Dr. Gerlinde Metz
What once may have been considered a dark area in the spectrum of
sciencesneurology and the study of the human brainis fast approaching
the forefront of innovative research. An aging population and greater
advances in technology have prompted scientists to delve deeper into the
causes of neurological disorders and conditions. The search for new
treatments and therapies is a global endeavor, but some of the most
important advances are being made in Alberta.
Dr. Gerlinde Metz has been looking at the human mind from a biological
standpoint since she was a student at the Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. It was there that she first began using
her own invention, the ladder beam task, in experiments on locomotion,
after finding the available tools inadequate.
Upon receiving her PhD in biology, Metz moved to Alberta in 1999, to
accept a teaching position at the University of Lethbridge in the
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. Along with experience in the
field of neurological disorders, she brought her ladder beam along and
continued to use it in the assessment of lab animals and various other
experiments.
Metz receives grant funding from the National Institute of Health and the
Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research for her research
initiatives. She is currently examining the role of stress and other
external factors in the development of Parkinsons disease.
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