Congratulations to our current Graduate Program in Neuroscience (GPN) students who have received awards through the Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s program from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).
Brianna Bristow
Brianna completed her BSc at UBC and is currently entering her second year in the MSc Neuroscience program under the supervision of Dr. Mark Cembrowski.
Brianna’s thesis project characterizes a novel cell type exemplifying a unique transcriptomic profile within the cortex using histological techniques on human and mouse brain tissue.
“Scientific research can be a humbling experience, as you continuously think of ways to explore new questions and find these experiments fail more often than not. However, nothing beats that feeling you get when your experiment finally works, and knowing you are one of the first people to have discovered this knowledge,” says Brianna.
Brianna is Co-Lead of the Participant Advisory Committee for the BC Brain Wellness Program.
Jessica Chalissery
Jessica completed her BSc at UBC and will be entering her first year in the MSc Neuroscience program under the supervision of Dr. Miriam Spering.
Jessica’s thesis project will study multisensory integration during an antisaccade task in patients with Parkinson’s Disease.
“My uncle passed away from a neurodegenerative disease, so I have a very personal motive for entering this field. I want to further research in this field to improve intervention, evaluation, and monitoring of disease progression,” shares Jessica.
In her free time, Jessica enjoys art and crafting – painting, drawing, crocheting, knitting and glass art!
Olivia Kalau
Olivia received her BSc from McMaster University and is currently entering her second year in the UBC MSc Neuroscience program under the supervision of Dr. Shannon Kolind and Dr. Anthony Traboulsee.
For Olivia’s thesis, she will be using myelin water imaging to study cognitive impairments in multiple sclerosis and autoimmune encephalitis.
“I feel like I have the potential to meaningfully impact the lives of patients through research. I also enjoy the challenge and creative problem-solving skills that you develop throughout the process,” says Olivia.
Outside of research, Olivia enjoys hiking, camping, and beach volleyball.
Margarita Kapustina
Margarita completed her BSc at UBC and will be entering her first year in the MSc Neuroscience program under the supervision of Dr. Mark Cembrowski.
Margarita will be identifying neocortex neuronal subpopulations and their functional diversity. She is currently a summer researcher in the Cembrowski lab, spatially mapping neuronal subtypes in the mouse and human brains.
“Being driven by passion allows me to feel like I’m a kid in a sandbox. My research lends the possibility to further classify brain regions into discrete cell-types, which would fundamentally further our basic understanding of the brain – which alone is tremendously exciting,” says Margarita.
Margarita’s hobbies include physical activity, photography, and poetry.
Christine (Yeon Soo) Seo
Christine completed her BSc at UBC and will be entering her first year in the MSc Neuroscience program under the supervision of Dr. Teresa Liu-Ambrose.
Christine’s research topics include depression’s effects on exercise, an intervention for dementia prevention, and cognition in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.
“My favourite part of research is the collaboration. Research involves multiple individuals working together to complete projects and continuously building upon each other’s work with the collective aim of advancing knowledge in various fields,” says Christine.
Outside of school, Christine loves travelling – visiting her favourite cities and exploring new ones.
Stefanie Todesco
Stefanie completed her BA and BSc at McGill university and is currently entering her second year in the UBC MSc Neuroscience program under the supervision of Dr. Christian Schutz.
Stefanie’s thesis studies neurocognitive functioning in patients with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (concurrent disorders) and how it relates to treatment outcome, including overdose and relapse.
“I am very passionate about mental health and have always been intrigued by the mind and brain. I enjoy taking abstract phenomena relating to the mind and being able to study them in a concrete way,” shares Stefanie.
Stefanie is a Neural Network Mentor for the UBC Neuroscience Club.
Kai Trappenberg
Kai completed his BSc at Dalhousie university and will be entering his first year in the UBC MSc Neuroscience program under the supervision of Dr. Lynn Raymond.
Kai’s research focuses on investigating sensory learning difficulties in Huntington’s disease by studying how sensory information spreads in the cortex of mice.
“What I find most exhilarating about research is being at the forefront of unexplored frontiers. The mysteries of the brain are vast and fascinating, and I am excited to contribute to unraveling them,” says Kai.
Kai’s hobbies include skiing, surfing, soccer, and volleyball.
Jerry Tong
Jerry completed her BSc at McGill Neuroscience and is currently entering her first year in the MSc Neuroscience program under the supervision of Dr. Kurt Haas.
In the lab, Jerry’s research topic mainly involves using modern imaging tools and computation ideas to investigate synaptogenesis and dendritogenesis in developing Xenopus tadpoles.
“What I love most about being a scientist can be summarized from a quote from Robert J. Oppenheimer: the scientist is free, and must be free to ask any question, to doubt any assertion, to seek for any evidence, to correct any errors,” says Jerry.
Outside of his academic life, Jerry enjoys rock climbing, badminton, camping, and video games.
