Arash Shahriari, PhD
After obtaining a BSc at University of British Columbia in 2017, I moved to Edmonton within the same year to join the Tierney lab for graduate school. As a PhD candidate, I am using the popular vertebrate model, the zebrafish, to examine how olfactory functionality is influenced by the different life stages of an animal. Specifically, I am examining how odour complexity during early development shapes long-term mediated behaviours. On the other end of an animal’s lifespan, aging often reduces olfactory functionality. My thesis explores this avenue as well, where I am asking the question: is this aging-associated reduction in olfactory sense equal between odour classes? With my aging experiments, I explore how molecular and anatomical changes to the olfactory system manifest in changes to olfactory functionality. As for hobbies, I enjoy reading, hiking, and camping.