TORONTO, October 13, 2011 – York University welcomes the appointment of Georg Zoidl as its new Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience.
As a Tier 1 CRC, Zoidl will receive $1.4 million over seven years. The CRC is part of a package of CRC appointments announced recently at the University of Guelph by the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology).
“Our government is investing in the people and ideas that will keep Canada at the forefront of the global economy,” said Minister Goodyear. “The Canada Research Chairs are helping to develop, attract and retain the world’s top researchers here in our country.”
In all, the government announced an investment of $203.9 million to fund the appointment of 253 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs at 56 Canadian degree-granting post-secondary institutions.
“I am delighted that Professor Georg Zoidl has joined York University as the Canada Research Chair in Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience,” said Robert Haché, vice-president research & innovation at York University. “Through the CRC program, York is building on its research strengths and enhancing opportunities for graduate training.”
Zoidl, a professor in the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Department of Biology, Faculty of Science & Engineering, and a member of York’s Center for Vision Research, is examining the functions of nerve cells in the brain and the visual system as a means to understanding overall brain activity in health and disease.
His research explores the communication processes in the brain that contribute to disease- causing conditions. Even small changes in communication between these nerve cells might get amplified over a lifetime and will be at the heart of a wide spectrum of diseases.
Zoidl is addressing the role of electrical communication in the visual system and the brain using genetically-altered zebrafish; their brains and eyes utilize the basic communication principles found in humans. His research combines high-end imaging tools with careful molecular and cellular manipulations to track how information flows into the brain and eye under healthy and diseased conditions, with a focus on epilepsy and ischemia. His research will foster insight into the molecular and cellular basis of epilepsy and could ultimately lead to improved treatment for stroke.
For more information, visit the Canada Research Chairs website.
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto – Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 55,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 240,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 faculties and 28 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
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Media Contact:
Arielle Zomer, Research Communications, York University, 416-736-2100 ext. 21069, azomer@yorku.ca
