Dr. Sheena Josselyn’s research focuses on how the brain encodes, stores and uses information. Her lab was one of the first to find a memory trace or engram in the brain of a mouse and the first to use this information to “erase” a fearful memory. Several human disorders (ranging from autism spectrum disorder to Alzheimer’s disease) may stem from disrupted information processing. Therefore, this basic knowledge in mice is not only critical for understanding normal brain function, but also vital for the development of new treatment strategies for these disorders.

Sheena Josselyn is a Senior Scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and a Professor in the departments of Psychology and Physiology at the University of Toronto. She holds a Canada Research Chair in Brain Mechanisms underlying Memory, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the National Academy of Medicine (US). She received her undergraduate degrees and a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology from Queen’s University in Kingston (Canada), her PhD from the University of Toronto and conducted post-doctoral work at Yale University and UCLA.