Christa Japel is a psychologist and an associate professor in the Department of Special Education and Training at the Université du Québec à Montréal. She was part of the team that developed the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD). Within this study, she was the lead researcher for the evaluation of the quality of childcare services attended by the children followed by the study. Based on the QLSCD data, she published several papers on childcare quality and vulnerable populations with significant ramifications for public policy. She is a well-known expert in the field of early childhood education and care and, among other national and international collaborations, has contributed as an expert to the development of surveys by Statistiques Québec and Statistics Canada. She also has developed, implemented, and evaluated several programs to improve the quality of childcare and preschool services.