MSc at University of Toronto

University of Toronto

2011-2013
Master of Science – Collaborative Program in Neuroscience
Department of Medical Biophysics
The influence of autism-associated genes on the mouse cerebellum, assessed using a magnetic resonance imaging atlas
Supervisor: Dr. Jason Lerch

Courses

• Neuroanatomy
• Advanced Medical Imaging
• Optical, Thermal and Radiation Biophysics
• Clinical Imaging for Physical Scientists
• Biophysics Seminar

My thesis was a bit rushed as I was late deciding between going on to my PhD or graduating to pursue MD or MD/PhD studies. Ultimately the letter of acceptance made the decision for me. My thesis can be found in t-space.

I was fortunate to join a great lab and work on some amazing projects. The first project I was a part of a study on how memory formation results in structural changes in the brain. The second project aimed to understand whether mutations in specific genes that have been associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders alter brain morphology and to what extent they do.

Publications from my MSc:

1. Steadman, P. E., Ellegood, J., Szulc, K. U., Turnbull, D. H., Joyner, A. L., Henkelman, R. M. and Lerch, J. P. (2014). Genetic effects on Cerebellar structure across mouse models of Autism using a magnetic resonance imaging atlas. Autism Research. doi:10.1002/aur.1344. - SFARI news write-up
2. Ellegood, J., Markx, S., Lerch, J. P., Steadman, P. E., Kushner, S. A., Henkelman, R. M., Karayiorgou, M., and Gogos, J. A. (2014). Recapitulation of Human Neuroanatomical Phenotypes in a Mouse Model of the 22q11.2 Microdeletion. Molecular Psychiatry. doi:10.1038/mp.2013.112.
3. Chakravarty, M. M., Steadman, P., van Eede, M. C., Calcott, R. D., Gu, V., Shaw, P., Raznahan, A., Louis, C. D., Lerch, J. P. (2013). Performing label-fusion-based segmentation using multiple automatically generated templates. Human brain mapping. doi:10.1002/hbm.22092.