Andrea Van Hulst, RN, PhD
Associate Professor
680 Sherbrooke Street West
Montreal, QC, H3A 2M7, Office 1833
andraea.vanhulst [at] mcgill.ca
514-398-3476
Andraea Van Hulst is an Associate Professor at McGill University’s Ingram School of Nursing, as well as an investigator at the McGill University Health Centre Research Institute and Centre de recherche Azrieli du CHU Sainte-Justine. Professor Van Hulst's research focuses on the socioecological determinants of child health and health inequities across the early life course. Her academic trajectory spans nursing, public health and epidemiology, informed by clinical experience in emergency and community health settings and a longstanding commitment to health promotion and non-communicable disease prevention. She completed graduate training in Public Health and Epidemiology at the Université de Montréal, where her research examined how neighbourhoods and other place-based factors influence child health and obesity. She subsequently completed a CIHR-funded postdoctoral fellowship focused on the determinants of early cardiovascular risk among children with obesity or diabetes.
Prof. Van Hulst leads an interdisciplinary program of research that integrates population-based cohort studies, clinical research and participatory approaches. Her research aims to better understand how social, family and environmental conditions shape child health trajectories. Her work increasingly focuses on translating etiological evidence into evidence-informed interventions, programs and policies that improve health outcomes for children and families. She is the recipient of FRQS Junior 1 (2020-2024) and Junior 2 (2024-2028) Salary Awards, and was awarded the Rosemary Wedderburn Brown Prize in 2022 by McGill’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences in recognition of her research excellence and scholarly contributions.
Areas of Interest:
- Public health
- Life course epidemiology
- Maternal and child health
- Social determinants of health
- Health equity
- Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
- Obesity, cardiovascular and metabolic health
- Health behaviours
- Intervention development and evaluation
Current research:
Prof. Van Hulst's current initiatives include the Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative (HeLTI), an international consortium evaluating evaluating preconception and prenatal interventions to improve child health, and Les Premiers Milles, a Québec initiative focused on co-developing innovative approaches to early childhood obesity prevention. She also collaborates closely with community organizations, including La Maison Bleue and Special Olympics, to advance health equity, social inclusion, and improved outcomes for children, families, and populations experiencing vulnerabilities.