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Graduate to pursue schizophrenia research |
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Graduate Alanna Grant says she's always been interested in altered brain chemistry. So, when she read about the schizophrenia research of Dr. Cecilia Flores at McGill University, she was intrigued. A meeting with Dr. Flores and a master's degree proposal later, Ms. Grant is off to the Department of Neuroscience and Neurosurgery at McGill this fall. She's received a Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS) from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). This prestigious scholarship is awarded to students of high academic success who are entering postgraduate studies. The CGS is given to the top-ranked applicants and is based on not only academic success, but also communication skills, research potential demonstrated and the interpersonal/leadership skills. "The brains of schizophrenics are structurally and functionally different from other people. We know that environmental factors such as obstetrical difficulties can cause alterations in brains and these changes resemble those seen in schizophrenic patients, however we don't know exactly how this happens," says Ms. Grant. "The goal of the research that I will be doing next year is to elucidate the cellular and biochemical mechanisms through which perinatal injury leads to these changes. Ultimately, if we can figure out how these changes occur in the developing brain, then we could develop a way of countering these effects and potentially decrease the risk of developing this terribly debilitating disease." Ms. Grant is this summer working with Dr. Janet Yee, of the Department of Chemistry, on the organism Giardia lamblia, which causes Beaver Fever. For this work, she has received a National Sciences and Engineering Research Council Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA), an award that allows an undergraduate student to work alongside a faculty member for the summer. Ms. Grant came to Trent four years ago as a mature student. She graduated high school in 1996 and went on to take massage therapy at Fleming College. She became a registered massage therapist and worked for two years when she realized pain in her hands would prevent her from continuing her career long term. While she was apprehensive to go back to school, she soon rediscovered her love of learning. "Trent, because of its intimate nature, provided the opportunity for someone like me to go back to school. This put me on a totally different path, and now I want to stay in school forever," says Ms. Grant. Hoping she'll one day teach neuroscience at a small university, Ms. Grant says she'll have the option of switching from a master's to a Ph.D. program at McGill. But for now, she's thrilled to be continuing her education. "I just love to learn," she says, adding she is fascinated by the brain and inspired by the paradoxical nature of neuroscience. "Everything we do is essentially in this mass of cells up there – it's really fascinating to me." Posted June 29, 2005
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