Sheena Josselyn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sheena Josselyn
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| Born |
Cleveland, Ohio
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| Nationality | Canadian |
| Alma mater | Queens University, University of Toronto |
| Known for | Engrams |
| Spouse(s) | Paul Frankland |
| Awards | Daniel H. Efron Research Award from American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Innovations in Psychopharmacology Award from Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Brenda Milner Lecturer (University of Lethbridge), Bryan Kolb Lecturer in Behavioural Neuroscience (University of Calgary), Canada Research Chair (CRC) in brain circuits and cognition Tier I |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neuroscience |
| Institutions | SickKids at the University of Toronto |
Sheena Josselyn is a Canadian scientist who studies the brain. She is a full professor at the Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto. Dr. Josselyn wants to understand how our brains form and store memories. She mostly studies this in animals like rodents. Her work has helped us learn a lot about how memories are made and kept in the brain. She is well-known for her research on "engrams," which are like the physical traces of memories in the brain.
Early Life and Learning
Sheena Josselyn was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. She grew up in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. She identifies as Métis, which is a group of Indigenous people in Canada.
Dr. Josselyn went to Queens University in Kingston for her first university degree. After that, she earned a master's degree in psychology. During her master's studies, she researched how certain brain chemicals affect each other. She also looked at how some medicines might interact with brain chemicals.
Later, Dr. Josselyn moved to Toronto. She completed her PhD in psychology and neuroscience at the University of Toronto. Her PhD research focused on how different brain signals affect learning. After her PhD, she did more research at Yale University and the University of California, Los Angeles. During this time, she helped discover how an important protein called CREB helps form memories. This research also led to new ideas about why we forget things.
Career and Brain Research
After finishing her advanced training, Dr. Josselyn returned to Toronto. She started her own research lab at SickKids Hospital at the University of Toronto. Her main goal is to understand how people learn and remember. She hopes her discoveries can one day help people with memory problems.
Some of Dr. Josselyn's early findings were very exciting. She found that increasing a protein called CREB in a part of the brain could make memories stronger. She also discovered that if she removed specific brain cells that were very active during learning, the memories linked to those cells would disappear. These were some of the first times scientists could point to exact brain cells that held a specific memory.
Dr. Josselyn uses many different ways to study memories. Her important work has earned her several major awards. In 2018, she became a member of the Royal Society of Canada because of her amazing research.
Awards and Recognitions
Dr. Sheena Josselyn has received many awards for her important work. These include:
- 2023 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
- 2018 Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
- Daniel H. Efron Research Award from American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
- Innovations in Psychopharmacology Award from Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology
- Brenda Milner Lecturer (University of Lethbridge)
- Bryan Kolb Lecturer in Behavioural Neuroscience (University of Calgary)
- Canada Research Chair (CRC) in brain circuits and cognition Tier I
See also
In Spanish: Sheena Josselyn para niños
