Area of Study / Keywords

Stroke Animal Models Neuroprotection Therapeutic Hypothermia Edema Intracranial Pressure Rehabilitation Neuroplasticity

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About

I have been a faculty member at U of A since 2000. Prior to this I completed post-doctoral training at the University of Lethbridge and the University of Calgary. I completed my PhD (Basic Medical Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine, 1995) and undergraduate degrees (Hons. Psychology, 1991) at Memorial University of Newfoundland. I had the wonderful opportunity to work with: Drs. Dale Corbett, Roland Auer, Alastair Buchan, Garnette Sutherland and Bryan Kolb in my training.

For fun outside the lab, I enjoy nature (hiking, camping, and photography: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fred_colbourne/).

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Research

My students and I study the ischemic and hemorrhagic brain injuries that result from stroke and related conditions. We use animal models and a wide array of research techniques and tools to better understand the pathophysiology of cell damage (e.g., the role of brain edema) and dysfunction (e.g., alterations in cell volume). Furthermore, our primary goal is to comprehensively test potential therapies in our translationally-oriented studies. This includes seeking ways to reduce cell death through the use of neuroprotective therapies (e.g., hypothermia and various drugs), and attempting to augment brain plasticity to further improve behavioral recovery (e.g., rehabilitation therapies). Our publications are listed below, with some available through the links provided, or they can be obtained by emailing Dr. Colbourne.

Current set of awesome graduate students:

• A. Kalisvaart (PhD, Psychology; funded by CIHR-M, U of A graduate scholarship, and CIHR-CGS)
• B. Fedor (PhD, NMHI; funded by a Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry Lawson Studentship)
• C. Wilkinson (PhD, Psychology; funded by: CIHR-CGS, U of A President's Doctoral Prize of Distinction, Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Scholarship, Dorothy J. Killam Memorial Prize and others)
• L. Liddle (PhD, Psychology; funded by CIHR-M, Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship, Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship, Devendra Jindal Graduate Scholarship, and CIHR-CGS)
• T. Kung (PhD, Psychology; funded by Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship & a CIHR-M award).
• E. Khiabani (MSc, Psychology; to start Sept. 2022).

+ volunteers, psyco496 and honor's students from psychology and the NMHI.

Interested in joining the lab? Please e-mail Fred and provide a brief statement on what you are interested in (e.g., psyco496, honor's, summer studentships, grad school), what you hope to learn and how this may benefit you (e.g., career ambitions), and a brief summary of your experiences and grades (e.g., overall GPA, and past research experience). To help you understand what we do, I recommend that you read some of the following papers, which you can obtain through the links below: Liddle et al., 2021 in Frontiers in Neurology; Kalisvaart et al., 2020 in Scientific Reports; Liddle et al., 2020 in Translational Stroke Research; and/or Nadeau et al., 2018 in Translational Stroke Research. At present, I am not accepting applicants for the PhD program, just the MSc program. Please note that I aim to only supervise students who have a strong GPA (3.5 or better over the past 4 semesters), are dedicated and hard working, and have a genuine interest in neuroscience research. Learning and advancement opportunities include:

• Basic science and clinical knowledge of stroke, cardiac arrest and related disciplines (e.g., brain trauma).
• A wide range of interdisciplinary research methods, as noted below (e.g., from analyzing elements to assessing behaviour).
• How to conduct research with a high level of scientific and translational rigour.
• Oral presentation skills (lab meetings and conferences).
• Writing skills (reports, applications and papers). Most importantly, many of the undergraduates in my lab have earned authorship on papers.
• Organizational and networking skills (e.g., working in a team setting).
• Collaborators and friends.
• Funding. Many students in my lab obtain competitive awards.
• All of this means that my students have strong applications to graduate school (psychology and neuroscience), postdoctoral positions, or professional programs (MD, OT, etc.).

Lab methods we use (Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) can be obtained by emailing your request to Dr. Colbourne):

• Behavioral assays (motor, sensory and cognitive tests),
• Biochemical assays (hemoglobin, iron, etc.),
• Blood brain barrier assays (Evan's blue and Gd extravasation),
• Cerebral edema (brain swelling assay),
• Drug administration (IP, SC, IV, ICV, and osmotic mini-pump delivery),
• Light microscopy (frozen, vibratome, and paraffin embedding; CV, H&E, and other stains)
• Electron microscopy
• Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (for Na, K, Fe, Gd, etc.)
• Rehabilitation protocols (environmental enrichment and skill reaching training),
• Statistical procedures (ANOVA, regression, and meta-analysis),
• Stroke models (intracerebral hemorrhage, ischemic stroke, and global ischemia),
• Telemetry recordings (body and brain temperature, blood pressure and heart rate, intracranial pressure, and EEG),
• Therapeutic hypothermia (local and systemic protocols),
• Transcriptomics (microarrays),
• Unbiased stereology (cell density and volume assessment) and lesion volume determination,
• X-ray fluorescence imaging (for K, Cl, Fe, etc.) and related methods (e.g., Fourier-transform infrared imaging).

Lab Research Funding:

Current Operating Grants (Colbourne is PI):

• CIHR (Intra-arterial chilled saline and external cooling to treat severe ischemic stroke; 2019 - 2024).
• CIHR (Brain cell volume reduction in animal models and people with intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke; 2021 - 2026).

Past Operating Grants: CIHR, HSFC, NSERC, NCE.

Past Salary Support (FC): Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, Alberta Innovates - Health Solutions, and Canada Research Chairs (Tier 1).

Recent Grants:

• February 2021: CIHR (Brain cell volume reduction in animal models and people with intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke; 2021 - 2026).

Recent Publications from My Lab by Graduate and Undergraduate Students:

• March 20, 2022: Liddle*, L., Dirks*, C., Almekhlafi, M., Colbourne, F. An ambiguous role for fever in worsening outcome after intracerebral hemorrhage. Translational Stroke Research, in press. (* co-first authors)
• September 5, 2021: Liddle, L., Kalisvaart, A., Abrahart, A., Almekhlafi, M., Demchuk, A. and Colbourne, F. Targeting focal ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke neuroprotection: current prospects for local hypothermia, Journal of Neurochemistry, in press.
• May 19, 2021: Kung, T., Wilkinson, C., Dirks, C., Jickling, G. C., and Colbourne, F. Glibenclamide does not improve outcome following severe collagenase-induced intracerebral hemorrhage in rats, PLOS One, in press.

Recent Grad and Undergrad Student Awards:

• April 2022: Tiffany Kung won a CIHR-CGS Doctoral Scholarship and U of A's President's Doctoral Prize of Distinction Award.
• April 2022: Elmira Khiabani won a recruitment award.
• April 2022: Ashley Abrahart, Noam Sander and Sherry Gu won summer studentships.
• March 2022: Ashley Abrahart won a Women in STEM award.
• Jan. 2022: Lane Liddle won the Devendra Jindal Graduate Scholarship.
• Nov. 2021: Lane Liddle and Tiffany Kung won AGES awards.
• May 2021: Cassandra Wilkinson won the Andrew Stewart scholarship.
• April 2021: Tiffany Kung won best talk for grad student at the 2021 Royce conference.
• April 2021: Anna Kalisvaart won a 2020-2021 Leaders in Equality Award of Distinction Program, Women in STEM Award
• April 2021: Lane Liddle and Anna Kalisvaart won Banting and Best Canada Graduate (doctoral) Scholarships.
• April 2021: Noam Sander and Sherry Gu were awarded BONF and URI summer studentships, respectively.
• April 2021: Tiffany Kung won a CIHR-Masters scholarship.
• March 2021: Anna Kalisvaart won the Dr. Gary McPherson Leadership Scholarship.  

Recent Graduates:

• June 2022: Cassandra Wilkinson successfully defended (aced) her PhD defence. Congrats!
• December 2020: Brittany Prokop successfully defended her MSc thesis. Congrats Brittany!

PSYCH 403 - Recent Advances in Experimental Psychology: Models and Theories

Discussion of advanced concepts and theories developed by selected fields within experimental psychology. The course will examine the relation between theory and data in these fields. Prerequisites: STAT 141 or 151 or 161 or SCI 151 and a 300-level PSYCH course. Students must check with the Department for the topics for the year and any additional prerequisites. [Faculty of Science]

Fall Term 2022 Winter Term 2023

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PSYCH 505 - Conference Course in Psychology

[Faculty of Science]

Fall Term 2022 Winter Term 2023

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Browse more courses taught by Fred Colbourne

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