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ABOUT US
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RESOURCES
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High School Committee 2020-21
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Kenza IBRIR - Co-President
Kenza is a master's student at University of Montreal, under the supervision of Dr. Elana Pinchefsky at CHU Sainte-Justine. Her research project focuses on finding concrete measures to improve the neurological outcome of newborns with congenital heart disease (CHD) through the analysis of brain activity (EEG). Kenza is beginning her 3rd year with BrainReach as a volunteer but also as the co-president of the BRHS committee. She always enjoys reading a good book or listening to a podcast! |
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Alexa MEILLEUR - Co-President
Alexa is a second year PhD student in clinical psychology at UQAM. Her research focuses on autism and restricted interests, under the supervision of Dr. Isabelle Soulières. She is also interested in neuropsychology and her previous research was aimed at understanding sensory integration in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism and dyslexia. Her involvement in BrainReach began as a volunteer presenter during the 2018-2019 school year, and she is now involved as a co-president. In her spare time, she loves to play volleyball, dance and hang out with friends! |
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Neus BALLESTER - English School and Volunteer Coordinator
Neus is a PhD student in Neuroscience at Université de Montréal. She investigates the biological basis of sleep and internal rhythms of the body. She works registering the brain activity of sleeping mice and analysing changes in their brain connections. This year she will contribute to BrainReach being English School and Volunteer Coordinators! In her free time, she sings in a choir, reads about the world and loves spending weekends in nature doing kayak or hikes. |
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Amanda McFARLAN - English School and Volunteer Coordinator
Amanda is a PhD candidate in Neuroscience at McGill University. She studies the role of neocortical Vip interneuron plasticity in epileptic seizures. This year she will be one of the English School and Volunteer Coordinators for BrainReach High School! In her free time, she likes to sing, bake and hang out with her dog. |
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Zeeshan HAQQEE - External Events Coordinator
Zeeshan is a Neuroscience PhD student at McGill University. He uses miniature microscopes to study the neural activity of learning and memory in mice while they complete cognitive tests on a touchscreen. Previously, he completed his Masters in Psychology studying the sound localization properties of auditory neurons in echolocating bats. Zeeshan began volunteering in high schools and local events for BrainReach last year, and is now working as the External Events Coordinator. When he gets the chance, Zeeshan enjoys nature, biking, and practicing various musical instruments. |
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Marie-Eve PICARD - French School and Volunteer Coordinator
Marie-Eve is a master student in psychology at Université de Montréal under the supervision of Professor Pierre Rainville. Her research project aims to identify a brain signature of the facial expression of pain using functional magnetic resonance imaging data. Her involvement in BrainReach began last year as a volunteer and continued this year as the french volunteers and school coordinator. Outside the lab, Marie-Eve’s interests include reading, training, and spending time with her dog! |
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Zoë WARD - French School and Volunteer Coordinator
Zoë is currently an MSc student in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience at McGill University. She is researching how the effects of a combined treatment of sildenafil and hypothermia may secure better neurologic futures for babies that suffer from hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Zoë has worked for over ten years with neurodiverse groups of children in Canada and the United Kingdom. She is looking forward to bringing her experience and enthusiasm to Brain Reach in this next chapter, as both a volunteer presenter and a French School and Volunteer Coordinator. In her free time, Zoë can be found cooking elaborate meals, cycling on Mount Royal or knitting yet another sweater. |
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Alexia OSTROLENK - University Liaison Officer
Alexia is a PhD candidate in Psychiatric Science at Université de Montréal. She studies hyperlexia, the precocious development of reading skills in autistic children. She started with BrainReach as a volunteer presenter in 2016. She then became French high school coordinator, before holding the position of BrainReach High School Co-President from 2018 to 2020. This year, Alexia will lead a sub-committee that will focus on BrainReach’s expansion and collaboration between Montreal’s universities. She is passionate about science communication and can be found baking treats, reading a good book, taking care of her plants or hiking in the mountains. |
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Aaron GLICK - Slides and Virtual Material Officer
Aaron is a graduate student at McGill’s School of Communication Sciences and Disorders. He studies how young children learn words from screen media, and is developing a tablet app to administer clinical tests and diagnose speech disorders like apraxia. As a first time volunteer, he is excited to be part of the BrainReach team helping update and adapt the lessons for online delivery. Aaron is usually found outside reading, hiking, or ice skating or inside designing wood furniture, learning clarinet, or cooking elaborate meals. |
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Julia BIRIS - Slides and Virtual Material Officer
Julia is starting her first year of the Master of Science in Public Health program at McGill University and recently completed her undergraduate degree in neuroscience at McGill. During her undergrad she was involved in research examining the causal role of activity in the ventral hippocampus to nucleus accumbens pathway in modulating anxiety- and depressive-like behaviours in mice both before and after being subjected to chronic stress. Julia previously volunteered with BrainReach elementary as a presenter in 2018 and she is excited to get involved with BrainReach high school as supervisor of the virtual material team. In her free time, Julia enjoys hiking, camping, running, playing ultimate frisbee, biking around Montreal, and spending time with her friends. |