Research Assistants

Anna is a BSc student pursuing a degree in Honours Behavioural Neuroscience. Anna is currently assisting Melody Salehzadeh in exploring the production of glucocorticoids in lymphoid organs and brain using tissue culture, qPCR and LC-MS/MS. She is also working on an Honours project to measure enzymatic activity in rat placenta.

Bella is an undergraduate student studying Neuroscience. She is interested in learning more about avian behaviours. Bella is currently assisting Jérôme Plumier in investigating the changes in neurosteroid levels in blood, plasma, and brain tissues and their impact on the year-round aggression in song sparrows. 

Darius Khoshons is an undergraduate Neuroscience student. He is currently assisting Michelle in investigating how maternal sucrose intake influences maternal and offspring metabolism, brain function and behaviour.

Donny is an undergraduate student pursuing a BSc in Neuroscience. He is helping Brittany with her project on the intranasal administration of estradiol and effects on motivation in rats

Emily is an undergraduate Neuroscience student. She is assisting Michelle in investigating the effects of maternal sucrose intake on offspring physiology and behaviour. Emily is specifically interested in studying the effects of diet on the offspring’s stress response and how biological factors influence the expression of affective disorders.

Emma is pursuing her BSc in Honours Animal Biology. She assisted Sofia Gray with investigating neurosteroid production and territorial aggression in juvenile song sparrows and developed a method to measure sex steroids in song sparrow adrenal glands, gonads, and other tissues. Emma is currently validating a procedure to measure the activity of steroid synthesizing enzymes in the song sparrow brain.

Jathin is an undergrad student pursuing a BSc in the Cognitive Systems: Cognition and Brain program. He is currently assisting Megan with her wheel-running study and how brain steroids play a role in the motivation to exercise in rats.

Kaitlyn is an undergraduate Neuroscience student. She is currently assisting Michelle in investigating changes in maternal, placental and fetal steroids as a result of maternal sucrose intake and their impact on offspring neuroendocrinology and behaviour.

Maya is pursuing a BSc in Neuroscience. She is working with Michelle on how sucrose intake affects behavior.

Nandini is an undergraduate Integrated Science student and studying Neuroscience and Immunology. She is assisting Brittany with intranasal administration of estradiol to investigate its effects on motivation and memory.

Sophie is pursuing a BSc in Neuroscience. She is assisting Jerome on a project exploring the relationship between neurosteroids, particularly DHEA, and aggressive behaviour in song sparrows.