Researcher Profile: Dr Alon Friedman
Dr. Alon Friedman is a professor in the Department of Medical Neuroscience and is the William Dennis Chair in Epilepsy Research at Dalhousie University. He also serves as the Dr. Helena Rachmanska-Putzman Chair in Neurology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, where he is a professor in the Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences. He has been affiliated with the Brain Repair Centre (BRC) since 2014. To Dr. Friedman, the BRC provides tremendous value as a collaboration hub for scientists studying different areas of research working towards the shared goal of brain repair.
Dr. Friedman’s primary research focus is the pathogenesis of brain disorders, examining how brain injury affects the brain, and studying the role played by blood-brain barrier and its role in neurological disorders. His work has been funded through a broad range of sources, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Nova Scotia Health Research, Department of National Defence, Global Affairs Canada and the Dennis Family Chair.
With the help of the BRC, Dr. Friedman has received Knowledge Translation Grants. These have that have greatly assisted in communicating his research to diverse areas of healthcare such as cell replacement therapies.
Throughout the course of his involvement with the BRC, trainees have played an important role. “Trainees are the ones doing the hands-on research, they have the best ideas and are the best part of my work,” says Dr. Friedman. “The trainees at the BRC come from all over the world, and their diverse backgrounds bring forth a collective strength that creates original ideas.” Dr. Friedman’s advice to anyone wanting to work in this field is, “Have fun, go where your passion is, don’t try to imitate or copy others, and go after your dream!”
In addition to working with trainees, Dr. Friedman is a frequent collaborator with local clinicians and faculty at Dalhousie University. He and Dr. David Clarke, who is the Head of the Division of Neurosurgery, have worked on research related to football players with recurrent concussions leading to blood-brain barrier dysfunction, and the potential for chronic symptoms. He has worked with Associate Professor of Psychiatry Dr. Cindy Calkin on Bi-Polar Disorder research and the coexistence of vascular disease, which may result in a “leaky” blood-brain barrier and the need to treat the leak, rather than the symptoms of depression. In collaboration with Dr. John Hanly of the Division of Rheumatology, Dr. Friedman has studied lupus and the cognitive issues associated with it.
Dr. Friedman is a member of the Society for Neuroscience and internationally, he is developing techniques to assist in the remote diagnosis of epilepsy in rural Zambia.
Dr. Friedman’s hope for the future is that when we return to a post-pandemic world, we will see greater investment in population health that enables us to learn how to manage and prevent brain disorders from occurring. He believes that identifying and assessing brain health is critical and that much more work needs to be done in this area.
You can also read about some of Dr Friedman’s current and past trainees - Pooyan Moradi, Dr. Gerben Van Hameren, Dr. Lyna Kamintsky - at Our Trainees page.