Julie Irwin
Julie Irwin is a PhD candidate in Clinical Neuropsychology. Her program of research spans from bench to bedside with a focus on pediatric neuropsychology, behavioural neuroscience, and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Julie's Master’s thesis, under the supervision of Dr. Kimberly Kerns, examined the construct validity of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS) in typically-developing and mixed clinical groups of Canadian children. Subsequently, as part of a multidisciplinary team spanning psychology, neuroscience, computer science, and exercise science, Julie examined the effect of a game-based exercise intervention on improving cognitive, emotional, and behavioural functioning via increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in children with FASD. Working under the co-supervision of Dr. Brian Christie and Dr. Mauricio Garcia-Barrera (Department of Psychology), Julie's dissertation examines how adolescents’ negative expectations about outcomes after mTBI affect their perception of recovery after injury. Julie Irwin is the Victoria site study coordinator of the CIHR-funded Canada Paediatric mTBI Common Data Elements study.