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For Parisa Abedi Khoozani (MSc’13), by receiving a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) she will be able to collaborate directly with her project partners at the University of Giessen while also gaining the opportunity to experience a new set of ideas and viewpoints.

Ms. Abedi Khoozani, a PhD student in the Centre for Neuroscience Studies is one of three award applicants from Queen’s to earn a prestigious study scholarship along with Soren Mellerup, a PhD student in the Department of Chemistry, and Julia Kostin (Artsci’15), who applied after completing her undergraduate degree and is currently pursuing her master’s in sustainable development at Leipzig University.

“Having this level of success, with three Queen’s applicants receiving DAAD scholarships in one year – it’s fantastic, and reflects the excellent caliber of our students,” says Brenda Brouwer, Vice-Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies. “The competition is open to U.S. and Canadian citizens or permanent residents; in other words there’s a lot of competition. A successful applicant demonstrates not only academic excellence, but also leadership potential and a strong plan of study while in Germany. We’re thrilled with the outcome – it’s quite an achievement for these students and for Queen’s.” 

Through the 10-month scholarship Ms. Abedi Khoozani says she will be able to expand and strengthen her collaboration by being able to stay in Germany longer.

Her current research explores how the human brain combines information coming from different sources and how noise can affect this combination process. To expand her understanding, she is aiming to study the effect of noise during obstacle avoidance.

“For me I feel it’s a great opportunity to get more multidisciplinary ideas or different ways of looking at the data, as well as how to interpret it, how to make sense of the underlying mechanisms in the brain,” she says, adding that she will have access to leading researchers as well as various technologies that will allow her to do more advanced modelling. “Honestly, I am very excited because I have an opportunity that I have dreamed about, to have a chance to visit the university, further my research and collaborate with people.”

DAAD is a publicly funded independent organization of higher education institutions in Germany, offering research grants and study scholarships for students with at least a bachelor’s degree to either study or further their research in Germany.