While many graduate students specialize in one field, Maddy Maheu (BSc '22) is applied health sciences, psychology and computer science tools to explore how exercise impacts the brain.
Applied Health Sciences master's student Maddy Maheu (BSc '22) has received the national Branch Out Foundation Grant for her interdisciplinary research on exercise and brain health.
The Applied Health Sciences master's student recently earned one of seven graduate 2024 Branch Out Foundation Grants, a competitive national award recognizing students working in NeuroCAM (neuroscience of complementary and alternative modalities), for her interdisciplinary research. The $22,000 grant will support her exploration of how exercise influences brain health, particularly memory, anxiety, neuroplasticity and neuroinflammation.
Maheu's interest in exercise and neuroscience stems from her personal and academic journey.
Growing up, she was surrounded by health and fitness through her mother, a physical education teacher who reinforced that exercise is crucial to overall well-being. Maheu combines that early exposure with her academic passion on brain health to uncover how exercise can benefit cognitive function.
"I was fortunate to grow up in a physically active environment where I learned about the benefits of exercise first-hand," she says. "Now, my research is about uncovering the science behind how exercise can improve the brain, particularly in terms of memory, cognition and mental health."
Her research explores how different forms of aerobic exercise affect the extracellular matrix (ECM) a molecular network that supports brain cells and how these changes impact the hippocampus and amygdala, regions in the brain related to memory and anxiety.
Maheu's work also considers what she describes as a "significant gap" in understanding the sex-specific effects of exercise on the brain as well as how these differences affect anxiety and cognition.
Identifying which types of exercise are most beneficial for brain health based on sex, age, and health conditions can lead to more personalized approaches to mental health and well-being.
"This isn't just about telling people to exercise more," Maheu says. "It's about understanding how exercise affects the brain differently in men and women and how we can tailor exercise recommendations to help people improve both cognitive and physical health."
The Branch Out Graduate Grant has been a game-changer for Maheu, giving her the time and resources to make an impact through her work.
"This grant has been a huge help, and it's allowed me to dive deeper into my research and share my findings with a broader community at conferences," she says. "Attending conferences is crucial for staying connected to the latest research, learning new lab techniques and exchanging ideas with other researchers."
Looking ahead, Maheu plans to pursue an interdisciplinary MD-PhD, focusing on integrating exercise science into psychiatry and addiction research.
