POSITION
Undergraduate Researcher
CREDENTIALS
3rd year BSc. in Biology and Psychology student
Keywords: mild traumatic brain injury, Indigenous brain injury, concussion, substance use.
Contact: (email) laurenfaulkner@uvic.ca
MY RESEARCH INTERESTS
Tansi (hello)! Lauren Aimoe nitisiyihkâson (my name is Lauren Aimoe), and I am
proudly Assin’skowitiniwak (Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation) and Métis (Métis Nation British
Columbia). I am currently working on concussion/mTBI in adult and youth populations. I am
helping with the VBIS “Train Your Brain” Neurotracker program which has been hugely
successful in reducing number and severity of concussion-related symptoms. My main focus
currently though is revising and reviewing the concussion education program utilized by VBIS to
make it more accessible, inclusive and relevant to Indigenous youth, who are at much greater
risk of sustaining a concussion yet less likely to receive adequate care, support and education
regarding it. My work is done using a holistic and Indigenized lens, with the ultimate goal of both
Decolonizing and Indigenizing concussion education for local Indigenous youth. I am also
interested in pre-clinical concussion research and have worked on a variety of projects utilizing
animal models, mostly pertaining to repeated mTBI and its effect on synaptic plasticity in the
hippocampus. Additionally, I have assisted in the study of nutritional supplements (choline) as
they affect synaptic plasticity following prenatal ethanol exposure. Kinanâskomitin (thank you),
ekosi (goodbye)!
Hobbies: My hobbies include: traditional Indigenous beadwork, swimming in the ocean, lifeguarding and
teaching swim lessons, listening to Taylor Swift (Speak Now!) and spending time with my 2-
year-old Frenchie and 15-year-old Miniature Schnauzer.
A fun fact about me: I was born and raised in the Yukon. The coldest day that I remember
experiencing was -61 degrees Celsius! The “cutoff” temperature for going to school was -45…
any temperature above this meant I had to go to school!