HBHL Trainee Get-Together: February 2022
This month, the HBHL Trainees are excited to feature keynote speaker Dr. Yasser Iturria-Medina, Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery and associate member of the Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health and the McConnell Brain Imaging Centre.
Two HBHL Fellows will also present their research: Refilwe Mpai (MSc trainee, Naguib Mechawar's lab) and Quadri Adewale (PhD trainee, Yasser Iturria-Medina's lab).
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Keynote speaker
Yasser Iturria-Medina
Multiscale Brain Models for Understanding Disease Mechanisms and Treatment Needs in Neurology
Yasser Iturria-Medina is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery. He is also an associate member of the Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health and the McConnell Brain Imaging Centre.
Trainee Speakers
Refilwe Mpai
A characterization of perineuronal nets in the human cerebellum: are these structures impacted by child abuse?
Refilwe is a current MSc student in Neuroscience where she examines perineuronal nets, their role in neuroplasticity, and how they may be implicated in depression and child abuse. She is particularly interested in the long-lasting effects of childhood adversity on the brain. She holds a BA in Psychology from Ï㽶ÊÓƵ. Outside of research, Refilwe is a podcast host on Journey Abroad, a show highlighting Africans studying and living abroad.
Quadri Adewale
Multiscale interactions between neuroimaging signals and gene expression in aging and Alzheimer’s disease
Quadri holds a BSc in electrical and electronic engineering from the university of Ibadan, Nigeria. He obtained his master’s degree in advanced control and systems engineering from the University of Sheffield, UK where he developed a brain-computer interface for monitoring workload levels in safety-critical environments. He is currently in his fourth year (starting from 2022) of PhD in neuroscience. He is interested in applying mathematical models and control engineering principles to combine multiscale brain modalities to study neurodegenerative diseases.
