I am an alumna of UBC’s School of Kinesiology, having graduated as part of the class of 2017. As a Kin student, I became involved early during my undergraduate studies, volunteering and in research, which inspired my interest to pursue a career path in neuroscience and medicine.
While at UBC, I volunteered at the Special Olympics and also began working at the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), where I was fortunate to contribute to several projects aimed at improving cardiovascular health and function for people with a spinal cord injury. I began by volunteering for the CHOICES project, a Canadian-wide study targeting cardiovascular health in spinal cord injury, through exercise intervention and education. These experiences taught me about the prevalence and devastation of neurological disorders, and also motivated me to pursue neurosciences research. In 2016, I had the opportunity to conduct independent research through the Faculty of Medicine Summer Student Research Program Award which I performed under the supervision of Dr. Andrei Krassioukov, examining the effects of transient high blood pressure, as a result of spinal cord injury, on structural changes in the brain. In my final year of undergraduate study, I also pursued a Directed Studies project in the lab of Dr. Christopher West examining the acute functioning of the heart and blood vessels after spinal cord injury. Following my graduation, I traveled to Split, Croatia, as part of an international team from ICORD, where we worked on a clinical project examining human physiology and spinal cord injury in collaboration with the University of Split School of Medicine. As a result, I co-authored a series of publications studying sleep, the brain, and blood vessels after spinal cord injury, which further inspired me to pursue graduate studies in neuroscience.
I subsequently travelled to Switzerland through a Go Global award and an international scholarship from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) for a research internship, and for my Master’s degree at Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETHZ) in Health Sciences and Technology (Major in Neurosciences), which is a multidisciplinary program combining natural and engineering sciences. The EPFL internship was centered at Campus Biotech in Geneva in the lab of Professor Grégoire Courtine, and focused on developing a neurostimulation therapy to restore autonomic function following spinal cord injury. Ultimately, this internship became an integral component of my Master’s program at ETHZ. I recently completed my Master’s thesis under the supervision of Professor Denis Burdakov at ETHZ, where I investigated the neuroanatomical projections from the hypothalamus to the cervical spinal cord as they relate to forelimb movement.
Living in Europe provided me the wonderful opportunity to travel and experience different cultures, as well as reconnect with my extended family in Greece. The experiences and education I received abroad that allow me to pursue my career goal as a clinical research scientist would not be possible without the opportunities I was presented during my time as a Kin undergrad. UBC Kin not only provided exceptional educational opportunities but also great memories outside my education such as our annual Kinesiology Ski trip to Big White and the Kin Games.
As a KIN alumna, I hope that I can share my experiences and give back to the Kinesiology program and serve as a resource to the student body. My advice to current students would be to enjoy what you are doing and the path to reach your goal. In the future, I aim to apply to combined MD/PhD programs and ultimately wish to practice medicine while advancing clinical knowledge.
