Kenneth Lukowiak

Dr. Kenneth Lukowiak serves as Professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, and is a Full Member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute. He additionally holds visiting professorships at Tribhuvan University, Patan Academy of Health Sciences in Kathmandu, Nepal, and Bugando Medical College in Mwanza, Tanzania.

His educational background includes:

• B.S. in Biological Sciences from Iona College (1969)
• Ph.D. in Neurophysiology from State University of New York (1973)

Dr. Lukowiak's research centers on the behavioral ecology of stress, specifically investigating how environmentally relevant stressors alter long-term memory formation in the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis. His laboratory examines why stress can either enhance or suppress memory formation depending on stressor type and timing, and explores cognitive differences between snail populations from geographically proximate ponds. Current projects include the Garcia-effect, configural learning, and transforming predator-naive snails into predator-experienced strains.

His scientific recognition includes:

• Award (2017)
• Award (2016)
• Scholarship (2015)
• Award (2012)
• Salary Support Award (2011)
• Award (2009)

Dr. Lukowiak has served as Editor of the Journal of Experimental Biology since 2004 and sits on the Editorial Boards of Molecular Brain and Communicative and Integrative Biology. His sustained research program is evidenced by continuous funding including the 2011 salary support award, and he teaches MDSC 409 (Brain and Society) in upcoming academic terms. His laboratory (HSC2104) focuses on fundamental neurobiological mechanisms of learning and memory using invertebrate models with translational implications for stress-related cognitive disorders.