Neuroscience pioneer Dr. Bryan Kolb to receive Honorary Degree

trevor.kenney — Thu, 07 May 2015 15:55:15 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Senate is pleased to announce the second of its 2015 Honorary Degree recipients – internationally renowned behavioural neuroscience expert and academic, Dr. Bryan Kolb.

Dr. Bryan E. Kolb is among the world’s leading researchers in an area that is critical to advancing the health of Canadians, better understanding the interrelationship between the brain and behaviour.

“Dr. Kolb is one of our longest serving and most respected faculty members, as well as a world renowned leader in neuroscience research and true pioneer in his field,” says ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Chancellor Janice Varzari. “In addition to his work in the lab, he is an inspiring educator who has helped ignite a passion for science and discovery amongst countless students. It is our pleasure to present him with an honorary degree.”

The U of L will present Dr. Bryan Kolb with the degree of Doctor of Science, honouris causa, at the Spring 2015 Convocation Ceremony II on Thursday, May 28, 2015 at 2:30 p.m. in the 1st Choice Savings Centre for Sport and Wellness.

Dr. Bryan Kolb

Bryan E. Kolb is among the world’s leading researchers in an area that is critical to advancing the health of Canadians: better understanding the interrelationship between the brain and behaviour. A ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge faculty member since 1976, and today its Board of Governor’s Research Chair in Neuroscience, Bryan Kolb was instrumental in establishing the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience as a world leader in neuroscience research.

His explorations have resulted in many innovative breakthroughs that have revolutionized how we think of human brain science. He was among the first to discover the brain’s full capacity to recover from injury thanks to plasticity – its ability to change throughout life. Because of his pioneering research, brain plasticity has become a foundational platform for today’s neuroscience research. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ awarded him the Ingrid Speaker Medal for Distinguished Research in 1999.

As an academic, Bryan Kolb has made a profound impact on advancing the study of neuroscience and cultivating the next generation of researchers in the field. In the classroom, his talent, scientific curiosity and passion translate into an engaging and nurturing teaching style that inspires students to succeed. In 1991, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ honoured him with a Distinguished Teaching Award.

To further help advance the discipline of behavioural neuroscience, Bryan Kolb has shared his extensive knowledge by publishing 304 refereed articles, five books and 58 book chapters. He has also delivered numerous presentations and workshops about brain development for a wide spectrum of audiences, and his significant achievements in behavioural neuroscience have led to many honours and awards.

For his extensive and important contributions as a researcher and academic to the field of behavioural neuroscience, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is proud to confer upon Bryan E. Kolb the degree of Doctor of Science, honouris causa.

Influential researcher Pellis earns Ingrid Speaker Medal

trevor.kenney — Tue, 27 May 2014 17:37:22 +0000

Dr. Sergio Pellis’s influential research on animal behaviour and behavioural neuroscience has received international recognition. It has also earned him accolades at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, where he was named the 2014 winner of the Ingrid Speaker Medal for Distinguished Research, Scholarship, or Performance.

His research, focussing on investigating the development of play and mastering the evaluation of movement, has received local, national and international attention.

Pellis came to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge psychology department in 1990, and eventually moved to the Department of Neuroscience in 2005. His research focuses on investigating the development of play and mastering the evaluation of movement. He and other researchers found that play can be seen in animals other than mammals. Play changes the brains of mammals and is critical for normal social development. He has amassed a rich collection of data on primates and rodents, resulting in several fascinating conclusions on the role and purpose of play in mammals. He is, arguably, the world’s foremost expert on social play behaviour.

His second major research area is behavioural analysis, and employs several notational systems to describe movement. After receiving his PhD, Pellis received a postdoctoral fellowship to study the deficits in movement seen in people with Parkinson’s disease. He collaborates with colleagues from other departments to continue this line of work at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. Studying how movement is affected in people with neural damage benefits those with Parkinson’s and enhances our knowledge of normal behaviour. In his research, he looks for general principles of behaviour that underlie movement, and may eventually contribute to the development of robotics. He seeks to understand how individual and environmental factors influence the evolution of brain and behaviour.

Pellis’s research has attracted attention on local, national and international stages, and has received funding from such notable agencies as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. He has made more than 180 conference presentations, and his 2009 book, The Playful Brain, prompted an invitation from a Minister of Alberta Education policy advisor to a workshop on investigating educational policy. He was also part of a series of workshops in Lethbridge about fostering early learning. He has written more than 175 papers, inspiring more than 3,500 citations and 25 book chapters. Over the past decade, Pellis has been cited an average of 200 times per year, and he was appointed a Board of Governors Research Chair in 2007.

UNews - Ingrid Speaker Medal

Neuroscience pioneer Dr. Bryan Kolb to receive Honorary Degree

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Influential researcher Pellis earns Ingrid Speaker Medal

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