Rehab Science's Brea Chouinard receives prestigious AIHS fellowship
When Brea Chouinard first applied for the prestigious Alberta Innovates Health Solutions Clinical Fellowship in 2011, she placed 50th out of 50 applicants. But she didn't let that discourage her. The University of Alberta PhD candidate took a step back, adjusted her strategy and reapplied in March 2013. Her determination paid off - literally. This year, she finished in the top 24 per cent and earned a lucrative, three-year stipend.
"For a while, I applied for many scholarships but I wasn't getting the results I was hoping for. Finally, I said to someone, 'I want to look good on scholarship applications. What should I do?'" explains Chouinard, a PhD student in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine.
She listened carefully to the advice, and made a couple of key changes.
"My clinical passion was in autism and that was the area I really wanted to study and volunteer in," says Chouinard, who changed her project and her co-supervisor two years into her studies. "I don't necessarily think that I have a better or more valuable research project than other students. I just think that when I started studying autism I was able to communicate more passionately and clearly, and I was able to communicate about my pursuits and goals in a way that agreed with what the selection committee needed to hear," she adds.
"Oftentimes we get students who don't think they can switch their area of research. I don't think anyone should feel 'stuck' in an area. Brea did what I would encourage every PhD student to do: study what you're passionate about - that's what the U of A is for. The possibilities are endless and when you go after something you truly care about, others see it too," says Tammy Hopper, PhD, associate dean, Graduate Studies and Research. "As well, I'd like to say that Brea's academic record and research topic are both exceptional, and her award is well-deserved!"
Chouinard's research is focused on examining the underlying brain processes involved in language comprehension in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She is specifically interested in how individuals with ASD comprehend figurative language, such as metaphors. Brea has designed an experiment that will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to help determine neurological processing of metaphors and inform existing theories on figurative language comprehension among individuals with and without ASD.
Her supervisors are Jacqueline Cummine, PhD, an emerging leader in neuroimaging research related to reading and Joanne Volden, PhD, an expert in language and communication of individuals with ASD, both from the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology. The partnership between these two researchers has created an excellent training environment for Chouinard.
"Words can't express how much of a difference they have made," says Chouinard. "Jacqueline got me involved in all of the things I would need to be successful - like publications and conferences - before I even realized how important they were. Joanne is also amazing, without her I would not have been able to make the switch to autism. She has guided and nurtured my ability to think and speak about my research in a way that has directly increased my confidence and skills in designing and communicating about my research. Joanne has made me a better researcher."
"We are just so incredibly proud of Brea. She works so hard every single day and it's great to see her perseverance being recognized," says Cummine.
"We couldn't be more thrilled about her success," Volden adds.
Chouinard has indeed had a successful year. In addition to the AIHS Clinician Fellowship, she received the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Scholarship earlier this spring, the University of Alberta's most prestigious doctoral student award. She also was awarded the highly competitive Autism Research Training (ART) Program scholarship, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Strategic Training Initiative in Health Research (STIHR), with supplemental funding from the Sinneave Family Foundation. And just recently she received news that she was awarded the Autism Society of Edmonton and Area and the Autism Research Centre (ASEA/ARC) Graduate Student Pilot Grant in support of her current research endeavors.