BrainReach
BrainReach Elementary
Picture
Contact Us
FR | EN
ABOUT US
• Meet Our Team
• ​Sessions Overview
• Register Now 
RESOURCES​
​• Our Blog
• On Education 
• ​On Neuroscience
SESSION MATERIALS 
Volunteer access only
• Session 1
• Session 2
• Session 3
• Session 4
• Session 5
• Session 6
• Session 7
• Session 8

BrainReach Elementary Committee 2020-21

Picture
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!
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.
Picture
Picture
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.
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.
Picture
Picture
​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
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!
Picture
Picture
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!
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.
Picture
Picture
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.
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.
Picture
Picture
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! ​
HILARY SWEATMAN - Materials Distributor
Hilary is a PhD student in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience. Her interests include cognitive development and education, and her research focuses on memory and social cognition in children with autism. Hilary is passionate about science outreach and hopes to encourage active learning, curiosity, and enthusiasm about the brain with her students. She spends her free time baking, kayaking, and exploring Montreal!
Picture

Previous Committee Members

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