Several awards have recently been handed out to DMCBH trainees. Congratulations to all the winners!
DMCBH 2021 ENDOWMENT AWARD WINNERS
Jock & Irene Graham Brain Research Endowment:
Isabel Bestard Lorigados, PhD student
Under the supervision of Dr. Weihong Song, Isabel’s research aims to provide a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind the accumulation of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer disease. Isabel’s study will focus on a mutation in presenilin 1, a protein involved in the production of amyloid plaques, which could be a target for developing Alzheimer disease treatment in the future.
Benjamin Feldman and Family Endowment Fund for Transformational Activity in Mental Health:
Adrienne Kinman, PhD student
Under the supervision of Dr. Mark Cembrowski, Adrienne is studying a previously unreported cell type which has the potential to reveal novel neural mechanisms of spatial memory, which is important for both basic and translational science.
Neural Repair (Spinal Cord) Endowment:
Pankaj Gupta, PhD student
Under the supervision of Dr. Tim Murphy, Pankaj has developed a new brain-machine-interface to study the effects of stroke in animal models. This tool will be used to potentially improve stroke recovery in the future.
Schizophrenia Endowment:
Shunya Yagi, PhD student
Under the supervision of Dr. Liisa Galea, Shunya is researching sex differences in symptoms of schizophrenias, which is important in order to fully understand the disorder and improve treatment options.
DMCBH GENERAL AWARDS
Alyssa Ash, PhD student
Under the supervision of Dr. Jason Snyder, Alyssa is looking at how tau protein pathology seen in Alzheimer disease can cause disruptions in the brain and whether enhancing plasticity can reduce memory impairments.
Yanyang Bai, PhD student
Under the supervision of Dr. Brian MacVicar, Yanyang is researching microglia, the immune cells of the brain, to better understand their role in Alzheimer disease development.
Matthew Cook , MSc student
Under the supervision of Dr. Jason Snyder, Matthew is studying the cellular mechanisms by which the hippocampus mediates learning about probabilistic awards. This work aims to better understand certain conditions such as depression where reward processing is disrupted.
Ronan Denyer, PhD student
Under the supervision of Dr. Lara Boyd, Ronan is researching what limits and what facilitates neuroplasticity by using human imaging techniques to study brain changes associated with learning.
Adam Doelman, PhD student
Under the supervision of Dr. Brian Kwon, Adam’s research focuses on a UroMonitor, a device that records pressure without using wires or catheters. This type of device would be revolutionary for spinal cord injury patients who often have to visit specialized clinics to perform a traditional urodynamics assessment which can lead to incorrect results.
Sarah Erwin, MSc student
Under the supervision of Dr. Mark Cembrowksi, Sarah’s research is looking to better understand novel cell subtypes and their role in spatial learning and memory. Identifying and causally manipulating these circuits could help inform understanding of deficits of spatial memory which could be relevant to certain conditions such as Alzheimer disease.
Dr. Axel Guskjolen, postdoctoral fellow
Under the supervision of Dr. Mark Cembrowski, Axel’s work aims to better understand the neuroscience underlying infantile amnesia, which is the inability of adults to recall everyday memories from early childhood.
Kelly Hrelija, PhD student
Under the supervision of Dr. Catharine Winstanley, Kelly’s research looks at the role cytokines play in the development of psychiatric symptoms in people with brain disorders and/or conditions such as traumatic brain injury.
Maya Nesbit, PhD student
Under the supervision of Dr. Anthony Phillips, Maya is researching the novel compound d-Govadine, which reverses impairments in cognitive functions associated with psychiatric disorders. The goal is to better understand the neural mechanisms that underly the effects of d-Govadine, to help advance it to clinical trials.
Anne-Sophie Sack, PhD student
Under the supervision of Dr. Terry Snutch, Anne-Sophie is studying how certain cells and synapses play a role in the development of traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic epilepsy.
Kaitlin Sullivan, PhD student
Under the supervision of Dr. Mark Cembrowski, Kaitlin’s work looks to identify distinct neuronal subpopulations which play a role in the encoding and retrieval of fear memory, with the end goal of identifying potential targets for treatment of PTSD.
