Post-doctoral fellows
Prospective post-doctoral fellows: Are you interested in doing post-doctoral research with one of our faculty? If you have recently completed or are near completion of a PhD, you may want to contact UVic faculty members to discuss your interests and see if they have any PDF positions available through their grant funding.
Information for prospective post-doctoral fellows at UVic.
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Luis Bettio (Christie Lab) I am currently investigating the effects of adiponectin, an adipocyte-derived hormone that has a role in the regulation of synaptic transmission and hippocampal plasticity. The focus of my research is to elucidate whether this protein can minimize the deficits in synaptic plasticity that occur in the hippocampus of Fmr1 KO mice, a genetic model of Fragile X Syndrome. The results of this study may stimulate new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of this neurodevelopmental disorder. |
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Roobina Boghozian (Brown Lab) The main focus of my research is microglia-based repair of damaged microvessels in the brain and understanding the underlying signaling pathway. As the resident innate immune cells of the central nervous system, microglia dynamically survey the local microenvironment for hints of damage and react once brain homeostasis is lost. Because of the remarkable speed with which these cells can move their processes, they likely act as “first responders” to help repair damaged blood vessels. ResearchGate |
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Patrick Reeson (Brown Lab) Dr Reeson received a BSc in Biology from the University of Calgary and a PhD from the University of Victoria studying microvascular plasticity in the healthy and diseased cerebral cortex. Dr. Reeson then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF in the lab of HHMI investigator Massimo Scanziani, studying cortical circuits that underlie sensory processing, before returning to the University of Victoria. |
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Sorabh Sharma (Brown Lab) My primary interest is to study how diabetes alters the neurological function. Recently, increased prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases have been reported in patients suffering from Type 2 diabetes. However, the underlying mechanisms of association between these conditions are still elusive. During my doctorate, I explored the possible involvement of epigenetic modifications in diabetes induced neurodegeneration. We reported that dysregulation of epigenetic pathways leads to cognitive deficit and amyloid-β accumulation in hippocampus of mice. We also examined the therapeutic potential of histone deacetylases inhibitors, during these co-morbid conditions. As a Post doc in the Brown lab, I will be studying how diabetes affects the rates of capillary obstruction and/or pruning. Further, we will focus to elucidate mechanistic understanding of how obstructions are cleared. This could be used in a therapeutic manner to preserve brain micro-circulation and function throughout the lifespan. |
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Juan Sanchez-Arias (Swayne Lab) Dr. Juan C. Sanchez-Arias obtained his Doctor of Medicine degree at the Universidad del Valle School of Medicine in his hometown Cali (Colombia) in 2014 and his PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Victoria in 2020. As a postdoctoral fellow working with DMS’s investigators Dr. Leigh Anne Swayne and Dr. Laura Arbour, Dr. Sanchez-Arias combines his clinical background and fundamental basic science expertise in assessing cellular excitability using advanced microscopy to understand the molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying cardiac arrhythmia, structural cardiomyopathy, and seizures linked to a genetic change identified in Indigenous Communities in Northern British Columbia. |
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Benneth Ben-Azu (Tremblay Lab) Dr Ben-Azu Benneth obtained his undergraduate training in Science Laboratory Technology with specialization in Physiology and Pharmacology in 2010 from Nigeria. During his postgraduate studies (MSc: 2014; PhD: 2018) at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, Dr Ben-Azu was trained in the field of Neuropharmacology with emphasis on schizophrenia disease. As a Post-doc Fellow in Tremblay’s Lab, Dr Ben-Azu research interest is focused on how multiple epigenetic hit-factors such as diets, stress and infection affect microglia reserves in health and in neuropsychiatric conditions. |
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Haley Vecchiarelli (Tremblay Lab) Dr. Haley Vecchiarelli obtained her PhD from the University of Calgary in 2020. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Marie-Ève Tremblay's lab. Her research interest is broadly how the immune system affects the brain to influence behaviour. Her current work looks at how chronic stress influences microglia to produce cognitive deficits. She is investigating this using in-vivo 2-photon imaging, electron microscopy and behavioural analysis.
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