Pictured: The team of staff, student, and faculty volunteers who worked to successfully launch the BC Brain Wellness Program at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health (DMCBH) on October 5. The Program has begun running wellness classes at DMCBH - you have likely heard the music classes taking place in the lower level atrium on Wednesdays (10:30 a.m.); feel free to join in! More on the Program at www.bcbrainwellness.ca. Image credit: Seth Book.
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
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Pictured, left to right (back row): Dr. Stefan Wendt, Dr. LP Bernier, Dr. Brian MacVicar, Alireza Kamyabi, Dr. Nick Weilinger; (front row) Heather Gerrie, Dr. Liisa Galea, Daphne Ling, Dr. Tim O'Connor, Tanvi Puri, and Dr. Chris Groten. Image source: Daphne Ling, October 29, 2019.
Image credit: Paul Joseph/UBC.
An analysis of more than 9,000 brain scans shows that abnormalities in brain function in mood and anxiety disorders are localized to the same areas of the brain, offering promise for future prevention and treatment.
There is growing evidence across a range of neurological disorders that the gut microbiome has a relationship with inflammation and changes in the brain. The bugs in your gut are beneficial for health including brain health, through—for example—production of beneficial metabolites and regulation of the immune system. Studies have shown differences in the microbial composition in people with diseases and healthy controls, but what are those differences, and how much do we know about what those bacteria are doing for people with multiple sclerosis (MS)?
Pictured: graduate student Matthew Sacheli with a research participant. Image credit: Don Erhardt/UBC Faculty of Medicine.
Image source: Dr. Silke Cresswell.
Every so often, piano music fills the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health. From students who sit down to spend a musical moment away from the lab, to people who reside in long-term care at UBC Hospital finding a few minutes for a song, the piano has been a bright spot for our community. It is nice on its own, but it serves a larger purpose; a little music here and there has a lot to do with improving the wellbeing of our clinic visitors, staff, students, and researchers.
Congratulations
Dr. Teresa Liu-Ambrose (pictured) was recognized by the Faculty of Medicine with a Distinguised Acheivement Award acknowledging meritorious performance. Dr. Liu-Ambrose recieved the award for Overall Excellence (Senior Faculty).
“Globally, there are limited consistent resources and infrastructure to support mental health needs in the event of an emergency,” said Dr. Jill Murphy, Strategic Initiatives Director, APEC Digital Hub for Mental Health, and a postdoctoral fellow in UBC's Department of Psychiatry. “Historically, the approach post-disaster is to provide an acute response to mental health needs. With a changing global climate, it is going to be increasingly urgent to look at the long-term mental health implications of natural disasters and other climate-related emergencies.”
Development of the Guideline was led by Drs Roger Zemek and Nick Reed, and co-authored with the support of concussion experts from across Canada, including Dr. Cheryl Wellington, who recently demonstrated the potential for a blood biomarker in pediatric traumatic brain injury (Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, June 2019), and Dr. Shelina Babul, who developed the Concussion Awareness Training Tool at BC Children’s Hospital.
Jackson Mooney’s journey with dystonia began with a diagnosis before he'd recognized the symptoms.
“I had had a C5 nerve root for which I was referred to a neurologist. While he examined me, he asked why my head turned when I closed my eyes,” said Mooney. “He immediately referred me to the Movement Disorder (MD) Clinic at the Glenrose Hospital in Edmonton.”
Mooney’s symptoms appeared gradually, progressing over 15 years until 400 units of prescribed neurotoxin was no longer sufficient to provide relief.
