From studying how brain cells communicate in Huntington disease to keeping ties with home while working in Vancouver, Jessica Barron has always valued strong connections.

Where are you from?

St. John’s! I completed my B.Sc. (Hons) in Cell and Molecular Biology at Memorial University before starting my graduate studies. I’ve been living in Vancouver for the past 4 months and although I love the west coast I miss the comforts of home. My favorite place in Newfoundland and Labrador is the town of Holyrood. Most of my family live there and my fiancé proposed to me on top of George Cove Mountain, which overlooks the town.

What do you enjoy doing for fun?

In my free time I can be found going to concerts and other live music events, trying out new restaurants or hanging at home with my cats Chips and Cooper. I also enjoy group fitness classes like spin and boxing, and attending community run clubs.

Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree?

I wasn’t familiar with what a career in research entailed until I started my third undergraduate co-op placement as a research assistant in Dr. Guangju Zhai’s lab in the Faculty of Medicine during the fall semester of 2017. During this placement, I worked full-time on a genetics research project investigating a gene that Dr. Zhai’s lab hypothesized may influence the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA) and the ability for OA patients to recover after knee replacement surgery. After my co-op position in the Zhai lab, I also completed an honours project and by the end knew I wanted to continue my studies as a graduate student. I loved being hands-on in the lab investigating a question that had never been answered before. Since this time, I’ve also learned that I enjoy the independence of working in research, collaborating with other passionate scientists and sharing findings from my research at local and international conferences.

Why did you choose Memorial University for your graduate studies?

In my last year of my B.Sc. I began searching for a M.Sc. supervisor. I knew I wanted to stay within Canada and focused my search on labs studying mechanisms underlying hereditary diseases. In March of 2019 I interviewed for a M.Sc. position in Dr. Matthew Parsons’ lab to investigate molecular mechanisms underlying Huntington’s disease (HD), a rare but fatal neurodegenerative disease. I had interviewed with other supervisors external to Memorial, but knew after meeting Dr. Parsons and his lab members that their research program would be a great fit for me based on both the content of their research and their friendly and supportive environment. After a year in the Parsons lab, I transitioned to the PhD. in Medicine program and will be defending my thesis next month. Continuing my studies at Memorial allowed me to foster strong connections within the academic community for future employment opportunities and enabled me to stay close to friends and family, who supported me during my studies.

What is your research/thesis about?

My PhD. research investigates molecular mechanisms underlying HD, a devastating hereditary brain disorder. HD results from the inheritance of a mutated copy of the huntingtin (HTT) gene from parent to child. The HTT gene mutation has been well-studied and clinical trials are ongoing that aim to prevent the onset of HD by blocking the mutated gene from producing its harmful protein. However, some of these therapies are non-selective in that they target both the mutated and normal (healthy) HTT protein, which could have negative consequences for patients receiving these drugs. We know from previous research that healthy HTT is involved in nervous system development, but there is a limited understanding of how it functions normally in the adult brain. Understanding this is critical as HD patients receiving these “non-selective” therapies will have extremely low levels of healthy HTT. My PhD. thesis examines the consequences of healthy HTT depletion in the adult brain using cell culture and mouse models. From this research we have found that healthy HTT is required for proper communication between neurons in the hippocampus, a brain area critical for learning and memory. Loss of normal HTT also led to other issues in the brain such as inflammation, highlighting the crucial role of healthy HTT in supporting neuronal health in adulthood.

How would you describe your experience as a graduate student at Memorial?

My experience as a graduate student at Memorial was incredibly rewarding and prepared me for my future career in science. During my PhD. I made many close friends within my lab and the biomedical science (BMS) division, and while serving on committees such as the Medical Graduate Student Society (MGSS). I also had many opportunities to travel outside of Newfoundland to attend conferences, the most notable being the Society for Neuroscience 2022 meeting in San Diego and a HD Gordon Research Conference in Vermont in 2023.

What scholarships or awards have you received?

I was the recipient of The Dr. Howard Strong Memorial Research Fellowship in Aging 2021-22, The Dean's Building a Healthy Tomorrow Award 2022-23, The Dr. Roger C. Green Graduate Scholarship in Human Genetics 2023-24 and The Dr. Angus J. Neary Genetics Scholarship 2024-25. Externally, I have also received travel awards from the International Brain Research Organization, the BrightFocus Foundation and BioImaging North America.

What career path are you interested in pursuing after graduation?

In January 2025 I began a position at the University of British Columbia as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Dr. Michael Hayden’s lab in the Department of Medical Genetics. Dr. Hayden is internationally recognized for his research on Huntington’s disease. He has published over 900 peer-reviewed papers and has supervised over 100 postdoctoral fellows and graduate students throughout his career. Dr. Hayden is also the founder of the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics (CMMT), where our lab is situated, and has founded/co-founded five biotechnology companies. As a postdoc in Dr. Hayden’s lab, my research focuses on further examining molecular mechanisms underlying Huntington’s disease and creating/validating novel therapeutics including gene therapies. I am incredibly excited about the work I’m pursuing in the Hayden lab, and my long-term career goal is to eventually return to Newfoundland as a full-time research scientist in the academic or industry sector.

What advice would you give to current or future graduate students?

A strong GPA is helpful when applying for graduate school, but having soft skills like critical thinking, creativity and effective communication will also allow you to thrive as a graduate student. I initially faced many rejections for scholarships and programs, as my GPA was not quite competitive enough for these in my first couple of years of grad school. I was even rejected from the M.Sc. in Medical Genetics program at UBC; the same department where I now work as a postdoctoral researcher. However, I tapped into my soft skills, strong work ethic and passion for research during my PhD. to build a competitive CV for future opportunities.

Anything else you would like to add?

“Science rules!” – Bill Nye

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