Principal Investigators
Jason Plemel, Ph.D.
Dr. Jason Plemel began his training in the laboratory of Dr. Wolfram Tetzlaff at the University of British Columbia where he completed his Doctorate. There he investigated two separate strategies to improve white matter regeneration: transplantation of precursor cells to replace lost oligodendrocytes and cell culture to find novel targets to improve remyelination. During Dr. Plemel’s postdoctoral work he studied the contribution of microglia following myelin injury in the laboratories of Dr. Peter Stys and Dr. Wee Yong at the University of Calgary. His interdisciplinary project investigated mechanisms of how immune cells respond to primary degeneration and developed a new tool to image cell death and injury using spectral microscopy. In his new faculty appointment at the University of Alberta, Dr. Plemel and his laboratory will investigate how microglia play an important role in the regeneration of injured white matter, but also how microglia can induce injury to white matter during different disease conditions.
Bradley Kerr, Ph.D.
Dr. Bradley Kerr received his BSc in Psychology from McGill University. He then went on to obtain a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of London-King’s College in the UK. His Ph.D. research was aimed at understanding the role of novel modulatory peptides, growth factors and pro-inflammatory cytokines in persistent pain. Dr. Kerr went on to do postdoctoral work at the California Institute of Technology and at McGill University where his work focused on studying inflammatory responses after nervous system injury. Dr. Kerr joined the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of Alberta in 2007 and is also an adjunct associate professor in the Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry. The focus of research in his lab is aimed at addressing the mechanisms of chronic pain after injury or disease with a major focus on chronic pain associated with Multiple Sclerosis.
Graduate Students
Timo Friedman, Ph.D. Candidate
Timo is a Ph.D. candidate under the supervision of Dr. Bradley Kerr. He is investigating the role of microRNAs in pain syndromes using computational and bioinformatics methodology. His other interests include data mining and machine learning.
Charbel Baaklini, Ph.D. Candidate
All the way from Lebanon, Charbel came to Edmonton for his Ph.D. in neuroscience. He graduated with a BSc in Biology. As Plemel’s first graduate student, he’s so excited to be in the process of discovering new ways to treat one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases, multiple sclerosis. His project will focus on the roles of microglia in the process of remyelination and he hopes to find molecular targets to induce this regenerative process in MS patients.
Aislinn Maguire, Ph.D. Candidate
Aislinn finished her neuroscience BSc at the UofA in 2019 and is now a neuroscience Ph.D. student under the supervision of Dr. Bradley Kerr. She is studying the contribution of ER stress in the peripheral nervous system to central neuropathic pain in Multiple Sclerosis. In her spare time, Aislinn enjoys hiking, snowboarding, and boxing.
Brady Hammond, Ph.D. Candidate
Brady received his BSc in Biology at the University of Alberta: Augustana Faculty and joined the Plemel lab as a graduate student in 2019. He is now in his third year of study as a Doctoral candidate in the Department of Neuroscience under the supervision of Dr. Jason Plemel. Brady is currently studying the capacity of Interleukin-1 cytokines to stimulate the proliferation of microglia during neurodevelopment using serum-free cell culture and mouse models. Outside of the lab, Brady enjoys riding motorcycles, skiing, and camping.
Sameera Zia, Ph.D. Student
Sameera completed her BSc at the University of Toronto and is now a third-year Doctoral student under the supervision of Drs. Jason Plemel. Her research explores the heterogeneity of microglia phenotypes using single-cell sequencing.
Olivia La Caprara, M.Sc Student
After completing her undergraduate degree in neuroscience at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Olivia moved to Edmonton to pursue a Master’s in pharmacology to contribute to multiple sclerosis research. Under the guidance of Dr. Bradley Kerr and Dr. Anna Taylor, she studies the mechanisms of neuropathic pain signalling and inflammation, focusing on understanding novel pathways in pain, itch, and analgesia.
Madelene Ho, M.Sc Student
Madelene initially started in the Plemel lab in 2018-2019 academic year to intern as a Research Assistant to gain more laboratory experience and techniques and be part of the front lines in Multiple Sclerosis research. Since then, she began an M.Sc. in Neuroscience on a collaborative project between the Kerr and Plemel Lab. Her project focuses on immune cells and how they contribute to neuropathic pain. Apart from her love of the daring environment of research labs, she is passionate about curative research and care in the clinical sciences. Recently, she has been fascinated by auto/immune and degenerative diseases and disorders; she likes being involved in working with MS, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and HIV/AIDS.
Sharmistha Panda, Ph.D. Student
Sharmistha is an international student from India, doing her Ph.D. in the Plemel Lab (joined in Fall 2021). Her project explores how age impairs remyelination and the roles played by microglia/macrophages in it. Sharmistha did her MSc in Neuroscience from National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, India (2018-2020) and her BSc in Biochemistry & Microbiology(double major) from St.Xavier’s College, Mumbai(2015-2018). Her hobbies include: making podcasts, travelling, dancing, reading up on psychology and watching movies!
Dania Villarreal Andrade, M.Sc. Student
Dania is a first-year MSc. Neuroscience student at the University of Alberta. She is currently undertaking a project on neuroplasticity in the context of neuroinflammation in the Kerr Lab.
Rebecca John, M.Sc. Student
Rebecca received her Mind Sciences in Kinesiology BSc from the University of Calgary in 2022. She started as an MSc student in the fall of 2022 under the co-supervision of Drs. Jason Plemel and Karim Fouad. Her project explores the neuro-immune mechanics of spinal cord injury, as well as looks at how inflammation can contribute to plasticity after injury
André Faria
André first became a member of the Plemel lab in 2022 as a summer research intern. After completing his medical degree in Brazil, he returned to our team to pursue an MSc in Neuroscience. André has a keen interest in understanding neurological disorders and their underlying pathophysiological mechanisms, as well as exploring effective treatment options. His project will center on immune cell populations and their relation to the onset, progression, and prevention of neuropathic pain. When he’s not in the lab, André enjoys hiking, travelling, cooking, and spending time with friends over a beer.
Undergraduate Students
Tom Hammond
Tom is a fourth-year pharmacology student. Supervised by Drs. Bradley Kerr and Harley Kurata, Tom is investigating the effects of different potassium channel modulating drugs on neuroplasticity. His other interests include hockey and music.
Andrea Klassen
Andrea is a fourth year neuroscience student investigating peripheral mechanisms of pain and inflammation in multiple sclerosis under the supervision of Dr. Bradley Kerr. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading and baking.
Ethan Smith
Ethan is a co-op student from the University of Waterloo’s Health Sciences program. Previously, Ethan worked in Dr. Gerald Zamponi’s lab at the University of Calgary, examining calcium channel trafficking with variant beta subunit isoforms. Currently, he is assisting Dr. Richard Kanyo with an anti-epileptic high-throughput neural activity screen in zebrafish larvae. Additionally, he is exploring the role of Kv7.2 channel localization and trafficking in pain and drug states. Outside of the lab, Ethan enjoys watching hockey and backcountry camping.
Sowmya Challa
Sowmya is a 3rd-year Pharmacology Honors student and is doing her summer internship in the Plemel Lab. She is working to explore how age impairs remyelination and the roles of microglia/macrophages during aging. Outside of the lab, Sowmya enjoys biking and walking in the sunshine, and dancing.
Elyse Willis
Elyse is a third-year Neuroscience student here at the University of Alberta. She started this May as a summer student in Dr. Kerr’s lab and will continue throughout the next year. Her project focuses on the changes in dorsal horn innervation in established EAE and how these changes vary between males and females.
Lab Support
Kelly Lee
Kelly completed her MSc at the University of Toronto in the Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics. The main focus of her research will be using Cuprizone model of progressive Multiple Sclerosis in mice to investigate how microglial cells respond to demyelination and the factors that are released into the extracellular matrix as a result of the toxin.
Gustavo Tenorio
After completing an MSc from the University of Alberta, Gustavo started working with Dr. Kerr and has worked with him for the past 9 years. Gustavo is an important lab resource. He trains new staff and students on various tasks ranging from bench work to data processing. Recently, his work has shifted more towards lab administration, as well as identifying hazards and implementing controls to make sure the lab follows EHS standards.
UAlberta Neuroimmunology and Pain Laboratory 