News and events

Deadline to apply is Nov. 18, 2022.

Dr. Marie-Ève Tremblay, Eva Šimončičová, Elisa Gonçalves de Andrade, Dr. Haley A. Vecchiarelli, Dr. Ifeoluwa O. Awogbindin, and Dr. Charlotte I. Delage contributed in multiple ways to the August 2022 special issue of Trends in Pharmacological Sciences.

Dr. Leigh E. Wicki-Stordeur (research associate, Swayne Lab) and Dr. Leigh Anne Swayne, together with Montreal-based researchers Dr. Alexandra Schober and Dr. Keith Murai, recently published a review article in Trends in Neurosciences on astrocyte diversity development and cellular crosstalk. This review is part of a new collaboration between the Swayne Lab and the Murai Lab at McGill University.

Postdoctorate fellow Dr. Ifeoluwa Awogbindin (Tremblay Lab) and Dr. Marie-Eve Tremblay are coinvestigators on a new pilot project researching the effects of COVID-19 on Parkinson’s disease.

Funded by an Undergraduate Grant from the Branch Out Neurological Foundation, undergrad Sophia Loewen and postdoc Dr. Haley Vecchiarelli (Tremblay Lab) will investigate how vapourized cannabis affects the brain’s resident immune cells.

Josh Allen (Caruncho / Kalynchuk Lab) published a first-author article in Neuropharmacology showing that Reelin injections can have antidepressant-like effects, quickly reducing some of the negative behavioural changes and neurochemical deficits associated with chronic stress.

Congratulations to Josh Allen (Caruncho / Kalynchuk Lab) and Laura Hanson (Awatramani Lab) on successfully completing their PhD oral examinations!

Concussion puts tens of thousands of Canadian youth at risk for short- and long-term neuropsychological impairments and mental health problems each year. To help avoid these serious outcomes, members of the MEDS 490 directed studies class developed a presentation on the basics of concussion for local high school students. Jamie Morrison and Madison Yanish (Christie Lab) studied the effectiveness of the program.

Members of the Tremblay Lab contributed to new research showing how prenatal exposure to maternal viral infections can cause an embryo’s brain to change shape during development. These changes can lead to an increased risk of the offspring developing mental health disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder, later in life.

Erin Gräfe (Christie Lab) placed second in the 2022 Three Minute Thesis finals at UVic on March 31.