LEARNING. MEMORY. COGNITION.
Welcome to the Department of Neuroscience
We are a group of neuroscientists who approach the study of the brain from the point of view of the behavioural and cognitive function of distributed neural systems.
Our Department at the University of Lethbridge was the first established neuroscience department in the country and home to some of Canada’s most famous neuroscientists. Our faculty have a wide range of interests that span topics such as memory, neuroplasticity, comparative neurology, brain development, neurodegenerative disease, recovery after injury, decision making, gambling, play, sleep and stress. And all of our faculty have national and international reputations for their work. The Department is located in the Science Commons, Canada's more advanced faility for science education and research. This new $280-million facility truly puts science on display and will inspire the next generation of researchers, entrepreneurs and leaders. With open and flexible laboratories, makerspaces and specialized outreach spaces, students from kindergarten to PhD-level, faculty and community members will have boundless opportunities for hands-on learning, collaboration and discovery.
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Department Highlights
Researcher’s work on how gut inflammation drives changes in brain structure earns national recognition
Seeking to understand how chronic gut inflammation drives changes in brain structure, function, and behaviour, University of Lethbridge postdoctoral researcher Dr. Chelsea Matisz (BSc ’05, MSc ’09) has received national recognition in support of her quest. Now, as she focuses on how cannabinoids and psilocybin may help remediate chronic inflammation-induced changes in brain and behaviour, she’s excited about the therapeutic potential of her work.
Matisz recently received a L'Oréal Canada For Women in Science Research Excellence Fellowship and one of three Royal Society of Canada Alice Wilson Awards. The support validates how important her research is and how widespread and debilitating gut inflammation can be for people.
University of Lethbridge neuroscientist Dr. Robert Sutherland to receive distinguished contribution award
Marking a stellar career as a researcher and professor, ULethbridge’s Dr. Robert Sutherland has been named winner of the 2022 Donald O. Hebb Distinguished Contribution Award by the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour & Cognitive Science (CSBBCS).
The award recognizes those who’ve made a significant contribution to the study of brain, behaviour and cognitive science through their research, training of others and leadership in the field.
Sutherland will receive his award on Tuesday, July 19 at the CSBBCS annual meeting in Halifax, where he will also deliver the Hebb Award Lecture.
Male experimenters make female rats uneasy
Researchers at the University of Lethbridge’s Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) have shown that the sex of an experimenter, a factor typically not accounted for in preclinical studies using rodents, could have an effect on study results. Their findings were recently published in Frontiers in Neuroscience.
Dr. Gerlinde Metz, along with Drs. Mirela Ambeskovic, Jamshid Faraji and others, compared the effects of male and female experimenters on male and female rats. In some situations, the experimenter was physically present and in others, unwashed T-shirts worn by the experimenters were placed in the room. Animals were handled by their male or female experimenters for five minutes a day for 10 days before any experimental manipulations were done to ensure the rats were used to the experimenters.
Shining Student Emily Hagens
uLethbridge is the university for Shining Student Emily Hagens because it is big enough to offer students great opportunities but small enough to allow students to make the connections they need in …
Shining Student Sean Park
Shining Student Sean Park chose uLethbridge because of the atmosphere and sense of community on a smaller campus—it allowed him to pursue a quality education while building relationships with faculty and peers to get …
Oladipo Olatona - Pronghorn Track and Field
"I feel like being a Black athlete in a university sport is a great honour. I feel like to an extent we represent others who might not have had the opportunity to do the same things …
Nicola Schatz
“Scientific research at uLethbridge is genuinely collaborative. Within a single lab and across multiple labs, you can help on various projects by sharing equipment, ideas and expertise in different protocols.”
U of L neuroscientist elected to the Royal Society of Canada
During his lengthy career, Dr. Rob Sutherland has made exceptional contributions to neuroscience.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation: Merrin Monteith
In this undergraduate research profile, we showcase the work Merrin Monteith is doing to understand the effects of CBD on age-related cognitive decline.
Career Bridge: Centre for Work-Integrated Learning and Career Development
Put Your Knowledge to Work
Whether you’re looking for a more in-depth learning experience by assisting with research projects on campus or by testing your knowledge in a real-life work setting, we can help! The University of Lethbridge is proud to offer you an exceptional opportunity to explore professional development through academic programs and services designed to give you a competitive edge in a fast-changing world.
You have a bright future — experience it via Career Bridge at uLethbridge!