What is something you are good at that might surprise other people?
I enjoy painting portraits of adults, capturing the expressions of their bodies and faces. As a child, I was always drawing. While in graduate school, I learned to use oil paints at the New York Art Students League in Manhattan. During my medical residency, I switched to acrylic paints, since they dry faster. I’ve also tried my hand with watercolour paints, which I find most difficult.
What are you hoping to focus on from a research perspective here?
I’m interested in understanding how viruses can impact the brain and contribute to neurodegenerative diseases, so we can determine how to prevent and treat these challenges. To do this, I’m going to establish new preclinical models of virus-induced neurodegenerative diseases using novel approaches that Schulich Medicine & Dentistry is a world-leader in, such as touchscreen technology and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
What makes Schulich Medicine & Dentistry the right place to do this work?
I’m excited to work with talented new collaborators with access to cutting-edge technology that will help us all better understand how viral infections affect brain function and cause neuro- degenerative diseases. Having the ability to access tools and technology like this in a collaborative environment is a dream come true.
It’s also very important for me to work for an institution like Western that supports women investigators. It allows me to devote all my effort to my two passions: Scientific research and building and sustaining a diverse faculty and inclusive climate – a core principle of my work and life ethics. I strongly believe exclusion is harmful to all and limits excellence when applied to academic (or any) institutions.
Thinking of women in STEM, what do you aspire to pass on to young women starting out in the field?
I aspire to pass on the courage to challenge dogma, trust one’s own abilities and talents and dream big.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Freedom in all its forms.
What is your most marked characteristic?
Speed thinking. I connect dots very fast.
