Dr. Andrew Iwaniuk

Andrew Iwaniuk was born in Toronto, but grew up in Edmonton. He started his university career at the University of Alberta and then transferred to Monash University in Melbourne, Australia where he completed his Honours degree under Dr. John E. Nelson. He then returned to Canada for his MSc at the University of Lethbridge on feeding behaviour in carnivores under Drs.
Pellis and Whishaw. For his PhD, he returned to Australia to focus on the evolution of the brain in birds, with much of his focus on parrots. He then worked as a post-doctoral fellow alongside Dr. Douglas Wong-Wylie at the University of Alberta on avian neuroanatomy and neurochemistry.
Finally, he completed a brief stint as a research fellow at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC where he worked on sensory specializations in extinct and rare birds.
His current research addresses two main questions: 1) how have the brain and behaviour evolved in concert with one another; and 2) what are the neurobehavioural effects of exposure to persistent organic pollutants.

Bird Brain's Lab: http://scholar.ulethbridge.ca/iwaniuk/home

Gutiérrez-Ibáñez C, Iwaniuk AN, Wylie DR. (in press) Relative size of auditory pathways in symmetrically and asymmetrically eared owls (Strigiformes). Brain Behav Evol

Wylie DR, Gutiérrez-Ibáñez C, Graham DJ, Kreuzer MB, Pakan JMP, Iwaniuk AN. (2011) Heterogeneity of parvalbumin expression in the avian cerebellar cortex and comparisons with zebrin II. Neuroscience 185: 73-84.

Iwaniuk AN (2011) The importance of scientific collecting and natural history museums to comparative neuroanatomy. Ann NY Acad Sci 1225(S1): E1-E19.

Iwaniuk AN, Heesy CP, Hall MI (2010) The morphometrics of the eyes and orbits of the nocturnal Swallow-tailed Gull (Creagrus furcatus). Can J Zool 88: 855-865.

Iwaniuk AN, Gutiérrez-Ibáñez C, Pakan JMP, Wylie DR (2010) Allometric scaling of the tectofugal pathway in birds. Brain Behav Evol 75: 122-137.

Sol D, Garcia N, Iwaniuk A, Davis K, Meade A, Boyle A, Szekely T (2010) Evolutionary divergence in brain size between migratory and resident birds. PLoS ONE 5: e9613.

Gutiérrez-Ibáñez C, Iwaniuk AN, Wylie DR (2009) The independent evolution of the enlargement of the principal sensory nucleus of the trigeminal nerve (PrV) in three different groups of birds. Brain Behav Evol 74: 280-294.

Wylie DR, Gutiérrez-Ibáñez C, Pakan JMP, Iwaniuk AN (2009) The optic tectum of birds: Mapping our way to understanding visual processing. Can J Exp Psychol 63: 328-338.

Iwaniuk AN, Olson SL, James HF (2009) Extraordinary cranial specialization in a new genus of extinct duck (Aves: Anseriformes) from Kauai, Hawaiian Islands. Zootaxa 2296: 47-67.

Hall MI, Gutiérrez-Ibáñez C, Iwaniuk AN (2009) The morphology of the optic foramen and activity pattern in birds. Anat Rec 292: 1827-1845.

Iwaniuk AN, Gutiérrez-Ibáñez C, Pakan JMP, Wylie DR (2009) Expression of calcium binding proteins in cerebellar- and inferior olivary-projecting neurons in the nucleus lentiformis mesencephali of pigeons. Vis Neurosci 26: 341-347.

Iwaniuk AN, Lefebvre L, Wylie DRW (2009) The comparative approach and brain-behaviour relationships: A tool for understanding tool use. Can J Exp Psychol 63: 50-59.

Guay P-J, Iwaniuk AN (2009) Inter-specific variation in relative brain size is not correlated with intensity of sexual selection in waterfowl (Anseriformes). Austr J Zool 56: 311-321.

Iwaniuk AN, Marzban H, Hawkes R, Pakan JMP, Watanabe M, Wylie DRW (2009) Compartmentation of the cerebellar cortex of hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae) revealed by the expression of zebrin II and phospholipase cb4. J Chem Neuroanat 37: 55-63.