disease.
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