Highways in the Brain: A Discovery Days in Health Sciences Workshop
November 15, 2018
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1 min read
Overview
Interactive workshop delivered through Discovery Days in Health Sciences (Canadian Medical Hall of Fame), designed to help high school students understand how information travels in the nervous system using accessible analogies and hands-on activities. The students had an opportunity to model the nervous system in a computer lab. The feedback from the sessions were overwhelmingly positive.
Audience
High school students (Discovery Days in Health Sciences participants)
Key takeaways
- The nervous system can be understood as organized pathways that support different functions (movement, sensation, coordination)
- Structure supports function: where pathways go helps explain what happens when they’re disrupted
- Scientific thinking: ask a question, test a prediction, and refine a mental model based on evidence
Notes
Delivered multiple times between 2016-2018
Authors
Ehsan Misaghi
(he/him)
Clinician-Scientist Trainee
Ehsan Misaghi is an MD/PhD Candidate at the University of Alberta working at the intersection of ophthalmology, genetics, and artificial intelligence.
His research focuses on inherited retinal disease and genotype–phenotype correlations in ocular disease, with an emphasis on mechanistic insight and translational relevance.
Alongside research, he builds and evaluates practical AI tools for clinical and educational settings, and he leads medical AI education, research, and community-building through the AI in Medical Systems Society (AIMSS) and related initiatives.
His goal is to advance rigorous, clinically useful research and translate it into improved diagnostics, care pathways, and responsible innovation.