Hello, and welcome! I’m a postdoctoral research fellow with the Alzheimer Society of Canada at the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, and a sessional instructor at the University of Lethbridge. My research sits at the intersection of neuroethology and behavioral neuroscience, where I study how the brain gives rise to complex social behaviors — and how these behaviors, in turn, influence brain health and disease.

With a strong foundation in ethology, I’ve always been fascinated by how animals interact, communicate, and adapt. Today, I combine that curiosity with cutting-edge neuroscience tools, such as Neuropixels recordings and AI-based behavioral tracking (e.g., DeepLabCut), to understand how neural activity unfolds during natural social interactions. My work explores how typical social behaviors (including aggression, communication, cooperation, and emotional regulation) develop and change across the lifespan, and how these processes are disrupted in conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

While my current work primarily uses rats and mice as model systems, my background in animal behavior spans a wide range of species: from whales and dolphins to birds, primates, and even cockroaches. This broad comparative experience continues to shape how I think about behavior and the brain: as products of both evolution and experience.

I grew up in Calgary, Alberta, where my fascination with animal behavior first took root. Outside the lab, I love spending time in the mountains with my wife and two kids, exploring the same natural curiosity that inspires my research.

Through my science and teaching, I aim to bridge ethology, neuroscience, and technology — building a deeper understanding of how brains create behavior, and how behavior, in turn, shapes the brain.