By Neuroscientist & Speed Skater Jessica Merkens

My summer internship at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute has passed. During my time as an international student, from Holland, at HBI I was thrown in the deep end multiple times, and crawled back up scratched and bruised. 

Anastasia Greenberg appears to have a peculiar combination of interests. She is both a student working on her PhD in neuroscience AND a talented painter.

In many ways, athletes are very lucky. This year alone, I have literally travelled around the world, came back to Calgary, and then went back to Europe. I’ve been treated to various cultures around the world, had travel experiences with close friends, tried funky foods and had the opportunity to lace-up my skates and compete against the best in the world, mano-y-mano.

Through this I constantly have people in my corner who dedicate an enormous amount of time and attention to me. From coaches with their amazing eye for detail, to the therapists who give me long massages (painful ones), to make sure I can compete at my very best.

"In every man's heart there is a secret nerve that answers to the vibrations of beauty." -Christopher Morley

Hi, my name is Martin. 

Some eight years ago, my life took an interesting turn. What started as a mild fatigue, eventually turned into a challenging neurological condition. On bad days, I struggle to get outside or even walk more than a few hundred meters at a time. From the onset of the first symptoms I searched for medical advice, which resulted in varying diagnoses. Depression, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia were all mentioned frequently. In more recent years a few doctors diagnosed me with Lyme disease. While I have a Lyme diagnosis, I feel it is our best guess at this stage. It is a controversial diagnosis and treatment, not recognized by a lot of health professionals. This uncertainty in the healthcare system towards Lyme disease adds an extra challenging layer to my journey.

Pushing down hard on the pedals, one… two…. three… four.  Greg’s wide tires move slowly along the pavement. Road bikes whiz past quickly down the highway.

To say the least, Greg Van Tighem drew some attention on his fat bike at the Branch Out Bike Tour this past June. Riding a fat bike makes rides more difficult because of the extra weight and wider tires. Everyone at the tour was left wondering why he would choose to suffer this self-induced handicap.

Are you wondering what’s up with the Branch Out Research Students?

We’ve interrupted a couple of them to hear how their projects have been going and if you missed this years bike tour, we've recorded the live research presentations and posted below….

Christopher Clarke

Major is biology, minor is psychology at Grant McEwan University

Sarah, the newest member of the Branch Out board, loves skating in circles as fast as she can, snowboarding in the park and getting active on the Branch Out Bike Tour. This enthusiasm, combined with her skills in strategic planning and execution, is really going to fire up some neurons!

It may not look like it out there, but spring has sprung, meaning that the winter semester at Mount Royal is coming to a close. While the end of another stressful semester brings much anticipated relief, it also means our time with Branch Out is nearing its end.This experience has been exciting, rewarding and educational for the four of us. From the moment we found out that we would be working with the foundation, we couldn’t wait to embrace such an inspirational cause and contribute whatever we could to help the foundation “branch out” even further!

Participants in Panorama's Peak to Valley Challenge will descend the full height of the mountain from the summit to the base in support of the Branch Out Neurological Foundation.

Hi everyone! 

My name is Berger! I’m originally from a super warm, sunny land called Florida, and when I was just a little bulldog I came to live with my human, Ted, in Calgary. It’s cold here sometimes, especially compared to Florida, but I love my human lots and people here are real nice! 

I’m an all-white bulldog, which I guess means I can’t hear too well...or at all, whichever one. I don’t notice too much though, since I could never really hear in the first place. I just sometimes go to sleep and I guess my human can’t wake me up to eat or go play, and I love to eat and play, so that is no fun.