People
Brett Hilton
Principal Investigator
Dr. Brett J. Hilton is an Assistant Professor in the Cellular & Physiological Sciences department at The University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, BC, Canada. He is also a Principal Investigator at the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD). Dr. Hilton completed a BSc in Biology and a BA in English Literature at UBC. He then completed his PhD under the supervision of Dr. Wolfram Tetzlaff, where he discovered his passion for spinal cord injury research and investigated the regeneration and plasticity of descending motor pathways following spinal cord injury. In collaboration with Dr. Cédric Geoffroy and Dr. Binhai Zheng at UCSD, he discovered that aging significantly diminishes central axon regeneration, and in collaboration with Dr. Tim Murphy at UBC, he discovered that a minor corticospinal pathway could mediate functional improvements following spinal cord injury.
Following his PhD, Dr. Hilton moved to Bonn Germany to conduct his postdoctoral studies with expert cellular and molecular neuroscientist and hugger Dr. Frank Bradke at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE). There, he investigated the cellular and molecular mechanisms that restrict axon regeneration. He developed a tissue clearing and 3D imaging analysis pipeline to rapidly and accurately assess cell or cellular process density in unsectioned tissue, discovered that critical components of the synapse suppress regeneration, and together with Dr. Sina Stern found that RhoA has divergent physiological roles in neurons and reactive astrocytes following injury.
Outside of the lab, Dr. Hilton enjoys running, listening to podcasts, reading Murakami short stories and Emerson essays, agonizing over the Toronto Maple Leafs, and going to pop punk rock shows.
Principal Investigator
Dr. Brett J. Hilton is an Assistant Professor in the Cellular & Physiological Sciences department at The University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, BC, Canada. He is also a Principal Investigator at the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD). Dr. Hilton completed a BSc in Biology and a BA in English Literature at UBC. He then completed his PhD under the supervision of Dr. Wolfram Tetzlaff, where he discovered his passion for spinal cord injury research and investigated the regeneration and plasticity of descending motor pathways following spinal cord injury. In collaboration with Dr. Cédric Geoffroy and Dr. Binhai Zheng at UCSD, he discovered that aging significantly diminishes central axon regeneration, and in collaboration with Dr. Tim Murphy at UBC, he discovered that a minor corticospinal pathway could mediate functional improvements following spinal cord injury.
Following his PhD, Dr. Hilton moved to Bonn Germany to conduct his postdoctoral studies with expert cellular and molecular neuroscientist and hugger Dr. Frank Bradke at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE). There, he investigated the cellular and molecular mechanisms that restrict axon regeneration. He developed a tissue clearing and 3D imaging analysis pipeline to rapidly and accurately assess cell or cellular process density in unsectioned tissue, discovered that critical components of the synapse suppress regeneration, and together with Dr. Sina Stern found that RhoA has divergent physiological roles in neurons and reactive astrocytes following injury.
Outside of the lab, Dr. Hilton enjoys running, listening to podcasts, reading Murakami short stories and Emerson essays, agonizing over the Toronto Maple Leafs, and going to pop punk rock shows.
Nicole Janzen
Lab Manager
Nicole started her career in Toronto at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, working on the effects of high fiber diets on cancer. From there, she moved to Vancouver, where she has been a lab technician/lab manager for three different labs in immunology and neuroscience. Nicole has broad expertise in spinal cord injury experiments, cell culture, and the administrative side of science.
Lab Manager
Nicole started her career in Toronto at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, working on the effects of high fiber diets on cancer. From there, she moved to Vancouver, where she has been a lab technician/lab manager for three different labs in immunology and neuroscience. Nicole has broad expertise in spinal cord injury experiments, cell culture, and the administrative side of science.
Duo Cheng
Lab Technician
Duo joined the lab at the beginning of 2023 after working as a technician and completing his Master's degree in Cell & Developmental Biology in Dr. Vanessa Auld's lab at UBC. Duo's previous work focused on what drives glia interactions with the extracellular matrix, with other glia, and with neural stem cells during the development and maintenance of the nervous system using the common fruit fly (D. melanogaster). Prior to that, Duo completed his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science at the University of Guelph. Duo is excited to help build the lab and to expand his skillset into mammalian systems and regeneration research.
Lab Technician
Duo joined the lab at the beginning of 2023 after working as a technician and completing his Master's degree in Cell & Developmental Biology in Dr. Vanessa Auld's lab at UBC. Duo's previous work focused on what drives glia interactions with the extracellular matrix, with other glia, and with neural stem cells during the development and maintenance of the nervous system using the common fruit fly (D. melanogaster). Prior to that, Duo completed his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science at the University of Guelph. Duo is excited to help build the lab and to expand his skillset into mammalian systems and regeneration research.
Naomi Huang
Co-op Student
Naomi is a fourth year undergraduate at UBC majoring in Biology and joined the lab as a co-op student in the summer of 2023. Her work in the Hilton Lab is exploring the functional and histological effects of Baclofen treatment in a cervical spinal cord injury model.
Co-op Student
Naomi is a fourth year undergraduate at UBC majoring in Biology and joined the lab as a co-op student in the summer of 2023. Her work in the Hilton Lab is exploring the functional and histological effects of Baclofen treatment in a cervical spinal cord injury model.
Navneet Gill
Work-Learn Student / Summer Student Research Program Awardee
Navneet is entering her third year in the Neuroscience program at UBC. She won an SSRP award to pursue a project focusing on the role of histone methylation in axon growth using DRG cell culture and is also helping with a project focusing on tissue clearing / 3D imaging of the innervation of the heart.
Work-Learn Student / Summer Student Research Program Awardee
Navneet is entering her third year in the Neuroscience program at UBC. She won an SSRP award to pursue a project focusing on the role of histone methylation in axon growth using DRG cell culture and is also helping with a project focusing on tissue clearing / 3D imaging of the innervation of the heart.
Samuel Duenwald
Work-Learn Student / Honour's student
Sam is a 4th year undergraduate in the Cellular, Anatomical, and Physiological (CAPS) program. After completing a Co-op placement in the neighboring Tetzlaff lab focusing on myelin regeneration, he started a work-learn position in the Hilton Lab in the summer of 2023. In the fall, Sam will conduct his Honour's thesis project in the lab. Sam is applying tissue clearing and 3D imaging as well as axon injury models to investigate pharmacological and genetic strategies to promote axon regeneration after spinal cord injury.
Work-Learn Student / Honour's student
Sam is a 4th year undergraduate in the Cellular, Anatomical, and Physiological (CAPS) program. After completing a Co-op placement in the neighboring Tetzlaff lab focusing on myelin regeneration, he started a work-learn position in the Hilton Lab in the summer of 2023. In the fall, Sam will conduct his Honour's thesis project in the lab. Sam is applying tissue clearing and 3D imaging as well as axon injury models to investigate pharmacological and genetic strategies to promote axon regeneration after spinal cord injury.
