UPEI鈥檚 Dr. Andrew Tasker awarded honorary professorship at Aarhus University, Denmark
Dr. Andrew Tasker, professor of neuropharmacology at UPEI鈥檚 Atlantic Veterinary College, has been awarded an honorary professorship at Aarhus University (AU) in Denmark. Dr. Tasker is a globally respected researcher on brain structure and function in connection to diseases such as schizophrenia and epilepsy. This honorary professorship allows him to further his research collaborations and mentor students within the Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit (TNU) at AU鈥檚 Department of Clinical Medicine.
鈥淚鈥檓 pleased with my new formal affiliation with Aarhus University,鈥� said Dr. Tasker. 鈥淭his makes it possible to advance my current collaborations with the faculty and students at both TNU and the Imaging Centre in Aarhus.鈥�
Dr. Tasker鈥檚 research examines how the brain鈥檚 structure and function change in connection with specific neurological diseases before symptoms appear. In the case of schizophrenia and epilepsy, many years of increasing dysfunction in the brain can be seen before the symptoms show-up and lead to a diagnosis being made.
鈥淏y understanding how the brain changes before some symptoms are seen, we hope to identify early biomarkers for the disease and to find new therapeutic targets, which can be used to halt the development of the disease before it reduces the patient鈥檚 quality of life,鈥� said Dr. Tasker.
Dr. Tasker is also part of the 69传媒research team responsible for some of the earliest and most important testing of NA-1, a promising drug which The Globe and Mail called Canada鈥檚 first 鈥渂lockbuster pharmaceutical鈥� since insulin. NA-1 is currently undergoing Phase 3 clinical trials at hospitals around the country. NA-1 has so far proven effective at lessening cell death with minimal side-effects in stroke victims.
鈥淒r. Tasker has been a pioneer in fundamental studies of the changes in structure and function of the brain that lead to debilitating neurological dysfunction,鈥� said Dr. Robert Gilmour, Vice-President Academic and Research. 鈥淲e congratulate him on his appointment as an honorary professor at Aarhus University, which is further recognition of the international impact of his work.鈥�
Dr. Tasker was awarded his honorary professorship at a ceremony on April 5.
Congratulations, Dr. Tasker!
