Jane Roskams facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jane Roskams
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| Born | |
| Nationality | Manx, American and Canadian |
| Alma mater | University College of Swansea, Saint Luke School of Medicine, St. John's University School of Medicine |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neuroscience |
| Institutions | University of British Columbia, University of Washington |
Angela Jane Roskams is a smart scientist who studies the brain. She is a neuroscientist at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She also works at the University of Washington.
Dr. Roskams used to lead a lab that studied how the brain can repair itself. Later, she became a director at the Allen Institute for Brain Science. She is a big supporter of "Open Science." This means sharing scientific information freely.
She has become a leader in how we use brain data. She helps create partnerships between different groups. She also promotes sharing data openly.
Dr. Roskams did special studies at Johns Hopkins Medical School. There, she looked at how the sense of smell can heal itself. She also studied how brain function is lost early in Alzheimer's disease. This led her to study how our genes and environment work together. She explores how brain cells grow and change throughout life.
Today, Dr. Roskams helps with training for the Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform (CONP). She also helped create Mozak. This is an online game where regular people can help analyze huge amounts of brain data. Her work focuses on the best ways to share large data sets. She also tests different ways to analyze brain information.
Her Early Life and Studies
Jane Roskams was born and grew up on the Isle of Man. On July 5, 2017, the Isle of Man Government honored her. They recognized her achievements in science. They also praised her work in helping more people get into science.
She went to the University College of Swansea. She earned a top degree in biochemistry there. A scholarship then took her to the United States. She studied journalism at the University of Idaho. She even won an award for her science reporting. In 1991, she earned her PhD in neuroscience from Penn State University.
After her PhD, she did more training. She studied neuroscience and brain diseases at the National Institutes of Health. She also trained at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Then, she became a professor at the University of British Columbia. She also teaches at the University of Washington.
What She Researches
Dr. Roskams is a top expert in "Brain Big Data." This means working with huge amounts of information about the brain. She also leads in "Open Data sharing."
Before this, she made important discoveries about how the body can repair itself. She also studied how cells interact as the brain develops. She looked at how special cells in the brain, called neural stem cells and glia, help the nervous system grow and heal.
In 2008, she worked with the Allen Institute for Brain Science. They brought together experts to create a map of the spinal cord's genes. This map is now used freely by scientists worldwide. Her lab received a lot of funding for their research. She studied special cells called olfactory ensheathing glia. These cells help with healing.
In 2011, her lab found special cells in the adult spinal cord. These cells are called radial glial cells. In 2015, Dr. Roskams and the Allen Institute worked on a project called BigNeuron. This project brought together computer experts and scientists. They tested computer programs to automatically analyze brain cells.
Dr. Roskams also helped create Mozak. This game lets "citizen scientists" help analyze large brain data. She leads training for the Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform (CONP). She also advised the US BRAIN initiative and the Obama White House. She helped create a law to speed up medical discoveries.
In 2016, she co-founded Cascadia Data Innovations. This group helps non-profits, universities, and tech companies work together. They tackle big health data challenges in Seattle and Vancouver. Dr. Roskams is also part of the Global Brain Consortium. She advises many international projects. These projects encourage sharing brain data to make new discoveries. She is a strong supporter of women in science. She has been recognized many times for helping other scientists.
Awards and Recognition
In 2013, Dr. Roskams received the Bernice Grafstein Award. This award is for excellent work in mentoring other scientists. It came from the Society for Neuroscience.
Books and Articles
She helped edit "Genome Analysis: A Lab Manual." This was the first guide to analyzing many different genomes. She also co-edited Lab Ref. This book is a how-to guide for basic research. Her work has been reviewed in science magazines. She has also published articles in Glia and Brain Research. Dr. Roskams is on the editorial board of BrainFacts.org.
