A rising Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) researcher is taking her expertise to the international stage after being awarded a highly competitive Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship to undertake postdoctoral research at the University of Zurich.
Dr Phoebe Hawthorn said the scholarship recognised the potential of her research and her commitment to pursuing opportunities that will expand her expertise and contribute new knowledge to the neuroscience community.
“In the coming months, I will relocate to Switzerland to join Professor Fritjof Helmchen’s laboratory at the Brain Research Institute at the University of Zurich” Dr Hawthorn said.
“The scholarship provides an exciting opportunity to work in an internationally renowned research environment and learn advanced approaches for studying brain activity.”
In Zurich, Dr Hawthorn will investigate how inhibitory brain circuits regulate memory consolidation, the process through which newly acquired information is stabilised and stored as a lasting memory.
She will use advanced in vivo imaging and electrophysiological techniques to examine how different populations of brain cells coordinate their activity as memories are formed and maintained.
“I look forward to the applying the skills I developed during my PhD and postdoc research at QBI to a new and exciting scientific challenge.
“Through this research, I hope to help address fundamental questions about how memories are formed and maintained in the brain.
“Understanding how neural circuits support memory consolidation is important because disruption to these processes is a feature of ageing and many neurological conditions.”
Dr Hawthorn said she was grateful for the experience and support she had received during her time at QBI.
“My time at QBI has given me a strong foundation in neuroscience research, and I am grateful to the colleagues and mentors who have contributed to my development,” she said.
“I am excited to build on that experience in Zurich and take the knowledge and techniques I gain into the next stage of my scientific career.”
Dr Hawthorn’s achievement highlights the calibre of emerging researchers at QBI and the value of international collaborations in advancing scientific discovery.
