Deborah O’Leary, PhD

Associate Vice-President, Research, and Professor, Health Sciences

Deborah O'Leary

905 688 5550 x5024
[email protected]

Web link

My research focuses primarily on cardiovascular health throughout the lifespan. My interests include the effects of childhood growth and development and adult aging on the cardiovascular system. My research also focuses on the detrimental impact of cardiovascular risk factors throughout the lifespan and the beneficial role of lifestyle factors at any age on cardiovascular health. I am also the director of the Heart Strong program, part of the Brock Functional Inclusive Training (Bfit) Centre.  This facility serves as both a research and community-based exercise centre for individuals across Niagara. For further information, please visit the website: https://brocku.ca/bfit/.

Research Interests

  • The role of childhood growth and development on indices of cardiovascular health
  • The effects of childhood obesity and hypertension on blood pressure regulation, arterial health and left ventricular hypertrophy
  • The link between adverse childhood experiences and cardiovascular health

Professional affiliations and accreditation/certification

  • Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology Member
  • American Physiological Society Member
  • Canadian Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Member
  • Wellspring Niagara Board of Trustees

Publications

  1. Lynn CM, Iannarelli NJ, Spafford JE, O’Leary DD, Cheung SS, and Klassen SA. Trigeminal reflex regulation of sympathetic neural communication strategies in human muscle sympathetic nerve activity. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.00280.2025, 2026.
  2.  Molnar DS, Blackburn M, O’Leary D, and Wade TJ. Is the developmental pathway to perfectionism paved by childhood adversity? Curr Psychol 45:248, doi: 10.1007/s12144-025-08530-3, 2025.
  3. Mousavi B, Moore J, Patte KA, Pickett W, O’Leary DD, and Wade TJ. Mental health trajectories over the COVID-19 pandemic among young adults reporting adverse childhood experiences. Front Public Health doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1546409, 2025.
  4. Klassen SA, Jabbar J, Osborne J, Iannarelli NJ, Kirby ES, O’Leary DD, and Locke SR. Examining the light heart mobile device app for assessing human pulse interval and heart rate variability: validation study. JMIR Form Res 20;8:e56921, doi 10.2196/56921, 2024.
  5. Liu J, Sze NSK, Narushima M, and O’Leary DD. Weight change and risk of atherosclerosis measured by carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) from a prospective cohort – analysis of the first-wave follow-up data of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). J Cardiovasc Dev Dis 10:435, doi: 10.3390/jcdd11070196jcdd-2642523, 2023.
  6. Dempster KS, O’Leary DD, MacNeil AJ, and Wade TJ. Childhood household dysfunction is associated with reduced left ventricular mass in young adulthood. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 324(6): H791-H803, 2023.
  7. Dempster KS, Wade TJ, MacNeil AJ, and O’Leary DD. Adverse childhood experiences are associated with altered cardiovascular reactivity to head-up tilt in young adults. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 324(3): R425-R434, 2023.
  8. Vinaiphat A, Pazhanchamy K, JebaMercy G, Ngan SC, Leow MK, Ho HH, Gao Y, Lim KL, Richards AM, de Kleijn DPV, Chan CP, Kalaria RN, Lie J, O’Leary DD, McCarthy NE, and Sze SK. Endothelial damage arising from high salt hypertension is elucidated by vascular bed systematic profiling. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 43(3): 427-442, 2023.
  9. Iannarelli NJ, Wade TJ, Dempster KS, Moore J, MacNeil AJ, and O’Leary DD. No mediation effect of telomere length or mitochondrial DNA copy number on the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and central arterial stiffness. J Am Heart Assoc 11(21):e026619, doi: 10.1161/JAHA.122.026619, 2022.
  10. Alradhi MA, Moore J, Patte KA, O’Leary DD, and Wade TJ. Adverse childhood experiences and COVID-19 stress on changes in mental health among young adults. Int J Environ Res Public Health 19(19): 12874, doi: 10.3390/ijerph191912874, 2022.
  11. Liu J, Sze NSK, Narushima M, and O’Leary DD. Weight change and risk of atherosclerosis measured by carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) from a prospective cohort – analysis of the first-wave follow-up data of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). J Cardiovasc Dev Dis jcdd-2642523: In Press, 2023
  12. Vinaiphat A, Pazhanchamy K, JebaMercy G, Ngan SC, Leow MK, Ho HH, Gao YG, Lim KL, Richards AM, de Kleijn DPV, Chen CP, Kalaria RN, Liu J, O’Leary DD, McCarthy NE, Sze SK. (2023). Endothelial damage arising from high salt hypertension is elucidated by vascular bed systematic profiling. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 43(3): 427-442.
  13. *Dempster KS , O’Leary DD , MacNeil AJ , Wade TJ. (2023). Childhood household dysfunction is associated with reduced left ventricular mass in young adulthood. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 324(6): H791-H803.
  14. *Dempster KS , Wade TJ , MacNeil AJ , O’Leary DD. (2023). Adverse childhood experiences are associated with altered cardiovascular reactivity to head-up tilt in young adults. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 324(3): R425-R434.
  15. Alradhi MA , Moore J , Patte KA , O’Leary DD , Wade TJ. (2022). Adverse Childhood Experiences and COVID-19 stress on changes in mental health among young adults. Int J Environ Res Public Health 19(19): 1-17.
  16. Wong KE , Wade TJ , Moore J , Marcellus A , Molnar DS , O’Leary DD , MacNeil AJ. (2022). Examining the relationships between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), cortisol, and inflammation among young adults. Brain Behav Immun Health. 25: 100516.
  17. *IANNARELLI NJ , Wade TJ , *DEMPSTER KS , Moore J , MacNeil AJ , O’Leary DD. (2022). No Mediation Effect of Telomere Length or Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number on the Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Central Arterial Stiffness. J Am Heart Assoc 11(21): e026619.
  18. Molnar DS , Moore J , O’Leary DD , MacNeil AJ , Wade TJ. (2021). Perfectionistic cognitions, Interleukin-6, and C-Reactive protein: A test of the perfectionism diathesis stress model. Brain Behav  Immun Health. 13: 100211.
  19. *IANNARELLI NJ , MacNeil AJ ,* DEMPSTER KS , Wade TJ , O’Leary DD. (2021). Serum MMP-3 and its association with central arterial stiffness among young adults is moderated by smoking and BMI. Physiol Reports. 9(11): e14920.
  20. *DEMPSTER KS , O’Leary DD , MacNeil AJ , Hodges GJ , Wade TJ. (2021). Linking the hemodynamic consequences of adverse childhood experiences to an altered HPA axis and acute stress response. Brain Behav Immun 93: 254-263.
  21. Molnar DS , Methot-Jones T , Moore J , O’Leary DD , Wade TJ. (2021). Perfectionistic cognitions prepandemic predict greater anxiety symptoms during the pandemic among emerging adults: a two-wave cross-lagged study. J Ration Emot Cogn Behav Ther : RET. 13: 1-19.

Teaching

HLSC 3P30 Directed Readings
HLSC 3P33 Experiential Learning in Health Sciences
HLSC 4F90 Thesis & 4F92 Thesis Research