Faculty & staff
Main office
Mailing address
University of Victoria
PO Box 1700 STN CSC
Victoria BC V8W 2Y2
Canada
Courier or in-person address
University of Victoria
Medical Sciences Building, room 104
Victoria BC V8P 5C2
Canada
Research faculty
Director, Professor School of Medical Sciences
Office: MSB 329 lswayne@uvic.ca 250-853-3723
- Area(s) of expertise:
- Cell biology of neuronal and cardiomyocyte structural and functional plasticity as it pertains to neurodevelopment, neurological disease, and aging. Relevance to neurodevelopmental disorders, neurodegenerative disease, brain inflammation associated with infection, brain injury, stroke, cardiac arrhythmias, and structural heart disease. Key expertise in microscopy and protein biochemistry techniques.
Professor School of Medical Sciences
Office: MSB 222 brownc@uvic.ca 250-853-3733
- Area(s) of expertise:
- Synaptic plasticity, stroke, diabetes, in vivo imaging
Professor School of Medical Sciences
Office: MSB 226 hectorjcaruncho@uvic.ca 250-472-5542
- Area(s) of expertise:
- Neurobiology of schizophrenia and depression, biomarkers and discovery of novel drug targets in mood and psychotic disorders
Professor and Graduate Adviser (School of Medical Sciences), Associate Dean Research (Faculty of Health) School of Medical Sciences
Office: MSB 218 brain64@uvic.ca 250-472-4244
- Area(s) of expertise:
- Synaptic Plasticity, Neurogenesis, Adipokines, Myokines, Cytokines, Blood Biomarkers, Aging, Brain Injury, Developmental Disorders, Hippocampus, Learning and memory processes, Sex Differences, Electrophysiology, Microscopy, Proteomics
Vice-President Research & Innovation School of Medical Sciences
Office: MWB A110 vpr@uvic.ca 250-721-7973
- Area(s) of expertise:
- Neurobiology of depression, the psychiatric complications of epilepsy, and the effect of chronic stress on the brain and behavior.
Professor School of Medical Sciences
Office: MSB 220 nahirney@uvic.ca 250-853-3659
- Area(s) of expertise:
- Synapse ultrastructure, myogenesis & muscle cell fusion, live-cell imaging & electron microscopy
Director, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research School of Medical Sciences
Office: HWB 273B tnaimi@uvic.ca 250-472-5445
- Area(s) of expertise:
- substance-use epidemiology, particularly binge drinking and the health effects of moderate drinking, prevention and effective public policies for reducing substance-use-related problems for alcohol and cannabis
Professor, Canada Research Chair (Tier I) of Neurobiology of Healthy Cognitive Aging School of Medical Sciences
Office: MSB 322 evetremblay@uvic.ca 250-721-8739
- Area(s) of expertise:
- microglia, lifestyle, environment, brain resilience, cognitive aging
Teaching faculty
Teaching Professor School of Medical Sciences
Office: MSB 330 jgair@uvic.ca 250-472-5543
- Area(s) of expertise:
- Dr. Gair teaches in a variety of courses and modalities to the 1st and 2nd year UBC medical students at the Island Medical Program (IMP) at UVic.
Associate Professor School of Medical Sciences
Office: SEDA 142 acsvet@uvic.ca 250-853-3694
- Area(s) of expertise:
- Adoptive T Cell Therapy of Breast Cancer
Teaching Professor School of Medical Sciences
Kurt McBurney is a Teaching Professor in Gross Anatomy and Physiotherapy in the School of Medical Sciences and specializes in human anatomy instruction to the first and second year undergraduate medical students in the Island Medical Program.
Kurt manages the instructional laboratories in the Medical Sciences Building and co-leads suturing skills teaching sessions with local surgeons. He is also involved in outreach education in the community, and gives presentations to elementary, middle and high school students, prospective Aboriginal medical student applicants and other professionals at UVic.
Office: MSB 350a mcburney@uvic.ca 250-472-5536
- Area(s) of expertise:
- Gross Anatomy, Physiotherapy
Research faculty (cross-appointed)
Professor Exercise Science, Physical & Health Education
Office: MCK 187 krigolso@uvic.ca 250-721-7843
- Area(s) of expertise:
- Dr. Krigolson is applying his expertise in cognitive neuroscience to the recently emerging field of neuroeconomics; one that combines principles from psychology, economics, and neuroscience.
Associate Professor Exercise Science, Physical & Health Education
Office: MCK 130 k2jsmith@uvic.ca 250-853-3144
- Area(s) of expertise:
- Exercise and environmental mechanisms that influence cerebral and cardiovascular health.
Professor Mechanical Engineering
Office: Engineering Office Wing, Room 513 willerth@uvic.ca 250-721-7303
- Area(s) of expertise:
- Tissue engineered scaffolds for promoting stem cell differentiation, novel drug delivery systems, and analysis of stem cell differentiation using next generation sequencing
Adjunct faculty
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Professor Academic Clinician, Professor, UBC Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine
Office: MSB 230 larbour@uvic.ca 250-472-5544
- Area(s) of expertise:
- Medical genetics, genetic disorders, and conditions specific to Indigenous populations, Long QT Syndrome, Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC), and birth defects
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Assistant Professor Metabolomics group leader and senior scientist, Genome BC Proteomics Centre, University of Victoria
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Assistant Professor CEO and Medical Director, OKAKI; Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health, University of Alberta
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Associate Professor Professor and Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar, Vancouver Island University
Administration
Ese Agunbiade-Richards
Administrative Assistant School of Medical Sciences
Office: MSB 214 eagunbiaderichards@uvic.ca 250-472-5506
Chen Liu
Operations Manager School of Medical Sciences
Office: MSB 216 chenliuvic@uvic.ca 250-853-3827
Kailah Sebastian
Graduate Program and Director's Assistant School of Medical Sciences
Office: MSB 214 ksebastian@uvic.ca 250-853-3129
Post-doctoral fellows
Dr. Grace Akingbade holds degrees in Anatomy (BSc, MSc, PhD) from University of Ilorin, Nigeria. She is driven by a passion to investigate the intricate relationships between prenatal exposure to environmental factors and the subsequent development of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. By elucidating the effects of prenatal environmental exposures on brain development and function, she aims to contribute meaningful insights to the field of neuropathology, ultimately enhancing our understanding of the etiological mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. Specifically, her research focus involves exploring the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which prenatal exposure to environmental factors influences brain development and increases the risk of neurodegenerative disorders. Furthermore, she is committed to identifying potential therapeutic strategies to mitigate the detrimental effects of prenatal environmental exposures on brain health, with the ultimate goal of developing effective interventions and treatments for individuals affected by these exposures.
Dr. Ifeoluwa Awogbindin has honors and graduate degrees from the Department of Biochemistry, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He is passionate about the intersection of neurotropic infections and neurodegenerative diseases, focusing on microglia roles. During his PhD, he studied the pharmacological effects of kolaviron, an anti-inflammatory agent from Garcinia kola seeds, in mice infected with influenza A virus. The study was top-rated and earned the best PhD thesis prize in 2018. Further, he committed to studies in animal models of Parkinson’s disease, validating the folkloric claim that Garcinia kola seeds enhance healthy aging. He held several training and travel awards, including an NIH-funded UI-MEPIN-J mentored grant, IBRO-ARC Bursary and ISN International Travel Support. In the Tremblay Lab, Dr. Awogbindin is investigating whether alterations of microglial structure and function during infections with SARS-CoV-2 and HSV-1 predispose to Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, respectively.
Dr. Ben-Azu obtained his first degree training in Science Laboratory Technology with specialization in Physiology and Pharmacology in 2010 and graduated as the best graduating student from the set. During his postgraduate studies (MSc: 2014; PhD: 2018), Dr Ben-Azu specialized in neuropharmacology specifically looking at single or two-hit mouse models of schizophrenia, the patho-mechanisms involved and the constructive validity with antipsychotic drugs. Dr Ben-Azu has received different travel grants and fellowships, including the IBRO-ARC and Michael Smith Health Research Postdoctoral awards. As a Post-doc in Tremblay’s Lab, Dr Ben-Azu’s research goal is focused on how different epigenetic hit-factors such as dietary lifestyle, stress and infection affect microglia reserves in health, and in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disease states.
Dr. Isla Shill is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Christie Lab in the School of Medical Sciences and the Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health at the University of Victoria. Her research focuses on the prevention and rehabilitation of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and sport-related concussion within a population health framework, with a specific emphasis on sex- and gender-based differences in injury mechanism, symptomology, and recovery trajectories. Through transdisciplinary collaboration, and partnerships with community, provincial, national, and international organizations, she aims to generate evidence that informs best practice and improves health outcomes for those at risk of concussion and TBI.
Dr. Shill completed her MSc in Kinesiology with a Specialization in Sports Medicine (2020) and PhD in Kinesiology with a Specialization in Sport Injury Epidemiology (2024) at the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre (SIPRC) in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. Her training spans kinesiology, epidemiology, biostatistics, intervention evaluation, and longitudinal cohort methodologies. This diverse training has enabled her to integrate multiple perspectives to address complex problems related to concussion in adolescents, and now, broadening across the lifespan and spectrum of TBI. Dr. Shill currently holds a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Post Doctoral Research Fellowship.
Dr. Fernando González Ibáñez is a BC Health Michael Smith Postdoctoral Research Fellow. His research focuses on the study of microglia in health and disease with the use of electron microscopy. His current project is on the characterization of brain organoids and glial cells. During his PhD, his work studied the effect of ketogenic diet in the microglia of mice subjected to psychological stress showing that ketogenic diet increased the resilience to psychological stress and the microglia or resilient mice had les signs of cellular stress. Fernando has collaborated, with Canadian and international teams, to multiple projects in the fields of Alzheimer’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, psychological stress, dietary interventions, spinal cord injury just to mention a few. He regularly participates science communication activities, addressing high school and university students, as well as members of the community with an interest in science. He holds a BSc in Biology (Universidad Autónoma de México, Mexico) a MSc in Developmental, Behavioral and Neurobiology (Georg August Universität, Germany) and a PhD in Molecular Medicine (Université Laval, Canada)
Current opportunities
We welcome applications from prospective faculty, staff and post-doctoral fellows interested in working with the School of Medical Sciences. Visit the current opportunities page for more information.