And we bring you... our second interview! Introducing Andrew Haack, a graduate student at the University of Utah and alumnus from Integrated Sciences, having integrated biopsychology and physiology. This question and answer series illuminates some of his research, his experiences at UBC, as well as his involvement within ISSA.
<- thanks to LinkedIn for this suave photo / https://www.linkedin.com/pub/andrew-haack/43/58a/9a8
1) Did you know about Integrated Sciences when you first started at UBC? If not, what was your original academic plan?
I didn’t know about ISCI when I first started at UBC. I think a lot of first years, including myself, start in science without really knowing what their interests are. I knew I was interested in biology and I wanted to see where my academic journey took me.
2) As an Integrated Sciences alumnus, you went through the rigorous application process to design your degree. What did you integrate, and why? Why did you choose Integrated Sciences over another undergraduate major?
I integrated biopsychology and physiology. I had always been very interested in psychology and my courses in my first two years at UBC gave me a taste of the idea that physiology has an effect on our behavior. Now looking back on it these two topics are more closely linked than I ever thought when I started. Some might say they are the same field!
3) Of the required ISSA courses, which was your favourite, and why?
8) In addition to your alumnus lecture, where has Integrated Sciences taken you, particularly in relation to any research/exciting experiences/career options?
4) For the application process, did you receive any advice that you found particularly valuable? What advice would you give individuals considering Integrated Sciences?
5) What first inspired us to try to contact you was your Integrated Sciences alumnus lecture, ‘What drives us to drink?’ that you gave on November 6th, 2014. We were wondering what inspired you to explore this topic?
I’ve been interested in the mechanisms of reward and addiction for some time, ever since I worked in a psychiatric facility for veterans one summer. After getting into Utah’s neuroscience program, I joined a lab that worked on the mechanisms of food-seeking behavior by recording the activity of neurons. My advisor at the time wanted to get his lab into voltammetry, which is a relatively new way to measure brain activity by quantifying how neurons communicate with each other. Getting voltammetry to work took years (not kidding) and the idea for the project took shape with discussions between my advisor and I during that time.
How does this topic relate to current research/projects you’re conducting? IE. We found you were an author on two very interesting papers:
Effects of zona incerta lesions on striatal neurochemistry and behavioural asymmetry in 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats - from Journal of Neuroscience Research
7) Would you mind explaining what answers you are looking for in rat lesions that would help patients with Parkinson’s disease?
About a decade ago, treatment of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) was revolutionized by Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). Here electrodes are implanted deep into the brain, targeting a very small region called the subthalamic nucleus. The application of constant electrical current causes a dramatic improvement in symptoms. This youtube video (see above) is a great demonstration of DBS and really shows how debilitating Parkinson’s is without treatment. Unfortunately, like many medical treatments, the way DBS works is not well understood nor can people agree on where the electrodes should be placed. My boss at the time had a collaborator who thought that the effect of DBS may also be from the effect of electrical current on an adjacent region, the zona incerta. We are able to model PD by delivering a neurotoxin in such a way that causes PD in a rat but only on one side. The lesions we gave to the zona incerta are thought to mimic the effect of electrical current in DBS. We found that we see some effect of zona incerta lesions, so the effect of DBS may be coming from action on the zona incerta rather than exclusively the subthalamic nucleus.
Task difficulty in the Morris water task influences the survival of new neurons in the dentate gyrus - from Hippocampus
6) What do we know so far about the hippocampus’ role in learning and memory, and how does the level of difficulty of the test run on rats connect to cell survival in that part of their brains?
10) During your undergraduate experience, what clubs/associations were you involved with on campus? (your favourite, or your first?) What motivates you to continue being involved with ISCI as an alumnus?
ISSA! I was fairly involved in ISSA and was a student exec for my last year. Likely, my only lasting contribution is registering the ubcissa.com address. Other than that my time was well divided between research and skiing at Whistler.
9) Who was your mentor/were your mentors during your time in the ISCI program? What was one thing your mentor believed/did that really influenced who you are today?
11) What was your relationship like with your peers in your program and do you still keep in contact with anybody, peer or mentor?
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