I started Her Royal Science simply because I love meaningful conversations.
I enjoy learning about people - who they are, what they have seen, and who they want to be. More than anything, I wanted to create Her Royal Science for minoritised peoples in STEM to share our life experiences in a safe space, thereby allowing others who may have experienced something similar to feel seen and heard.
Please join me on this journey. I invite you to listen, reflect, and grow with me.
- Dr Asma Bashir, Founder and Host
Under the supervision of Dr Cheryl Wellington, Dr Bashir completed her PhD in Neuroscience at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada, after having completed her BA Hons in Psychology at Boston University, USA.
For her PhD, Dr Bashir used preclinical and clinical approaches to investigate mechanisms of traumatic brain injury that lead to cerebrovascular compromise and axonal damage, including preclinical evaluation of a potential therapeutic approach.
Almost 3 million new cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI) are reported each year in North America and represent a leading cause of death and disability. There is still a lot we do not know about what happens to the brain after it has sustained a hit, so Dr Bashir sought out to characterize the pathological changes that ensue after injury. By characterizing what happens after TBI, the hope is to be able to pinpoint possible preventative strategies and evaluate therapies that can be then applied after head injury in humans. Using CHIMERA, a model of TBI, single and repetitive head injury was induced in mice and rats, and changes in behavioral outcomes – particularly in memory and impulsivity – were detected. Dr Bashir's thesis work has the potential to fill in missing information on changes within the brain after TBI, therefore providing the foundation necessary to study the usefulness of therapies.
For more information, read Dr Bashir's thesis, here.