Dr. Isabelle Marc is a clinician researcher at the Research Centre of the CHU de Québec, and an associate professor at the Department of Pediatrics at Laval University. She has built her research environment around her clinical practice as a pediatrician. Dr. Marc works on the effects of maternal life habits (exercise, sleep, breastfeeding) on child growth and development. Several of her studies have been realised with her students in cohorts in which she is involved. She developed an exercise laboratory for pregnant women and children at the Research Centre, which allows her to collect objective measurements of this populations physical condition.
Dr. Marc is interested in the effects of omega-3 on the neonatal morbidity of extremely premature infants (less than 28 weeks of gestation). A supplementation with omega-3 administered to the lactating mother is an effective way to provide a daily dose of omega-3 to the preterm child through breast milk. She now wants to demonstrate the positive effects of this intervention on the infants health, growth, and development.