Congratulations to MSc student Monica MacDonald who successfully defended her thesis proposal this past week. Monica’s work examines the influence aerobic fitness has on the excitability of the brain, with longer-term implications related to learning and rehabilitation.
Graduate students Sarah Kraeutner and Tony Ingram are all smiles as they get ready for a new TMS study starting this fall.
This past Friday saw another lab member successfully defend their thesis. This time around, MSc student Ross Story defended his work applying machine learning to brain activity data collected as part of a motor imagery neurofeedback study. Ross’s work uses machine learning to pick out key features of the brain data that best represent motor imagery, and thus could be used to create the ideal neurofeedback signal. Congratulations to Ross!
A new publication from the lab shows that damage to certain areas of the brain can impair a person’s ability to do motor imagery. The paper, the first by MSc student Kerry McInnes (with an assist from Chris Friesen), will be published in an upcoming issue of Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Congratulations to Sarah Kraeutner who successfully defended her MSc thesis. Sarah’s thesis work investigated the nature of learning using motor imagery, as well as the impact of brain damage on motor imagery ability. Sarah won’t be straying far from the lab, however, as she will be starting her PhD this September. Congrats again Sarah!
Members of the lab attended the Canadian Physiotherapy Congress, held this past week here in Halifax. MSc student Kerry McInnes presented her work investigating the effect of brain damage on the ability to do motor imagery. Kerry’s work helps to inform the prescription and use of motor imagery in rehabilitation as it demonstrates that damage to certain brain regions can impair a person’s ability to perform motor imagery.
This month, lab members Shaun Boe, Sarah Kraeutner, Tony Ingram, and Monica MacDonald all attended the 3rd annual North American Meeting on Brain Stimulation and Neuroimaging in Cognition and Behaviour in Montreal, QC. Sarah presented her thesis work, and won the award for best poster! Congratulations Sarah!
Graduate students Chris Friesen and Jack Solomon have added to this year’s scholarship haul – Chris was awarded a Canada Graduate Scholarship (NSERC) for the second year of his Master’s degree, while Jack was awarded a Nova Scotia Research and Innovation Graduate Scholarship to support both years of his Master’s degree. Congratulations Chris and Jack!
Beyond the horrible weather (When is winter going to end?!), March and April were pretty good months for members of the lab, with many being successful in attaining external funding. Current MSc student Sarah Kraeutner was awarded an NSERC PGS-D to support her PhD work (Starting September 2015). Incoming PhD student Nick Snow (from UBC) also received an NSERC PGS-D, while current MSc student Kerry McInnes received a CGS-M (CIHR) to support the second year of her MSc studies. Lab Director Shaun Boe also received good news from NSERC, as he was awarded a 5-year Discovery Grant. Congratulations to everyone, and good luck with all the great work that this funding will support!
Dalhousie’s ‘Brain Fair’ was held this past Tuesday as part of our local Brain Awareness Week campaign. Members of the lab demonstrated neuro-navigated brain stimulation and the lab’s robot driven by brain activity. Those attending the Brain Fair included elementary and high school students on their March Break. Check out brainrepair.ca or brainweekhalifax.blogspot.ca for the rest of the week’s events.
Official site of the Laboratory for Brain Recovery and Function 