Malachi Hinrichsen

Touch your nose, no really do it! Simple right?

It may seem so, but what’s going on in your brain is anything but. The brain like the rest of your body is made up of cells, the basic building block of all living things, and lots of them. Your brain contains over one hundred billion cells, that’s 100,000,000,000!

When you decide to move, special cells in your brain called neurons communicate with each other by electrical and chemical signals. These signals are then sent from the brain to your muscles instructing them on precisely how to move. Neurons and other brain cells work tirelessly day and night so you can do very important things, like touch your nose on command!

In certain brain diseases like Parkinson’s disease, neurons in the brain important for precise movements get sick. When this happens simple activities like walking, talking, or even touching your nose can become very difficult. As a scientist interested in the brain my job is to figure out why these cells become sick and how we can prevent it. To do this I investigate laboratory grown neurons and the brains of mice using lasers and microscopes.

I’ve always loved science, but I didn’t always want to be a scientist. When I was younger, I wanted to teach English. In grade 10 I had a great science teacher who got me excited about the wide world of science which eventually led me to university. Now as part of a medical research team I get to ask my own questions about the brain and why cells don’t always do what they’re supposed to.