Tommy Kim

Tommy Kim
Home Institute: McGill University
Supervisor: Dr. Anne Wheeler

Hello! My name is Tommy Kim and I am a 4th year psychology student at McGill. I am personally very interested in the relationship between neurobiology and behaviour, which has led me to work in an animal neuroscience lab studying dopamine neuron circuitry in mice, and a sensorimotor neuroscience lab that examines changes in motor movements in response to changes in the perception of the environment. Outside of the lab, I am passionate about volunteering with populations with neurodegenerative disorders and developmental disabilities, as well as playing chess and basketball.

Project title: Patterns of cortical thinning associated with cortical topology after mild TBI in youth I will be working with Dr. Anne Wheeler of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto to examine changes in cortical grey matter following mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) in child patients. My role in the lab will be to perform statistical analyses and generate maps using cortical thickness and sulcal depth data obtained with MRIs of TBI patients' brains. Specifically, we will be testing the prediction that the biomechanics of mild TBI result in differential vulnerability of cortical grey matter determined by cortical topology.

The reason I applied to Amgen Scholars was in the hopes that this experience would help broaden my research horizons into more clinically-relevant fields involving neuroscience and health, especially alongside a diverse group of like-minded people who are just as passionate about research as I am. I hope to form new friendships as well as connections with mentors who will be of tremendous help in my future academic and research career.