Dr. Ciernia is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia and currently the Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Understanding Gene Expression in the Brain. Her lab is located at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Centre for Brain Health. Dr. Ciernia’s lab focuses on understanding how our genetics and environment influence regulation of gene expression in the brain across the lifespan. Much of her lab’s current focus is on understanding how events in early-life impact interactions between the nervous and immune systems, leading to long-term changes in brain function and behavior.