“I am a neuroscientist, with my research focusing on brain evolution. I did my M.Sc in Biochemistry (2005) and my PhD (2009) in Biopsychology, both at the Ruhr-University in Bochum, Germany. In 2010 I moved to South Africa and in 2014 to Brazil to conduct studies on the mammalian brain. Since March 2017 I have been at Hokkaido University. Using the comparative neuroanatomical approach on non-model organisms, I would like to understand how the mammalian brain evolved. I am especially interested in the evolution of large brains”

See my short CV

I joined this lab in 2020 as a bachelor student. I am interested in aquatic mammals especially pinnipeds. After completing my bachelor studies on the seal hippocampus, I will continue with my master studies on the seal neuroanatomy. I am currently analyzing the brains of spotted seals and Steller sea lions. I am exited to work on this project.

I am Nasiba Afrin from Bangladesh. After completing by bachelor’s in Zoology from Bangladesh, I joined as a master’s student in Hokkaido university on 2nd October 2019. I am proud to be part of Patzke lab. It is a very nice place where students of different countries work. I always love animals and now I get the opportunity to work on marine animals in this lab. I am interested to work on the neuroanatomy of cetaceans.

I am 4th senior at Hokkaido University and I joined Prof. Patzke’s laboratory in April 2021. I am interested in how underwater environment can influence the evolution of marine mammals. Specifically, I want to understand how different habitats can affect brain evolution.

In April 2021 I joined this lab. I am interested in neuroscience especially in whales. I would like to study the different types of astrocytes of in the brains of different whale including dolphins. I love animals because my parents often took me to zoos and aquariums. Therefore, I am very excited to learn more about marine mammals.

Phua is an undergraduate student at the Faculty of Life Science who is assisting us in the laboratory.