Richard Brown

Over a career spanning more than five decades, University of Victoria alumnus Richard Brown has helped shape modern behavioural neuroscience, advanced research on Alzheimer’s disease and aging, preserved the history of his discipline and opened doors to neuroscience education for hundreds of students across Africa. At every turn, his path has been guided by curiosity, generosity and a deep belief that learning should be hands-on, rigorous and joyful.

Finding a home in psychology at UVic

Brown arrived at UVic in 1966 unsure of his direction. Coming from a family with limited financial means, he worked continuously to support his education.

“I went to school full time and worked 40 hours a week to pay for it,” he says, recalling shifts at a nearby sawmill that ran from late afternoon until midnight.

Brown explored math, biology and sociology before realizing, as he put it, that “you could do everything in psychology. I became enmeshed.”

A pivotal moment came when Nobel laureate Nicholas Tinbergen visited campus to give a lecture.

“He very much impressed me,” Brown recalled, igniting an interest in ethology and what was then called biological (physiological) psychology: exploring how the brain, nervous system and body chemistry influence our behaviour, thoughts and feelings.

A career shaped by curiosity and collaboration

Graduate school at Dalhousie University in Halifax and postdoctoral work at Oxford University took Brown across Canada and to Europe. His education set the stage for a distinguished academic career, including early research exploring animal behaviour, olfaction, hormones and social interaction—work that led to influential publications and books on olfaction and neuroendocrinology.

Over time, his focus shifted toward using animal models to better understand human disease. Brown became a global leader in developing standardized tests for genetically modified mice—tools that transformed how researchers study cognition, frailty and social behaviour in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, autism and psychiatric disorders.

“I realized that if you're studying Alzheimer's disease, you don't study it in teenagers, you study it in old people. And so, we started aging our mice and studying those that were two years old or more,” he says.

Ask Brown what makes a successful researcher, and his answer is simple: get into the lab.

“There’s nothing that predicts if students will be good at research except doing research,” he says.

Brown urges students to pursue what genuinely interests them, to make time for deep work and, above all, to enjoy the process.

“If you hate it, don’t do it,” he says.

Teaching as global service

Perhaps no aspect of Brown’s career better reflects his values than his commitment to neuroscience education in Africa. For more than 20 years, he has taught intensive courses in countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Ethiopia and South Africa.

What began as teaching evolved into capacity-building: helping develop curricula, mentoring faculty and fostering lasting research networks. In 2023, this sustained commitment earned him induction into the Society of Neuroscientists of Africa Hall of Fame.

In December 2026, he plans to attend the opening of the new Master of Science program in Neuroscience, which he has promoted with his colleagues at the University of Nairobi.

“It's surreal that I have had the opportunities to do all these things,” he says. “I’ve met amazing people, and the students love the classes. Even when I meet them years later, they remember everything about what I taught. So, it's quite rewarding, really.”

He is also famous for what he carries in his luggage.

“It’s next to impossible to get textbooks in many African universities,” he learned from students.

In response, Brown began packing his suitcases with books—sometimes 20 or 30 at a time—to give away in class. Over the years, he has personally delivered more than 400 textbooks.

“[When I meet former students] they still say, ‘I have the book you gave me.’”