BrainsCAN's Postdoctoral Associates

Through the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, BrainsCAN is bringing the world’s most promising early career cognitive neuroscientists to Western University. Training the next generation of researchers is a key aim of BrainsCAN, and postdoctoral fellows are the engines of innovative research.

In fall 2017, the first set of fellows joined the program under the designation of a BrainsCAN Fellow or Postdoctoral Associate. 

Learn about the Postdoctoral Associates and their research.


Current BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associates:
Marieka DeVuonoHiroyuki Igarashi, Jonathan Michaels

Former BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associates: 
Justine CléryFelix Desmeules-TrudelChelsea Ekstrand, Chris Forgaard, Roy Haast, Ahmed Hashad, Cassandra Lowe, Christina McDonnell, Sasha Reschechtko, Mojtaba Soltanlou, Swathi SwaminathanMelissa Troyer, Joana Vieira, Jeff WeilerYiming Xiao

Current BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associates

Marieka DeVuono
Marieka DeVuono
BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate
PhD, Psychology and Neuroscience - University of Guelph

Investigating sex and dose-dependent cognitive impairments produced by adolescent THC exposure

Supervisor(s): Dr. Steven Laviolette, Dr. Susanne Schmid, Dr. Walter Rushlow
Research Information:
Cannabis use during adolescence can lead to long-term cognitive deficits and is associated with an increased risk for neuropsychiatric disorders later in life. The primary psychoactive component of cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), may interrupt normal brain maturation during this critical period of development, leading to long-term cognitive consequences. The specific neurobiological mechanisms of these impairments remain unknown. Using a preclinical model of adolescent THC exposure, this project will investigate the neural pathways and molecular changes underlying cognitive impairments produced by adolescent THC exposure. A variety of THC doses will be investigated because THC is known to produce biphasic effects on multiple cognitive processes, where low and high doses often produce opposite effects. Higher potency cannabis is also associated with greater cognitive risks. Moreover, THC is known to produce sex-specific effects, yet the majority of research on the effect of adolescent THC exposure has been done exclusively in males. This project will also address this knowledge gap and investigate the sex-dependent effects of THC on cognitive development. Results from this study will advance our knowledge of the long-term consequences of adolescent cannabis use and have the potential to influence the development of treatments for disorders with cognitive impairments.
Hiroyuki Igarashi
Hiroyuki Igarashi
BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate
PhD, Medical Sciences - Tohoku University, Japan

Optogenetic manipulation of intracellular calcium ion dynamics to regulate neural plasticity during stress

Supervisor(s): Dr. Wataru Inoue, Dr. Julio Martinez-Trujillo, Dr. Marco Prado
Research Information:
Stress impairs cognitive ability in otherwise healthy individuals and dramatically affects memory and learning in disparate brain disorders such as depression, anxiety disorders and autism. The effects of stress on cognition is due in part to the dysregulation of neural plasticity. This project will explain the spatiotemporal association of internal calcium ion – one of the second messengers – to neural plasticity and their roles in stress-induced cognitive impairment in mouse models.
Jonathan Michaels
Jonathan Michaels
BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate
PhD, Systems Neuroscience - University of Göttingen, Germany

Neural and Computational Basis of Goal-Dependent Feedback Control

Supervisor(s): Dr. Andrew Pruszynski, Dr. Jörn Diedrichsen
Research Information:
Think fast - a colleague unexpectedly bumps into your arm while you’re carrying your coffee mug. If the cup is full of hot coffee your reaction will look strikingly different than if the cup is empty. Understanding how the brain incorporates high-level contextual information while dealing with unexpected sensory feedback is essential in understanding movement. Yet, the brain regions and computational principles involved remain unclear. In this project we will generate a novel set of behavioural tasks, recording techniques, network models, and biomechanical modeling tools to elucidate the circuits and computations involved in using context and expectation to make feedback corrections in humans and NHP.

 

Former BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associates

Justine Cléry
Justine Cléry
Assistant Professor
McGill University

BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate (2017 - 2021)
BrainsCAN Fellow (2021 - 2022)
Ultra-high field functional mapping of the multisensory integration network in NHPs
Supervisor(s): Dr. Stefan Everling, Dr. Ravi Menon, Dr. Stefan Everling, Dr. Andrew Pruszynski

PhD, Neurosciences and Cognition - Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, France
Felix Desmeules-Trudel
Félix Desmeules-Trudel (top-up)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Western University

BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate (2019 - 2020)
Second language learning: From low-level phonetic processing to learning new words
Supervisor(s): Dr. Marc Joanisse

PhD, Linguistics - University of Ottawa
Chelsea Ekstrand
Chelsea Ekstrand
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience
University of Lethbridge

BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate (2019 - 2020)
Advancing inter-subject correlation approaches to naturalistic cognition using immersive virtual environments
Supervisor(s): Dr. Jody Culham, Dr. Ingrid Johnsrude

PhD, Psychology, Cognition and Neuroscience - University of Saskatchewan
Chris Forgaard
Chris Forgaard
Research Officer
Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University

BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate (2019 - 2021)
Neuroplasticity in sensorimotor feedback driven by visual observation
Supervisor(s): Dr. Paul Gribble, Dr. Andrew Pruszynski

PhD, Human Motor Control - University of British Columbia
Roy Haast
Roy Haast
Postdoctoral Researcher
Aix-Marseille University

BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate (2018 - 2021)
Hippocampal subregion characterization using vascular ultra-high field MRI
Supervisor(s): Dr. Ali Khan, Dr. Stefan Köhler

PhD, Neuroimaging - Maastricht University
Roy Haast
Ahmed Hashad
Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Vermont

BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate (2019 - 2024)
Cortical Microcircuits Underlying Stress-induced Cognitive Impairments
Supervisor(s): Dr. Wataru Inoue, Dr. Julio Martinez-Trujillo, Dr. Lisa Saksida, Dr. Tim Bussey

PhD, Cardiovascular and Respiratory Sciences - University of Calgary
Cassandra Lowe
Cassandra Lowe
Began as a Tier I BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Fellow in August, 2019.

BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate (2018 - 2019)
Assessment of the neural mechanisms underlying self-regulation, and the factors that influence the development of these mechanisms
Supervisor(s): Dr. J. Bruce Morton

PhD, Public Health and Health Systems - University of Waterloo
Christina McDonnell
Christina McDonnell
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology, Clinical Science Area
Faculty Affiliate,  VT Center for Autism Research
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, United States

BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate (2018 - 2019)
The Neurobiology of Autobiographical Memory and Emotion Socialization in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Supervisor(s): Dr. Ryan Stevenson, Dr. Elizabeth Hayden

PhD, Clinical Psychology - University of Notre Dame
Sasha Reschechtko
Sasha Reschechtko
Assistant Professor
San Diego State University

BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate (2017 - 2021)
Central determinants of recovery from peripheral nerve injury
Supervisor(s): Dr. Andrew Pruszynski, Dr. Jörn Diedrichsen

PhD, Kinesiology - Pennsylvania State University
Mojtaba Soltanlou
Mojtaba Soltanlou
Began as a Tier I BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Fellow in June, 2020.

BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate (2019 - 2020)
How do we know “2” but not “3” means “two”? Neural correlates of symbolic number knowledge in kindergarteners
Supervisor(s): Dr. Daniel Ansari, Dr. Marc Joanisse

PhD, Neuroscience – University of Tübingen
Swathi Swaminathan
Swathi Swaminathan

BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate (2020 - 2022)
Travelling through time with music: Assessing the use of music to support autobiographical memory in older adults with and without Alzheimer’s disease
Supervisor(s): Dr. Jessica Grahn, Dr. Stefan Köhler, Dr. Elizabeth Finger

PhD, Psychology – University of Toronto
Melissa Troyer
Melissa Troyer
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Illinois

BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate (2019 - 2020)
Integrating big data and neuroimaging to understand variation in knowledge organization and its influence on language comprehension
Supervisor(s): Dr. Ken McRae, Dr. Marc Joanisse, Dr. Stefan Köhler

PhD, Cognitive Science - University of California, San Diego
Joana Vieira
Joana Vieira (top-up)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Clinical Neuroscience
Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate (2017 - 2018)
Does sensitivity to others’ fear promote the willingness to help them in threatening situations?
Supervisor(s): Dr. Derek Mitchell

PhD, Neuroscience - University of Porto, Portugal
Jeffery Weiler
Jeff Weiler (top-up)
Began as a Tier I BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Fellow in March, 2019

BrainsCAN Fellow (2017 - 2018)
Compensatory cortical plasticity following induced spinal dysfunction 
Supervisor(s): Andrew Pruszynski, Paul Gribble

PhD, Kinesiology - Western University
Yiming Xiao
Yiming Xiao
Began as a Tier I BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Fellow in June, 2020.

BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Associate (2018 - 2020)
Incorporating human brain connectome in planning deep brain stimulation to treat Parkinson's disease
Supervisor(s): Dr. Terry Peters, Dr. Ali Khan

PhD, Biomedical Engineering - McGill University