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ABOUT US
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RESOURCES
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BrainReach Elementary Committee 2020-21
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SOFIA SKROMNE - Co-President
Sofia is a third year PhD Neuroscience student at McGill. She moved to Montreal after completing her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and Biochemistry at the University of Toronto. She is currently studying the navigational system of the brain. On weekends, she enjoys running and baking. This is her third year at BrainReach Elementary and her first year as Co-President. She is super excited to be leading the team! |
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ALICE BRUNEAU - Co-President
Born and raised in Montreal, Alice has always been passionate about the brain and how it works. Her passion for sports has led to many experiences with pain and injuries, which got her wondering why people feel pain differently. With her expertise in pharmacology and neuroscience, she is completing a PhD at McGill, studying chronic pain and opioid misuse. On the weekends, she is passionate about puppies, cooking a good meal, playing various sports (at the beach or in the snow!) as well as just having a good time with her friends and family. Alice joined the BrainReach family in 2018 and became co-president in 2020. |
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ARIELLE CRESTOL - English Volunteer Coordinator
Arielle is a master’s student at McGill in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience. She is passionate about creating a better understanding of Alzheimer’s risk in women and is currently using imaging techniques to study the effects of menopause and genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s on memory and brain function. As an enthusiast of all things science, she is excited to introduce neuroscience to kids in a fun and engaging way! Outside of the lab, she enjoys spending her time either in nature or curling up with her cat and a good book. |
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ANNIE PHAN - Materials Coordinator
After completing her undergraduate degree in Biology and Psychology and Master's degree in Neuroscience, Annie is now a PhD student in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience at McGill. She is interested in studying how prenatal and early life stressors and experiences affect neurodevelopment using mice models, studying how they relate to neuropsychiatric disorders. Annie is an avid traveler and has visited over 50 countries in 6 continents. She hopes to one day run a marathon in Antarctica. When not in the lab or traveling, Annie can be found training at her local kickboxing gym. |
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ALEXANDRA POTVIN-DESROCHERS -
French School Coordinator & French Translator After completing her undergraduate degree and the MSc in Kinesiology, Alexandra is now doing her PhD in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience at McGill. Her research uses brain imaging and non-invasive brain stimulation to study locomotion symptoms of individuals with Parkinson’s disease. This is Alexandra’s fifth year volunteering for BrainReach and her second year as a coordinator. She is now the French School Coordinator, and is also part of the on-call French translators team |
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NEETI JAIN - Social Media Manager
Neeti is in the first year of her Masters in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience at McGill University. She researches POLR3a leukodystrohpies, a rare neurodegenerative disease affecting children, at the McGill University Health Center. She loves working with children and is excited to be a part of BrainReach. She loves to paint and loves all animals, especially cats and snakes! |
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JULIA MACINTOSH - External Events Coordinator
Julia is a second year master’s student in the Integrated Program of Neuroscience at McGill University. Her research is focused on a subset of cells in the brain, oligodendrocytes, and their role in RNA polymerase III-related leukodystrophy. In her free time, Julia loves being outdoors, hiking, and kayaking. As external events coordinator, she is super enthusiastic about organizing outreach events for BrainReach! |
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JUSTINE FORTIN-HOUDE -
French Volunteer Coordinator Justine is a first year PhD student in Neuroscience at Université de Montréal. She studies a brain circuit well positioned to modulate memory formation in different emotional context using optogenetics, fiber photometry and electrophysiological recordings. Whenever she has time, she enjoys outdoor activities. Sharing her passion for neuroscience with kids always brighten her day. She wishes all kids could be introduced to basic knowledge about the brain. Justine has been a volunteer teacher for two years and will now begin her third year with BrainReach as a volunteer coordinator. |
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ALEXANDER BAILEY - Presentation Designer and BrainReach Blogs
A recent graduate of Concordia University with a BSc degree in Honours Psychology (Behavioural Neuroscience), Alex Bailey is now a Masters of Neuroscience Student at the IPN in the Sharp Lab. Keenly interested in cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging, Alex is delighted to be on BrainReach Elementary’s Presentation Design and Blogs team. Having experienced BrainReach when he was in elementary school himself, Alex hopes that his full-circle journey might help inspire another generation to pursue the beauty and wonder of science and neuroscience. |
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MITCHELL PROSTEBBY - English School Coordinator
Born and raised in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Mitchell is a passionate new member of the BrainReach team in his 3rd year of his Masters degree at McGill. How the brain processes the rich information we encounter in the natural world has always been a key interest for him and he is eager to pass this passion on to the next generation of students. His studies focus on how sensory neurons of the vestibular system are adapted to encode our own movements in everyday activities. Outside of the lab, Mitchell loves getting into the outdoors, playing the piano, and enjoying time with friends. |
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SHAIMA ALSUWAIDI -
Materials Distributor and Presentation Designer Shaima is a 3rd year PhD student in the IPN. Her research interests lie in using stem cells derived from patients to study the phenotypes and mechanisms of neurodevelopmental disorders. This is her 3rd year volunteering with Brain Reach Elementary, and she is currently working on presentation content and design. She is passionate about inspiring people to use their skills and contribute to communities, and has been organizing creative learning programs in the UAE, Jordan and Zanzibar before joining McGill. Feel free to reach out to her if you want to chat about creative ideas! |
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Previous Committee Members
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2019-20
Co-President - Noor Al-Sharif Co-President - Hyo Lee Volunteer Coordinator - Arianna Izawa-Ishiguro Volunteer Coordinator - Badriah Basma French School Coordinator - Alice Bruneau English School Coordinator - Camille Couture Materials Coordinator - Victoria Jones Materials Distributor - Hilary Sweatman Materials Distributor - Shaima Alsuwaidi Materials Distributor - Sofia Skromne Presentation Designer - Alexa Derksen Presentation Designer - Nicholas James External Events - Sonja Soo Communications Officer - Alexander Bailey French Translator - Alexandra Potvin-Desrochers 2016-17
President - Daniel Zhou Volunteer Coordinator - Yvonne Yau Volunteer Coordinator - Zahraa Chorghay French School Coordinator - Anastasia Sares French School Coordinator - Marie-Julie Allard English School Coordinator - Sreeparna Pradhan English School Coordinator - Gloria Castaneda Material Preparation - Reesha Raja Material Distributor - Noor Al-Sharif Presentation Designer - Scott Bell Presentation Designer - Keren Ginzberg Communications/Social Media - Falisha Karpati |
2018-19
President - Noor Al-Sharif Volunteer Coordinator - Yvonne Yau Volunteer Coordinator - Zahraa Chorghay French School Coordinator - Alice Bruneau English School Coordinator - Nicole Ledwos Materials Preparation - Jennifer Boateng Materials Distributor - Nicholas James Presentation Designer - Reesha Raja Presentation Designer - Hyo Min Lee External Events - Gloria Castaneda Communications/Social Media - Marie-Julie Allard 2015-16
President - Falisha Karpati Volunteer Coordinator - Yvonne Yau Volunteer Coordinator - Zahraa Chorghay French School Coordinator - Veronique Laforte French School Coordinator - Anastasia Sares English School Coordinator - Gloria Castaneda English School Coordinator - Sreeparna Pradhan Materials Preparation - Kangjoo Lee Materials Distributor - Reesha Raja Presentation Design - Daniel Zhou Presentation Design - Scott Bell |
2017-18
President - Anastasia Sares Volunteer Coordinator - Yvonne Yau Volunteer Coordinator - Zahraa Chorghay French School Coordinator - Maria Zamfir French School Coordinator - Marie-Julie Allard English School Coordinator - Scott Bell English School Coordinator - Gloria Castaneda Materials Preparation - Philip Cooper Materials Distributor - Jennifer Boateng Presentation Designer - Noor Al-Sharif Presentation Designer - Reesha Raja Communications/Social Media - Katrine Iversen Previous years
Emily Coffey, Jonathan Berken, Laureline Arnaud, Jessie Kulaga, Neda Parine, Sibylle Herholz, Jenea Bin, Cindy Hovington, Pascal Kropf, Rola Dali, Gina Trinh, Ian Mahar |