Official site of the Laboratory for Brain Recovery and Function

Lab members celebrated the beginning of 2014 with an evening at Rock Bottom. Cheers to a productive year!

Lab members kicked off the fall term with the second annual lab potluck. Thanks to Dr. Shaun Boe for hosting the event, and for all lab members for preparing delicious food!

During the week of March 11th-15th, the Laboratory for Brain Recovery and Function (LBRF) organized and engaged in “Brain Awareness Week”. BAW is a campaign that seeks to increase public knowledge surrounding the importance and benefit of brain research. This global event is meant to engage people of all ages and provide a point of contact between the community, researchers, and organizations.

Dr. Shaun Boe, with the assistance of Janet Green, was the coordinator for BAW Halifax. Due to the support of local volunteers, groups, and associations, the LBRF was able to provide free events such as:

• Brain Fair – Information and demonstrations for a healthier brain (pics 1 and 2 below)
• Brain Trivia Night – a fun-filled night of “brain” facts (pic 3 below)
• Discovery Centre Brain Activities  and Demonstration – a great way for all ages to learn about the brain in an interactive environment
• Brain Awareness Week Talk – featuring Dr. Rudolf Uher and his discussion on “Genes and environment in the development of mental health and illness“.

We from LBRF wanted to say thank you to all of those who joined us in this year’s Brain Awareness Week. It could not have been possible without the support and enthusiasm of all those involved.

Congratulations to team “Flash” for winning the Laboratory’s first EEG Cap Prep Award! The team, consisting of Ishika (captain), Ron, and Janet, had the lowest impedences on a full 64-channel cap to take home the award. Honourable mention goes to Laura, Alana, Alicia, and Julia, who came in a close second with only 3 channels over 10 kΩ. Special thanks to Shaun and Megan for volunteering their heads for the competition.

At a recent get-together, members of the lab shared their company as well as their favourite foods from around the world. Moroccan, Italian, French, and Thai were among the dishes, as well as lots of delicious desserts. Thanks to Ron and Ellen for hosting – looking forward to the next potluck!

The Laboratory for Brain Recovery and Function opened its doors for anyone interested in learning more about the projects we have going on in the lab. Attendees mingled with lab members who were available to discuss their research projects and gave demonstrations of the various lab equipment.

The event was a great success. Thanks to everyone who stopped by!

Men’s health is a cause that Shaun Boe is passionate about. His commitment is to grow a moustache for the month of Movember to raise vital awareness and funds for prostate cancer and male mental health. He’s part of Team Physio: mo money mo problems.

He asks your help to support his personal journey by making a donation, the size of which isn’t important. Every little bit helps Movember to continue funding its world class programs. If you want to know more about what you’ll be helping to fund, click here!

To highlight the importance of what he’s doing, take a look at these statistics:

• 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime
• This year 26,500 new cases of the disease will be diagnosed
• 1 in 5 men will experience a mental illness this year

If you’d like to help change these statistics, please donate to: http://mobro.ca/Boestache

Thank you in advance for supporting all efforts to change the face of men’s health.

The laboratory hosted a welcome BBQ on September 9th to welcome new members of the lab and “kick off” the fall term. Congratulations to award-winners Janet and Alicia, who had the best homemade side-dish (potato salad) and condiment (sweet and spicy) at the BBQ. Honourable mention goes out to Ron for bringing a store bought condiment – hope you enjoy your tea cup!

The TMS workshop, hosted by the lab on August 11th and 12th, was fully subscribed with 32 faculty and trainees learning about the application and use of TMS in neuroscience. Special thanks to Janet Green for her organizational skills and the other members of the lab who pitched in to ensure a great weekend.