This past year I had the privilege of speaking on a panel on Brain Diseases with two incredible scientists Dr. Carolina Gubert and Ms. Shelby McGraw. This event was organized by the organization Simply Neuroscience where we described our research as well as took questions from the audience. The audience seemed composed of some really amazing younger scientists who are itching to pursue research for a career! This was such an engaging and wonderful event to participate in because each of us had a different specialty and perspective on current disease research, future directions, and how COVID has impacted the fields. I was especially excited to be able to speak with Dr. Carolina Gubert who’s research has been a huge inspiration for me to even pursue a PhD. Below is the video of the panel, as well as a description of what each of the panelists research. Thank you so much to the organizers and participants of this event!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EfOWIvv0Jc&t=4870s
This panel was held on May 23. It consisted of an explanation from each of the panelists on what their study and research is on, experiences regarding neurological diseases, and a live Q & A session. The bios of the panelists are below.
Ms. Jackie Howells:
Jackie is a PhD Candidate at Brown University in the Pathobiology Program. An ecologist by training, she obtained her B.S. from UC Berkeley in Environmental Science and completed her capstone thesis on mircohabitat use of lizard species in White Sands, New Mexico. During her time at Berkeley she worked as lab assistant in an immunology lab and post-graduation began to work on clinical immunology at UCSF as a senior research associate. In her current PhD work she is investigating the relationship between the immune and nervous systems. She dabbles in various artistic pursuits outside of research.
Ms. Shelby McGraw:
Shelby completed her bachelor's degree at the University of Guelph studying Neuroscience and Psychology. Her thesis project focused on reconsolidation-based memory updating in mice and identifying the underlying molecular mechanisms involved. Shelby is currently her masters degree in Neuroscience at the University of Guelph where her research focuses on the progressions of Alzheimer's Disease pathology in the brain. Outside of the lab, Shelby enjoys practicing yoga and playing piano.
Dr. Carolina Gubert:
Dr. Carolina Gubert is a current Research officer at The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia. She completed her PhD in the graduate program Biological Science: Biochemistry at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil in 2018. At the same institution, she completed her Masters degree and biomedical bachelor degree. Her work focuses on a purinergic receptor as a new hope of treatment for psychiatric disorders. She is interested in the gene-environment interactions and the mircobiota-gut-brain axis in brain disorders.