SBME Interfaces with Shernaz Bamji

In this episode, we interface with Shernaz Bamji, Associate Director of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and in the School of Biomedical Engineering.

We chat about following a career in academia, mentorship, the future of neuroscience, the exciting prospects for the SBME, and much more.

All episodes available to watch on our YouTube Channel

Guest:

Shernaz Bamji
Associate Director, DCMBH
Professor, Dept. of Cellular & Physiological Sciences
Professor, SBME

Shernaz Bamji is a Professor in the Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, is the current Associate Director of the Center for Brain Health at UBC, and is the incoming President elect of the Canadian Association for Neurosciences. She received her Ph.D. at McGill University and did her postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco, where she also gave birth to both her children. Dr. Bamji has a long-standing interest in understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying neural connectivity and synaptic plasticity. Her work has provided valuable information about fundamental mechanisms underlying learning and memory, as well as how these processes are perturbed in diseased states.

Learn more about Shernaz here

Hosts:
Dr. Payam Zahedi
Strategic Planning & Operations Director, UBC School of Biomedical Engineering

Payam is a born problem solver and dot connector who believes that real impact only occurs when everyone is given the means to chase it. He's the Director of Strategic Planning and Operations at UBC's School of Biomedical Engineering and holds a BASc in Biomedical Engineering and an MSc and PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences, from the University of Toronto. He believes we are better together and is an advocate for equity and inclusivity. In his spare time, when he's not chasing his two sons around, he's experimenting in the kitchen, reading crime fiction and untangling the mechanisms of effective leadership.

Miguel Eichelberger
Communications & Engagement Manager, UBC School of Biomedical Engineering

Miguel is an unflinching optimist. He is a communicator and writer whose work has appeared in literary magazines and on stages around the world. His most recent publications include Harpur Palate, the Literary Review of Canada, Plainsongs Magazine, and Soliloquies Anthology. He believes in authenticity; in doing and saying what you actually believe, and he is an obsessive student of leadership from the biological and anthropological perspectives. You've likely heard him rant about it, and he's not sorry.

Chapters

• 0:00 SBME Interfaces with Shernaz Bamji
• 1:15 n how the pandemic has impacted work in the lab and in the DMCBH and pivoting to more computational science
• 3:28 On deciding to study the brain and why
• 4:20 On the exciting discoveries of neuroscience in the last few years
• 5:50 On taking the path of academia
• 7:00 On what drives Shernaz as associate director of the DMCBH
• 8:25 On why growing something new in the SBME is really exciting because of the amazing young scientists we are bringing in
• 9:14 On the hallmarks of good mentorship
• 10:10 On there isn't more grad-level leadership training
• 11:36 On growing the neuroscience presence at UBC by building community
• 13:06 On connections with industry
• 13:50 On the neuroscience undergraduate program launching in UBC
• 15:05 On the hopes for neuroscience in the next five years
• 16:13 On the traits of good leadership
• 17:50 On finding the time to unwind and getting a puppy
• 18:50 On advice to her 20 year old self: don't stop doing the things you love
• 19:35 On one piece of advice to an incoming PI: Network
• 20:54 On the excitement of building a community in the DMCBH