“Based on data from a survey we produced last year, 80 per cent of Canadian Principal Investigators (PIs) have indicated plans to slow their research programs,” says Dr. Liisa Galea. “They’re worried about how they’re going to support new trainees, and funding is their primary concern.”
Newsroom
For media enquiries or more information about research at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, please contact Emily Wight, Communications Manager.
- Email: emily.wight@brain.ubc.ca
- Phone: 604-417-0165
To keep in touch with the Centre and up-to-date on our research, follow us on Twitter or subscribe to Brain Matters, our monthly e-newsletter.
To understand how gene mutations affect neurodevelopment and learning in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), PhD candidate Troy McDiarmid is looking at microscopic worms. McDiarmid, a graduate student in Dr. Catharine Rankin’s lab, was recently awarded a Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships Doctoral Award from the CIHR for his proposal to characterize ASD-associated gene mutations in worm models of the disorder.
Effective September 1, Dr. Julie Robillard (pictured, right) has been appointed Associate Director of the National Core for Neuroethics. The National Core for Neuroethics is an interdisciplinary research group with a mission to protect and ensure public good by aligning innovations in the brain sciences with human values.
Dr. Liisa Galea began her tenure as Director of the Graduate Program in Neuroscience on July 1, taking over from Dr. Tim O'Connor who served the UBC neuroscience community in the role since 2011.
"I know I have some big shoes to fill," says Dr. Galea.
Congratulations
- Dr. Ian Mackenzie received the Margolese National Brain Disorders Prize.
The BC SUPPORT Unit announced this week that Dr. Erin Michalak will take on the role of Methods Cluster Lead for Patient Engagement, effective September 1, 2017.
Dr. Michalak's research expertise lies in patient-engagement in research, Community-Based Participatory Research, knowledge translation, bipolar disorder, quality of life, eHealth/mHealth and implementation science.
“The biggest problem with technology for older adults, however useful it may be to them, is that it’s not designed with them in mind,” says Dr. Julie Robillard. “If there are too many hurdles to adopting assistive technologies, older adults just won’t and they may miss out on important benefits.”
Pictured: Dr. Terrance Snutch demonstrates MinION, a sequencing tool that is half the size of a credit card and that can link directly to a laptop and the internet to provide ultra-long DNA sequence reads.
Researchers, trainees, and the Executive Committee at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health were pleased to welcome Professor Santa Ono, UBC President and Vice-Chancellor, on August 9 for an interactive tour.
Image: Neurons born in infancy (green). Credit: Shaina Cahill.
Why, in an otherwise healthy brain, do some neurons just die? And is apoptosis – controlled, intentional cell death – part of the natural life cycle of a normal neuron? Many of the neurons in the dentate gyrus, part of the hippocampus and responsible for memory, are formed in the perinatal stage of brain development. However, due to intrigue surrounding neuron birth in the adult brain, research has focused less on the neurons born in infancy. As a result, developmental neurons are poorly understood.
Research highlights, achievements and stories about and by members of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health from July 2017.
