Peter is a doctoral candidate in Neuroscience at UBC under the supervision of Dr. Kurt Haas. His thesis focuses on the activity-based regulation of dendritic arborization. We caught up with Peter to learn more about his research interests and plans for the future.
Peter Hogg
What do you like most about UBC?
I enjoy the research community, particularly the Dynamic Brain Circuits and Connections in Health and Disease research cluster. I’ve met many brilliant scientists through this community and worked on several exciting projects.
Why did you choose Neuroscience?
David Marr’s book Vision heavily influenced me, and since reading that, I’ve been fascinated with understanding how the brain computes and processes information. My curiosity about how it all works is my primary motivation.
Where did you grow up?
I’m a Scottish immigrant. After leaving Scotland, I spent about half of my time growing up outside of Seattle and the other half outside of Vancouver.
What is a typical day like for you as a graduate student?
My days are highly variable because I have several projects spanning multiple disciplines. Some days, I’m preparing a new plasmid or writing code to reconstruct dendritic arbors. On other days I spend building microscopes or imaging neuronal activity.
What skills do you bring from your previous education and what skills are you gaining currently in the graduate program?
I have brought several valuable skills from my undergraduate education in cell and developmental biology, such as in vivo imaging, working with model organisms, and molecular biology techniques. I’ve greatly expanded my skills in optics and microscopy during my graduate program at UBC and have built multiple two-photon microscopes since joining the program.
What are your future career goals?
I want to have a research lab studying single-neuron computations in vivo. Most of my career decisions are made to bring me closer to that goal.
What do you like to do outside of research?
I like piña coladas and gettin’ caught in the rain. Unfortunately, I’m not into yoga. I enjoy running and hiking when I’m not in the lab. Currently, I’m training for my first half marathon.
The video below is of Peter and colleagues building a 2-photon microscope for imaging neuronal activity.
