By Rebecca Smythe & Areej Mir

Graphic design by Josip Petrusa 

Dr. Liisa Galea grew up in a time when girls had to wear skirts to school. “It sounds strange now, but that was normal,” she recalls. “I remember being told, ‘Oh, you can’t do that, you’re a girl.’ And that really bothered me.” Her parents, though, refused to accept those limits. “They always told me, ‘You can do whatever you want. Don’t listen to them.’” That message became the foundation of her worldview. “It really set me up to always be inquisitive,” she says. “If someone told me something, I wanted to find out if it was actually true.”

That curiosity first led her to Queen’s University to study Engineering. However, in her second year, a Psychology elective with Dr. Susan Lederman changed her direction. Dr. Lederman told the class that she was the first woman, psychologist, and Canadian asked to join a NASA committee to design better space gloves. “I was hooked,” Dr. Galea says. Not long after, Dr. Galea took a course called “The Biology of Sex” in which, the professor, Dr. Laurene Ratcliffe, taught that the prevailing understanding of the development of male sex as “active” while the female sex development was “passive” was likely due to not enough research attention paid to female development. This message piqued her interest as she noticed how often women were missing from data. This realization grounded her focus in women’s health and led her to pursue graduate work on sex differences in the brain with experts such as Dr. Doreen Kimura at Western University (UWO), Dr. Martin Kavaliers (UWO), and then her postdoctoral work with Dr. Bruce McEwen at Rockefeller University. Following this, she then joined the University of British Columbia (UBC) in the department of psychology. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is now her lab home.

Since joining CAMH, Dr. Galea’s role has supported broader advocacy for women’s health while continuing her research. The Galea lab investigates many fascinating topics, such as how estrogens influence hippocampal plasticity and memory, or stress resilience in animal models. Recently, the Galea lab found some supporting evidence that the route of hormonal therapy administration matters and that certain estrogens can be more advantageous than others. In clinical practice, women often take menopause hormone therapy as an oral pill, as opposed to transdermal gels or patches, however, this has implications for metabolism. “When you take estradiol orally, it can change into a weaker and less beneficial estrogen, but if you take it transdermally or subcutaneously, it doesn’t go through that hepatic conversion and remains the more beneficial form, estradiol,” Dr. Galea explained. This has been confirmed through her work with rodents and similar trends have been observed in Canadian databases with human data.

Dr. Galea considered taking on some studies working with human data, but quickly learned that many databases lack critical metadata, like the type of prescribed hormone used, the dose or duration, as well as a woman’s age at first pregnancy or hormonal contraceptive use. Without these critical parameters, it is hard to accurately assess women’s health. This underscores the broader issue that federal funding often fails to prioritize women’s health, a point Dr. Galea emphasized in our interview. She explains, “In one of our studies, about seven percent of research funding over fifteen years went to [women’s health studies].¹ We need people and organizations who recognize that women’s health deserves that extra attention.” She credits philanthropist Sandi Treliving for providing her a platform to advocate for women’s health at a national level, as the Treliving Family Chair in Women’s Mental Health. Taking on this role has allowed her “to bring everything together—research, mentorship, and advocacy.” As the comprehensiveness of human data available improves, Dr. Galea hopes to be able to focus more on menopause. Since menopause presents differently across individuals, its manifestations can offer valuable indicators of broader health patterns. Dr. Galea’s lab aims to be able to leverage human data and machine learning to create a menopausal precision risk calculator for clinical applications.

The road had its challenges. When asked about the obstacles she faced, Dr. Galea laughed and replied, “All of them.” Early on, expectations for women in her Master’s lab were strict: no makeup, no hair down, no partners, and twelve-hour workdays. “It was incredibly rigid,” she says. “I almost dropped out.” With her mother’s support, she turned that experience into a guide for how to lead. She wanted to create spaces where people feel supported and can be themselves regardless of gender. The culture, she notes, can still be unforgiving. You need to be resilient, “whether it’s reviewer comments or the color of your skin, whether you have breasts, wear a dress, or use makeup. You can’t let negative comments stop you from doing the science you love.”

Despite her many accomplishments, her proudest achievements remain at home. “Science fills my cup, but it doesn’t hug me at night,” she says with a smile. Her two children, currently pursuing PhDs, share her passion for discovery. “Now we talk science at the dinner table,” she laughs, “It’s the best kind of full circle.” 

Juggling her roles as a mother, scientist, and advocate, Dr. Galea speaks frankly, “There is no balance.” Early in her career, neuroanatomist Dr. Joanne Weinberg, advised her not to chase an unrealistic ideal. While life may have its ups and downs, she emphasizes the importance of taking time to recharge. “I think it’s really important to just get your mind completely out of your day-to-day, however you do it, reducing stress is really important.” An easy way to disconnect while on the go is through podcasts. Dr. Galea recommends Women’s Health Interrupted, which she’s hosting, and encourages readers to check it out. You can find it and other free content on women’s health at the Women’s Health Research Cluster, led by Dr. Galea. The cluster is a community of trainees, investigators, clinicians, and community members interested in learning more about women’s health and advocating for more research (https://womenshealthresearchcluster.com/).

As we finished up, Dr. Galea imparted some advice for early trainees. “Develop a thick skin because you’re going to need it,” she said with a smile. “We’re always going to have stumbling blocks,” which is true of any stage, but learning to persevere and problem-solve is key. She conveys an insightful message by saying “there’s many roads to success, just because it worked for Person A doesn’t mean it will work for you.” So, if you believe in something, keep trying!

Before signing off, Dr. Galea took a moment to say, “Not a Bikini.” She explained that people often think of women’s health as just what’s under their swimwear, but it’s so much more. She pointed out that biological sex is present in every nucleated cell in the body, across all organs. Women’s health covers more than our reproductive organs. Women’s health, she stressed is not limited to what’s under the bikini. Her words reflected the curiosity, courage, and commitment that have made her a lasting inspiration to women in science everywhere.

References:

1. Gravelsins, L., Splinter, T., Mohammad, A. et al. Women’s health research funding in Canada across 15 years suggests low funding levels with a narrow focus. Biol Sex Differ 16, 78 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-025-00763-y