The Brain Dynamics Lab, led by Dr. Andrea Protzner at the University of Calgary, is a diverse collection of doctoral and postdoctoral research trainees, undergraduate students, and volunteers. Together, we strive to reveal new understandings of the brain and how it changes across the lifespan and various impairments.

Dr. Andrea Protzner, PhD

She/her

My research goal is to build a framework that links cognitive integrity and neural dynamics to provide a coherent understanding of how cognition emerges from operations in the intact and impaired brain.

The following two areas of interest exemplify this approach:

Brain Signal Variability in the Context of Brain Damage: Computational research suggests that brain signal variability is an important parameter reflecting the functional integrity of neural systems. Thus, we can think of variability as a metric of what the system is capable of doing (whereas task-related signal indicates what the system is doing at any given moment of observation). I have shown that variability tracks both tissue health and functional capacity in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE). In my current work, I am trying to use signal variability to identify individual differences in cognitive resilience during aging, and the capacity to benefit from treatment in psychiatric disorders.

Brain Network Reorganization in Major Depressive Disorder: Ideally, to predict functional changes after focal alterations in brain function, one should take into account whole-brain network reorganization. My recent work focuses on how deep brain stimulation affects mood regulation networks in treatment resistant depression. The aim is to customize neurostimulation therapy by creating personalized computer models that simulate the effects of local stimulation on large-scale brain networks using patient-specific connectivity and anatomy.


LAB MEMBERS

Kelsey Cnudde

She/her

PhD Student

Kelsey Cnudde

Kelsey completed her Master’s with the Brain Dynamics Lab, co-supervised by Dr. Penny Pexman (Language Processing Lab), with a focus on the neuroplasticity involved in learning on a visual word recognition task. She is now a PhD candidate, co-supervised by Dr. Andrea Protzner and Dr. Julia Kam (Internal Attention Lab). Her PhD research explores the brain dynamics associated with drug-resistant epilepsy using intracranial EEG and fMRI. Her work examines the neural features that characterize epileptic brain regions, as well as how these features relate to cognitive function.


Michael Mclaren-Gradinaru

Michael McLaren-Gradinaru

He/him

PhD Student

Michael is a PhD student co-supervised by Dr. Giuseppe Iaria in the Spatial Cognition Lab (Neurolab). He has a passion for helping others and has focused his research primarily on understanding a complex spatial disorder known as Developmental Topographical Disorientation (DTD). For his PhD, he is examining the effect of this spatial training across different ages that are critical for the development of spatial navigation and orientation skills. He is using EEG to examine the brain-network changes that occur following orientation and navigation training, which will help to better understand how the training is affecting the brain.


Louisa Krile

Louisa Krile

She/her

Master’s Student

Louisa is an incoming PhD student in the Clinical Psychology program. She recently completed her master's thesis with the Brain Dynamics Lab, where she used EEG to explore neural dynamics related to mind-wandering that support task learning. For her PhD project, she will use fMRI to identify neural characteristics that can help guide a personalized approach to neurostimulation treatment for depression. Louisa is also committed to exploring how principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) can be integrated into depression treatment, with a focus on individual experiences with healthcare systems. Clinically, she is interested in conducting neuropsychological assessments with adults experiencing neurocognitive decline.


Aimee Clarke

Aimee Clarke

She/her

Master’s Student

Aimee is a second year master’s student supervised by Dr. Marc Poulin in the Brain in Motion study and the realm of extreme physiological processes. She completed her undergraduate degree in Halifax, Nova Scotia with honors in Psychology and have completed multiple volunteer opportunities in the scope of aging and cognitive decline. Aimee’s research interests include cognition and possible mitigation of this decline through exercise interventions in older adults at risk for dementia. In the future, she plans to either continue my education through a PhD program or pursue med school and improve the lives of others.


Anastasia Mukhametzyanova

She/her

Master’s Student

Anastasia Mukhametzyanova

Anastasia started her Master's degree in January of 2024. She is interested in using fMRI neuroimaging techniques to investigate the effects of sex and gender on the functional connectivity of the brain in the population diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder.  Specifically, she is interested in exploring such effects on patients before and after pharmacological treatment.


Kara Hayes

Kara Hayes

She/her

Master’s Student

Kara is a first year Master’s student in the Clinical Psychology program. She is passionate about factors affecting cognitive function across the lifespan. Her previous research investigated the effect of cognitive load on sensorimotor integration in individuals with a concussion history and she has investigated the effects of “chemofog” on the working memory of women actively undergoing breast cancer treatment. Her current general research interest is understanding the brain dynamics involved in typical versus atypical aging in the context of cognitive decline.


Bianca Ciorac

She/her

Honour’s Student

Bianca Ciorac

Bianca is a 4th year psychology student completing her undergraduate honours thesis over the 2024–2025 school year in the Brain Dynamics Lab. She has been volunteering in the lab since the fall of 2022 and has worked with several graduate students on EEG studies. Her research interests revolve around the neuropsychology of various clinical mental disorders and age–related disorders. Bianca will be applying to clinical (neuro)psychology graduate programs with the end goal of working in both academic and professional settings.


Kuljeet Chohan

She/her

Research Assistant

Kuljeet Chohan

Kuljeet is an undergraduate student and research assistant at the Brain Dynamics Lab. Having initially joined the lab as a summer student, Kuljeet investigated the relationship between brain signal complexity and mind-wandering states, gaining experience navigating technical issues with EEG equipment, analyzing brain data, and designing custom EEG tags. After being brought back to help train the lab's honour's students in 2024, Kuljeet became involved in other neuroimaging projects and helped plan conferences for the lab.


Grace Parente

Grace Parente

She/her

Research Assistant

Grace has been volunteering at the BDL since Spring of 2023, primarily assisting with conducting EEGs for various Master’s and PhD projects. Her research interests include the use of neuroimaging techniques to explore prospective treatments and investigate neuropsychological phenomena, as well as mental health in LGBTQ+ populations. Grace is completing her undergraduate degree in psychology in the Fall of 2024 with plans to pursue a Master’s degree in experimental psychology.

 

Lab Alumni

  • Hongye Wang | PhD Student, 2016-2020

  • Gwen van der Wijk | PhD Student, 2018-2022

  • Amirhossein Ghaderi | Postdoctoral Fellow, 2022-2024

  • Maddie Kelly | Undergraduate Honours Student, 2022-2023

  • Kayla Brill | Undergraduate Honours Student, 2022-2023

  • Mah Noor | Undergraduate Summer Student, 2022

  • Talha Zafar | Undergraduate Honours Student, 2021-2022

  • Noaah Reaume | Undergraduate Honours Student, 2020-2021

  • Gahyun Kim | Undergraduate Honours Student, 2020-2021

  • Alison Wilson | Undergraduate Honours Student, 2020-2021

  • Baeleigh Ellement | Undergraduate Honours Student, 2019-2020

  • Sora Ahn | Postdoctoral Fellow, 2018-2019

  • Alison Heard | PhD Student, 2014 - 2018

  • Julie Aitken | MSc Student, 2016 - 2019

  • Matt Szostakiwskyj | Research Analyst, 2017-2018