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Érica Vieira
University of Toronto

Dr. Érica Vieira has conducted basic and translational research in neuroimmunology over the past ten years. She has focused her research on evaluating peripheral biomarkers in psychiatry and neurological disorders to identify the link between the periphery and central nervous system. The main focus of her research as an Independent Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is to investigate the role of peripheral biomarkers in several mental illnesses, including neurodegenerative, cognitive dysfunction, and mood disorders. Her long-term career goal is to establish a sustainable, diverse, and independent laboratory in Canada. After completing her M.Sc. and her Ph.D. at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Biochemistry and Immunology, She had the opportunity to investigate the role of immunological changes in different neuropsychiatric disorders across the lifespan, including major depression, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and epilepsy.

In 2019, she moved to Canada to join the Neurobiology of Aging and Depression Laboratory. She established many collaborations studying peripheral biomarkers and extracellular vesicles in patients with mood disorders (late-life depression, bipolar disorder), addiction, psychosis, and neurodegenerative disorders. In less than two years, Dr. Vieira became Principal Investigator of a sub-project in addiction and cognitive dysfunction and was awarded a very competitive fellowship from Labatt Network Family Foundation for Depression Biology. Based on her prior experience in peripheral biomarkers in neuroinflammation and developing studies with human studies