Biology grad student makes contribution to brain research

One look at Jessica Simpson's academic resum&e#180; and it's immediately apparent this bright young neuroscience researcher could have studied pretty much anywhere she wanted. Her lengthy list of publications and conference presentations is matched only by the impressive number of scholarships and awards she's received.

But Simpson, who completed a combined biology and psychology honours degree in 2009 and is receiving her MSc in biology this month, 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.

"Non-invasive therapies such as environmental enrichment and voluntary exercise have been shown to enhance adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus," says Simpson. "So if you could enhance this neurogenesis in the early stage of the diseases … then maybe it could help in maintaining some cognitive abilities or delaying some symptoms." The research grants she received from both the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research are testaments to the importance of the work.

Simpson is studying for her MCATs in the hopes she'll get into medical school-preferably at UVic's Island Medical Program-in 2012. She'd like to go on to become a GP or get into pediatric neurology. Meanwhile, she's set to be get married this summer-and take some well-deserved time off school.