Scholarships support thoughtful research

Concordia PhD candidate Daniel Sparks hopes research improves those odds for Canada’s aging population. The Department of Psychology student works out of the university’s Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology (CSBN), studying parts of the brain affected by the disorder.

The native of Peterborough, Ont., started at Concordia in 2010 as a master’s student and was fast-tracked into PhD studies. Sparks received the David J. Azrieli Graduate Fellowship for the 2014-15 academic year.

Is student support important?

Daniel Sparks: “The main benefit for me is that it reduces the need to find paid work. That means I can spend more time on my research at the CSBN, where I work with Professor Andrew Chapman.”

How would you summarize your research?

DS: “I work in a subsection of psychology that studies brain function. At the CSBN, we stimulate and record neurons — which are microscopic cells that transmit information in the brain.”

What is the importance of your research to the general public?

DS: “The neurons I’m focusing on are in areas of the brain that are involved with learning and memory. These areas can be corrupted by disorders like Alzheimer’s. Understanding how they work will hopefully lead to treatments.”

Is your work being promoted?

DS: “With Professor Chapman, I’ve published two articles in the journal Neuroscience — the first in January 2013 and the second in October 2014. Our third will be published this year.”

Neuroscience is published by the International Brain Research Organization, which is based in Washington, D.C., and comprises over 80 scientific organizations.

“Every year, I attend the Society for Neuroscience conference in the United States. It’s the biggest of its kind in the world.”

The David J. Azrieli Graduate Fellowship is funded by the Azrieli Foundation. David J. Azrieli, LLD 75, was one of Concordia’s transformative donors. His legacy includes the university’s Azrieli Institute of Israel Studies.

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