Tomáš Paus

I am a neuroscientist with a life-long interest in the functional and structural organization of the human cerebral cortex, and in the forces shaping developmental trajectories of brain health.

During the first 20 years of my scientific pursuits, I worked on functional and structural organization of the human brain using a variety of approaches including studies of patients with brain lesions, functional and structural neuroimaging, and brain stimulation.

In the last 20 years, we have laid down the conceptual and practical framework for population neuroscience, a new discipline that integrates neuroimaging, epidemiology, and genetics, to understand how genes and environment influence the developing, mature and ageing brain.(1,2) Our work in this area draws on data acquired in a number of cohorts based in North and South America and Europem and strong partnerships with international consortia including CHARGE and ENIGMA. I co-direct the Saguenay Youth Study, a longitudinal cohort of adolescents and their parents that investigates the early origins of brain and cardiometabolic health.

Over the years I have introduced several methodological innovations and published highly cited reviews and original papers on brain-behaviour relationship, neuronal connectivity, and on brain development and mental health.

At the BBRC, my research continues this line of work using large population-based cohorts and multimodal datasets to uncover key processes necessary for restoring computational capacity of the cerebral cortex in individuals at risk of brain disorders. I am strongly committed to translating this knowledge to improve brain health globally through international collaborations, leadership in scientific organisations and mentoring.

Current research duties:

• Group Leader of the Population Neuroscience research group, BBRC, Barcelona, Spain.
• Researcher at the Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine, Canada
• Researcher at ECOGENE-21, Chicoutimi, Canada

Professional duties:

• Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, University of Montreal, Canada.

Previous professional duties:

• Professor at the Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Psychology and Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Canada (2010-2021).
• Professor at the Faculty of Science, School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom (2005-2009).
• Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology&Neurosurgery, McGill University, Canada (2002-2004).
• Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology&Neurosurgery, McGill University, Canada (1997-2002).
• Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology&Neurosurgery, McGill University, Canada (1995-1997).

Academic Background:

• McDonnell-Pew Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Canada (1995).
• PhD in normal and pathological physiology, Institute of Physiology, Czechoslovak Academy of Science, Czechoslovakia (1990).
• MD Faculty of Medicine, Purkyně (now Masaryk) University, Czechoslovakia (1986).