BCN Research
BCN Faculty members are in various departments (Integrative Biology, Biomedical Science, Psychology, Chemistry & Biochemistry and Kinesiology). They share research and academic interest in the study of behaviour, cognition and/or neuroscience and enrich our education with their unique perspectives.
Our researchers include neuro-ethologists, behavioural ecologists, and evolutionary ecologists. They investigate the behaviour and ecology of wild animals, including birds and fishes. Research programs include FishCAST which is federally funded to train the next generation of Canadian scientists in freshwater fisheries and fish conservation, including the behaviour of fishes.
Our researchers includes cognitive neuroscientists and clinical neuropsychologists. Our research programs investigate the fundamental nature of language and memory, improved cognitive assessment tools for people with neurological conditions, and interventions for people across the lifespan, including children with impulse control disorders and older adults with dementia.
Several of our researchers are also associated with the WESpark Health Institute.
These neuroscientists include neurophysiologists, neuroanatomists, neuropharmacologists, as well as cell and molecular biologists and also biochemists. The research groups investigate sensory systems such as the auditory system, the chemosensory systems and nociceptors. Cellular and molecular aspects of diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease and intestinal disorders are under study and these groups are affiliated with the newly formed WE-SPARK Health Institute.
Undergraduate students are encouraged to engage in undergraduate research, as it provides opportunities to develop both technical and transferrable skills. Each BCN student joins a BCN research group during the early years of the program. The completion of a research project on a topic within BCN research is mandatory for graduation.
Neuroscience and Behaviour graduate students are engaged in the labs of BCN faculty across the Departments of Biomedical Sciences, Integrative Biology and Psychology. Some of this graduate research integrates biochemical, molecular, physiological, behavioural and cognitive aspects of neuroscience.
Colloquium
Colloquium is defined as an academic seminar on a broad field of study, usually led by a different lecturer at each meeting. For the BCN program, these are mandatory to attend. A major focus of the BCN program is to allow undergraduate students the opportunity to gain research experience in a professor's lab. The BCN faculty is comprised of researchers from the biology, psychology, chemistry and human kinetics departments.
Lecturers from outside the university also come in to present their research in the field of behaviour, cognition or neuroscience.
What are you waiting for, come on down and learn something new and connect with the professors! Colloquia run bi-weekly during the school year on Thursdays at 4:00 pm in Biology Building room 122, all are welcome!