Researchers in the making
Exploring the brain
The co-recipients of the 2008 McLeod Scholarship spend their days delving into the workings of the brain.
Pierre Mattar and Karl Iremonger have a number of things in common. Both are Ph.D. students in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary. Both are involved in studies of the brain. And now they are co-recipients of a scholarship named in honour of Dr. Lionel McLeod, the first president and CEO of AHFMR.
"This award represents security to me," says Mattar, now in the final stages of a six-year doctoral program. "It means I will be supported to finish my Ph.D."
His field is neurogenesis, the study of how brain cells are made. His research in the lab of AHFMR Senior Scholar Dr. Carol Schuurmans could lead to ways of replacing brain cells when they become damaged or die. Mattar's work asks some interesting questions: Do genes impact the process of brain-cell development? Does the environment? If so, in what ways?
Understanding how normal brain tissue develops will also lead us understand processes that could lead to abnormal development. "If you don't know how the car works, it's hard to fix it," he explains. He hopes that his research will one day help others design therapies for those with brain injuries or inherited mental deficiencies.
He is making progress. Mattar has discovered two genetic pathways that can be activated in certain cells to make specific types of brain cell-no small feat, considering that there are tens of thousands of types in existence.
Co-winner Karl Iremonger has spent the last two and a half years in the lab of AHFMR Senior Scholar Dr. Jaideep Bains, studying how nerve cells in particular regions of the brain cope with stress and injury. He is especially interested in how these brain cells are affected by physical stressors such as dehydration and severe blood loss. While the objectives of his research can be simply stated, his actual research is far from simple.
Iremonger is studying how the activity of a certain type of brain cell is controlled. When hemorrhage or dehydration occurs, these cells become excited and release a hormone called vasopressin into the bloodstream. The correct amount of vasopressin helps the person or animal survive. Too much vasopressin, however, can be a bad thing; excessive quantities contribute to such diseases as congestive heart failure. So Iremonger is also researching how the activity of these cells gets switched off.
Iremonger is not looking for a treatment or cure for one particular disease any more than Mattar is. His work is more general in nature, directed at understanding the basic cellular workings of the brain. The McLeod Scholarship will not only help fund his training and continued research, but will also help motivate him. "Winning this award is a good incentive to keep working hard," says Iremonger. "It's great to be recognized."