Anna Phan, new assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. Photo supplied.
How does our nervous system decide what information to remember and what to ignore? And what role do genes play in the suppression of memories? It is these questions that drive the research of new assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Anna Phan.
“If you stop to think about it, the human nervous system can record and store information for years,” explained Hegde, who joins the University of Alberta following a postdoctoral fellowship at the Scripps Research Institute. “We all take this ability for granted, but the biological mechanisms that enable this are awe-inspiring and incredibly complex.”
And with potential applications of this research for better understanding and combating neurodevelopmental or neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia, it is a field of increasing interest for neurobiologists around the world.
Join us in welcoming Anna Phan.
What brought you to the University of Alberta?
Two main factors brought me to the University of Alberta. First was that I really loved the working environment here. The faculty and graduate students who I met seemed genuinely nice, and I look forward to working with the people in the Faculty of Science. The graduate students I met during my visits here were also very bright and certainly left an impression.
The second factor was the location. Edmonton is such a beautiful city with an abundance of green space by the river and ravines—although I have yet to see it in the summer. I feel very lucky to be able to live here.
Tell us about your research program.
My research program is centered around discovering the biological factors that exist to suppress learning and memory formation in a normal organism.
Over the years, a lot of interesting research has revealed that proper learning and memory requires hundreds of genes. However, it has also become clear that there also exist a set of genes that act to limit memory processes in normal organisms. What these genes are, how they work, and why they exist are not very clear. These are the questions I aim to answer in my research program.
Studying these so-called "memory suppressor genes" is important in order to understand the limits of memory, what happens when you release those limits, and to understand the fundamental process of how our nervous system records information. If you stop to think about it, the human nervous system can record and store information for years. We all take this ability for granted, but the biological mechanisms that enable this are awe-inspiring and incredibly complex. Researchers are still working out this complex puzzle.
Secondly, being able to manipulate the limits of memory processes may one day lead to strategies to help those suffering from neurodevelopmental or neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia.
I entered the field of learning and memory because it was fascinating and challenging. I enjoy that neuroscience generally requires a multilevel approach to make sense of it. For example, my work broadly spans across animal behavior, neural anatomy, cell and molecular biology, genetics, and the electrophysiological properties of neurons. For someone who is easily distracted like myself, it's perfect.
Tell us about your teaching.
Teaching has always been an incredibly rewarding experience, and in the future I would like to teach genetics and neurobiology courses. Science—and the world—needs young minds with new ideas and the energy and courage to see them through. Otherwise we would be spinning our wheels in place. To be a part of that process is a pleasure.