Dr. Melissa Perrault

Dr. Melissa Perreault is a Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and a Research Leadership Chair at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Her primary translational research focus is to understand the sex-specific cellular mechanisms underlying specific neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders and to identify novel biomarkers. Taking a wholistic research approach, she also studies the neurobiological impacts of whole plants and mushrooms such as cannabis, kratom, and psychedelic mushrooms. As a citizen of the Métis Nation, Dr. Perreault spends much of her time on Indigenous national and global neuroethics initiatives, advocating for appropriate research approaches with Indigenous communities and clinical care, and the integration of Indigenous knowledge and ways of doing into Euro-Western neuroscience. She is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, a member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada, and a YWCA Woman of Distinction.

Related Publications:

Illes, J., Perreault et al. (2025). Two-Eyed Seeing and other Indigenous perspectives for neuroscience. Nature, 638(8049), 58–68. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08437-2

Pepe, M. et al. (2023). A journey with psychedelic mushrooms: From historical relevance to biology, cultivation, medicinal uses, biotechnology, and beyond. Biotechnology Advances, 69, 108247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108247

Perreault, M. L. et al. (2025). Indigenous representation in neuroscience scholarship, teaching and care. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 26(7), 373–375. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-025-00933-2