Jessica Simpson has an academic resume that could have taken this bright young neuroscience researcher anywhere she wanted. But Simpson, who completed a combined biology and psychology honours degree in 2009 and recently received her MSc in biology, chose to stick to her hometown of Victoria when it came time to pursue—and continue—her studies.

After working in Dr. Brian Christie’s lab during her undergraduate honours project, Simpson knew she’d be staying in UVic’s Division of Medical Sciences for her master’s. "I just loved working in the lab, so I stayed on the project and started my master's the following year," she says.

While Simpson says she’s “always found the brain fascinating” and would rather spend her time in a lab than a classroom, it was the specific research that Christie was conducting on part of the brain called the hippocampus that sealed the deal. Simpson’s master’s project focused on how Huntington’s Disease, a neurodegenerative disorder, can alter brain plasticity, specifically in the hippocampus, which is associated with learning and memory.

“Throughout a lifetime, this region continues to produce new neurons, which is unique within the nervous system,” Simpson explains. The research—published in several books and medical journals and presented by Simpson and her colleagues at the Society of Neuroscience and Forum of European Neuroscience conferences—could lead to improving the lives of people with Huntington’s and other debilitating neurodegenerative disorders.

Read more about Jessica.