The UBC MATRIX-N (Multidisciplinary Alliance for Translational Research and Innovation in Neuropsychiatry) research excellence cluster is continuing its Junior Scholars program for a third year. In line with the cluster’s strong commitment to advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and to attracting and fostering outstanding talents, these paid positions were specifically targeted to applicants from marginalized/underrepresented groups and/or with lived/living experience.
The program was able to fund six MATRIX-N Junior Scholars from various departments and research backgrounds for 2024/25. Working closely with the cluster coordinator and faculty leads, the talented and diverse Junior Scholars will support MATRIX-N activities and help advance translational research and innovation in neuropsychiatry at UBC and beyond.
Meet the scholars:
Andrea Wong Koo
Andrea is an MSc student in Experimental Medicine at UBC, co-supervised by Dr. Michael Krausz and Dr. Roberto Sassi. She holds a BSc in Cognition & Brain, involving neuroscience and AI in the study and designing of cognitive systems. Her research started preclinically with Dr. Stan Floresco, using pharmacological and behavioural methods to address cognitive dysfunctions. Currently, she focuses on clinical research to enhance treatments and care for substance use and mental health conditions in vulnerable populations. Andrea’s project involves studying a national cohort of youth who have experienced opioid overdoses, assessing risk factors and evaluating interventions like Opioid Agonist Treatment and psychosocial services. She also plans to use machine learning to model treatment outcomes and overdose risk to inform therapeutic innovations. Outside research, Andrea volunteers as a First Responder in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, and teaches coding and math to youth of various neurodiversities. She loves discovering music from different genres, hiking, working out, and photography.
Ava Momeni
Ava (she/her) is a first-year PhD student in Neuroscience in Dr. Todd Woodward’s laboratory. Prior to her graduate studies, Ava earned her BSc in Behavioural Neuroscience at UBC, with a minor in Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice. Recently, Ava successfully completed her MSc degree in Neuroscience, where her thesis focused on characterizing the whole-brain networks, detected via Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), that underlie autobiographical memory and imagination. For her PhD, Ava is interested in developing a tool to map patients’ whole-brain networks that underlie various cognitive processes for pre-surgical planning. Beyond research, Ava is passionate about engaging in work that directly helps people. She works part-time as a behavioural interventionist, where she assists her client with autism spectrum disorder, and she volunteers as a support worker, where she helps marginalized individuals experiencing intimate partner violence. In her free time, Ava enjoys nature therapy, reading, and spending time with her friends and family.
Gelareh Modara
Gelareh is a Biomedical Engineering Master’s student under the supervision of Dr. Manu Madhav and Dr. Jason Snyder. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Neuroscience at Simon Fraser University. Her current research focuses on the impact of early-life experiences on adulthood learning. Specifically, she is verifying and designing a training protocol for a custom-built cognitive testing chamber and an exposure paradigm she developed for mouse behavioral training. She plans to use this apparatus to expose adolescent mice to textured visual stimuli and assess their ability to discriminate these textures from other stimuli in adulthood. Outside of research, Gelareh enjoys working with neurodiverse youth and tutoring. When she’s not in the lab, you can probably find her hanging out with friends and family, visiting coffee shops, or wandering aimlessly through downtown—usually ending up at David Lam or Sunset Beach.
Isabel Bestard Lorigados
Isabel is a PhD candidate in Neuroscience at UBC in Dr. Weihong Song’s lab and co-supervised by Dr. Brian MacVicar. Her research focuses on characterizing the molecular mechanisms of a novel mutation linked to Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis, aiming to translate her work to developing novel therapeutics for this disease. Through molecular techniques and in vitro and in vivo models, her research will enhance our knowledge of presenilin 1 mutations’ role in Alzheimer’s disease and provide molecular insights into how the novel mutation affects brain function. During her PhD, Isabel has volunteered in different committees, helped organize an international journal club, and mentored several students. She kickstarted an ongoing international collaboration with Wenzhou Medical University in China, where she currently supervises an MSc student on her thesis project. Outside the lab, Isabel enjoys reading, taking kickboxing classes, and playing board games with her friends.
Jodi Anderson
Jodi is a MSc student in Pharmacology at the UBC in the labs of Dr. Alasdair Barr and Dr. Hal Siden at the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute. Prior to her current program, she completed her BSc in Neuroscience at the University of Winnipeg. Her current research is characterizing pediatric medicinal cannabis use, including the prevalence, practices, and attitudes of medicinal cannabis use in pediatrics, and the composition analysis of parentally administered products being used. Within her research, she prioritizes compassion, safety, and quality of life for children alongside their families and health care professionals. She aims to describe the experiences of diverse families, challenges and barriers families may face, children’s physical and mental health outcomes, and the information needed to lead to the development of resources for families and clinicians regarding pediatric medicinal cannabis use. Outside of research, Jodi is a Hockey Canada National High Performance official, spending most of her free time at hockey arenas locally and across Canada.
Ninon Freidel
Ninon is a MSc student in Neuroscience at UBC in Dr. Clare Beasley’s lab at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute. She previously earned her BSc in Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of Toronto. Her translational research bridges immunology and psychiatry, exploring the involvement of the immune system in psychiatric disorders to identify novel therapeutic targets. Specifically, she investigates the role of complement regulators on synaptic pathology in schizophrenia. Beyond her academic pursuits, Ninon is committed to supporting marginalized individuals who face barriers to self-advocacy. She has actively worked with diverse populations, including those with Autism Spectrum Disorder, physical disabilities and mental health conditions. Outside of the lab, she enjoys skiing, camping, thrifting and reading books!
