Delane Espinueva

EDUCATION

College / University

University of British Columbia

Highest Degree

Bachelor of Science

Major Subjects

Behavioural Neuroscience, Speech Science

Country

Canada

Lab Experience

extensive rodent husbandry (including breeding, weaning, daily care, health monitoring, etc., of male and female Long Evans rats), transcardial perfusion, whole brain extraction, stereotaxic surgery and post-operative care, targeted cerebral irradiation, genotyping (including ear snipping, PCR, gel electrophoresis), behavioural training and testing in operant chambers, sectioning with microtomes and vibratomes, immunohistochemistry (particularly fluorescence-based; some chromogenic), light microscope, confocal microscope, neuron reconstruction for morphological analysis (using ImageJ/FIJI and Neutube), basic training in cell culture.
September 2014 – September 2017: Neurogenesis Lab; Dr. Jason S. Snyder, University of British Columbia
September 2014 – June 2015: Environmental Cognition Lab; Dr. Jiaying Zhao, University of British Columbia

Projects / Research

2016 – 2017: Investigating the neuroplastic effects of learning on different aged neurons born in adulthood and during development (Delane Espinueva and John Darby Cole, under Dr. Jason S. Snyder)
2014 – 2017: Adult neurogenesis regulates delay-based decision-making (Dr. Desiree R.M. Seib, under Dr. Jason S. Snyder and Dr. Stan B. Floresco)
2015 – 2017: Neuroplastic effects of delay-discounting: a morphological analysis (Dr. Desiree R.M. Seib, under Dr. Jason S. Snyder and Dr. Stan B. Floresco)
2016: Adult neurogenesis and early circuit vulnerability in Alzheimer’s Disease (Dr. Jason S. Snyder)
2014 – 2017: The role of adult neurogenesis in visuo-spatial learning and memory is dependent on stress during training and sex (Dr. Timothy P. O’Leary, under Dr. Jason S. Snyder)
2014 – 2015: Mapping the emotional impact of the physical environment (Dr. Jiaying Zhao)

Scholarships / Awards

2017 – 2018:	Stipend by the International Max Planck Research School.
2016 – 2017:	UBC Dean of Science Scholarship

SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS AND GOALS

In general I am interested in improving our understanding of neurological disorders, such as depression and Alzheimer’s. This necessitates a better understanding of the functions of the normal human brain, so I hope to widen my exposure to the different focuses of study that furthers this. Neuroplasticity in particular continues to hold my interest, but I am also intrigued by topics and questions in neuroimmunology and circuitry systems.