UNews - peer-to-peer

5 Questions with Dr. Sergio Pellis

trevor.kenney — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 21:51:54 +0000

Dr. Sergio M. Pellis has been a professor at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge since 1990 with the main focus of his research being on the role peer-to-peer play has in the development of social competence. Using various species, ranging from laboratory rodents to primates, such as the great apes, Pellis has shown that rough-and-tumble play is composed of dissociable subcomponents (e.g., attack, defense) and that there are species differences in how such play can be modified at different ages and contexts.

What first piqued your interest in your research discipline?

It came in several steps. The first, when I was five years old and realized that my ambition in life was to study animals; the second, midway through my undergraduate degree in zoology when I realized that the behaviour of animals was what turned me on the most; the third, by the end of my degree when I realized that the most intriguing aspect of animal behaviour was how it develops; and the fourth step was when I discovered that play, a feature of behaviour common to the childhood of many animals, posed an intriguing problem concerning development. The last step came when I was doing post-doctoral research in behavioural neuroscience and realized that looking at the brain was another important avenue by which to understand behaviour and how it changes over time. Altogether, this led to an interest in how the brain produces and regulates play behaviour and how play behaviour changes the functioning of the brain.

Dr. Sergio Pellis believes unstructured play has a major role in child development.

How is your research applicable in "the real world"?

Aside from providing a model for further research into understanding the mechanisms that underlie the feedback relationship between brain and behaviour, the "real world" applicability of my research concerns our societal practices in child rearing. The current trend for both parents and schools to curtail the opportunity for free play in general, and rough and tumble play in particular, may have important implications for the development of social skills in children. Indeed, there is data, albeit given the limits imposed on research on humans, that show that children with greater opportunity to engage in free play, especially rough housing play, are socially more proficient and score better in their academic work. Our laboratory-based experiments on rats provide evidence for the causal mechanisms by which play may have these beneficial effects.

What is the greatest honour you have received in your career?

To have been able to work on the problem that has been of most interest to me, to have made some novel discoveries and to have peers use some of my work as a basis for developing and testing hypotheses. Even more exciting has been independent support for some of the ideas generated in my laboratory. That is about as good as it gets.

How important are students to your research endeavours?

Undergraduate and graduate students, as well as post-doctoral fellows, have been an instrumental part of my research program and the successes that I have had in that program. Students bring several assets to a research program. First, they are young and full of energy. Second, they are motivated to succeed. Third, they bring fresh eyes and insights to the problem under investigation. The best students that I have had are those who have challenged what I told them is important or noticed something new in the phenomenon that I had missed. I have found that directing a good student to a problem, giving them ownership of that problem, and letting them loose on it, has, many times, produced major breakthroughs in the research. I wouldn't have reached the level of understanding about play that I have without the valuable contributions of the students who have worked with me.

If you had unlimited funds, which areas of research would you invest?

As well as unlimited funds, this scenario would require multiple lifetimes, but if you are going to dream, dream big. I would still study play, but I would push the two lines of research that I study now to greater depth.

First, I would combine levels of analysis – behaviour, brain anatomy at the cellular and sub-cellular level, genetic and other molecular changes associated with play, and electrophysiology of specific brain areas known to be associated with play. Such an integrated approach would allow a full mapping of the brain changing effects of play experience in the juvenile period, and characterize how those changes transform the functional capabilities of the brain.

Second, one of the insights that has arisen from my work on the play of rats and other rodents is the finding that the ability to 'play with play' depends on specialized mechanisms in the cortex, particularly the prefrontal cortex. It is likely that changes in these mechanisms have led to the evolution of the human exaggeration of fantasy in their play.

I would like to finally answer the question of how humans have evolved their seemingly unique features of play, and so would be able to characterize the brain changes that are involved in producing those features.

Each month, the Legend will present 5 Questions With . . . one of our researchers. For a look at the entire catalog of 5 Questions With . . . features, check out the Office of Research and Innovation Services website at www.uleth.ca/research/research_profiles. If you'd like to be profiled, contact Penny Pickles at pickpj@uleth.ca

This story first appeared in the February 2013 edition of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Supporting the next generation of artists

trevor.kenney — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:04:44 +0000

Visit Kelly Andres' website and you'll find a photo of a pair of feet, wearing yellow shoes and black tights, sticking out from a backyard tent; in another, a black beetle lingers on an outstretched hand; in yet another, a pair of lamps appear to be wearing gauzy gowns in a living room.

Andres is an artist with a penchant for transforming mundane, everyday objects into something whimsical or even absurd, as these images from her website illustrate. An interdisciplinary artist, her creations often employ digital technology and elements of performance art. The result is an unusual spectacle that engages many audiences – even those who don't 'speak art.'

"I tend to make work about my everyday. I'm kind of a sponge: whatever's around me at the time seems to come out in my work," says Andres. "For a while, I was working as an environmental educator and that started to come out in my work – I started to work with bikes and plants. I find whatever's happening in our lives is very relevant and usually needs to be talked about or reflected upon."

Her education has also taken an unusual trajectory. After completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art at the U of L, she opted to stay for her master's degree and work with faculty members Professor Mary Kavanagh and Dr. Joanne Fiske. She also worked with Professor Michael Campbell and other members of the faculty who provided direction and inspiration.

At the time, the U of L didn't have a Master of Fine Arts program, so the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ offered Andres a different option: an individualized, multidisciplinary Master of Arts, in which she could blend fine arts with women's studies.

"In doing so, I explored both the theoretical side of women and gender studies in art, and incorporated a studio practice as well," she explains. "It was essentially a double degree."

The program was a great fit for the budding artist and thinker, says Kavanagh, one of her supervisors.

"It doesn't take much for Kelly to continue to grow and learn and strive – that's what makes her a good artist," Kavanagh explains.

As a graduate student, Andres began to show her work all over the world, first in Vancouver, and then New York, followed by exhibitions in several European countries and Singapore, where she completed an artist's residency. As Andres didn't have a cohort of students with whom she could relate during her program, the international travel filled a gap, providing opportunities to connect with other like-minded artists.

"What's important about residency and exhibition forums is that Kelly was able to connect to a larger world and to bring these experiences back to her studies in a very direct way," Kavanagh explains.

In fact, Andres' desire to engage with the world is partly why she's been so successful, says Kavanagh.

"In the visual arts, we try to help students connect through their own work and explorations with current disciplinary theory and practice – we encourage students with the interest, capacity and drive to go into the world and engage beyond the classroom."

Talented artists like Andres have created a critical mass at the U of L in recent years, prompting the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to create two new graduate programs: a Master of Fine Arts and Master of Music. Starting in September 2009, students wishing to pursue the next level of their education in art, dramatic arts, new media or music can do so at this institution.

James Dobbie, assistant dean, student program services in the Faculty of Fine Arts, explains that the new programs also reflect the evolution of the university. For many years, the U of L has had an undergraduate emphasis, despite attracting a large number of graduate students. But in recent years, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's research capacity has grown enormously, drawing more and more students to its graduate programs.

Although the U of L is smaller than other research institutions in Alberta, graduate students will receive resources they might not receive at larger schools, says Dobbie.

"The facilities we have are second to none in terms of what we can offer graduate students."

Graduate students in art, for instance, will receive individual studio space, a benefit which is rare at large institutions. As well, students in Fine Arts graduate programs will have superior access to funding opportunities, including a scholarship called the Advantage Award.

"For each month of studies, the student is guaranteed to receive $1,000 in income from the university," Dobbie explains.

One year after completing her master's degree, Andres is preparing to move to Montreal in the fall where she'll begin an interdisciplinary PhD at Concordia ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. Ultimately, she has set her sights on academia and says her experience working on her graduate research under Kavanagh and other faculty members has prepared her well. She's grateful to have received the mentorship she did as well as the opportunity to work independently.

"It was always my own work and my own voice, but Mary provided a lot of really great conversations. It was quite peer-to-peer at a certain level…It was great not to have your own ideas squashed down or evaporated, which allowed me to trust her and open up so my work could be more fluid."

UNews - peer-to-peer

5 Questions with Dr. Sergio Pellis

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Supporting the next generation of artists

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