Matthew Holahan

Matthew Holahan is the Departmental Chair and Professor of Neuroscience at Carleton University, holding a PhD from McGill University. His research employs rodent models, pharmacological interventions, and molecular techniques to study neural structure-function relationships in contexts like Parkinson’s disease, memory formation, and social behavior. He actively supervises undergraduate and graduate students, with many publications featuring student-led contributions. His lab focuses on preclinical treatments for neurodegenerative disorders and the interplay between environmental factors and neural plasticity.

Education: PhD in Neuroscience (McGill University)

Research Interests: Holahan’s work integrates behavioral, cellular, and molecular approaches to investigate neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Parkinson’s/Alzheimer’s), memory consolidation, and the impact of developmental exposures on adult cognition. Specific foci include dopamine’s role in fear conditioning, nucleus accumbens nonspatial memory, and gut microbiome interactions with neurological pathology.

Key Contributions: Developed aptamer-based therapies targeting α-synuclein aggregation and ß-amyloid detection via biosensors. Pioneered studies on social recognition deficits linked to early-life social exposure and hippocampal CA2 activity. His lab emphasizes translational research using porcine models for neurodegenerative studies.

Labs/Teams: Holahan Lab at Carleton University, specializing in integrative neuroscience methodologies.