On a Quest to Understand a Devastating Disease
Wednesday, June 18, 2025 / Online
Kirkland’s research expertise has been bolstered by his work with Lakehead Orillia professor Dr. Daniel Krupp’s SALT Lab, which studies the psychology of cooperation and conflict. Kirkland (HBASc’22) has been analyzing data and doing computer programming for the lab since graduating from Lakehead. Photo: Pexels
Conquering Alzheimer’s disease has become Lakehead grad Kirkland Johnston’s mission.
Alzheimer’s is a “chronic neurodegenerative disease that destroys brain cells, causing thinking ability and memory to decline over time,” according to the Alzheimer Society.
“Certain genes are strongly correlated with the disease,” explains Kirkland, who’s just finished the first year of a Psychology and Neuroscience PhD at the University of Toronto.
“My research is investigating how certain genes influence the hippocampus—the ridges in the brain responsible for memory and emotion.”
Studying this incurable disease wasn’t part of Kirkland’s original career plans. He majored in psychology and criminology at Lakehead Orillia, graduating with an Honours Bachelor of Arts and Science in 2022. His honours thesis, however, sparked his interest in neuroscience. For his thesis, Kirkland examined the biological factors that influence psychopaths’ behaviour, as part of a larger research project run by psychology professor Dr. Beth Visser.
Pictured left: “When I was younger, I did a lot of gymnastics and acrobatics, and I recently got into it again,” Kirkland says. “I also love mountain biking, running, and spending time with family and friends. It keeps me grounded and happy.”
“From a neuroscience perspective, psychopaths have less developed frontal cortices and less emotionality as well as lower executive function and inhibitions,” Kirkland says. “This influences their level of callousness, impulsivity, and tendency to act in ways that benefit them without regard for anyone else.”
His newfound fascination with neuroscience led Kirkland to complete a master’s degree at Trent University focused on how different behaviours can be triggered by different neural pathways. “I studied how stress can influence chronic pain. Our research team found that if fear is present along with pain, the pain lasts longer.”
Kirkland’s decision to pursue Alzheimer’s research stems not from his scholarly experiences, but from his personal life. “I became passionate about Alzheimer’s disease because some of my family members have suffered from it,” he says.
Kirkland and his supervisor, Dr. Iva Zovkic, are studying histone variant macro H2A1 (mH2A1). Histones are the fundamental building blocks of chromatin, the material that makes up our chromosomes. The Zovkic lab has zeroed in on histones H2A.Z and mH2A1, finding supportive evidence for their role in modulating memory. “The more H2A.Z there is in the brain, the stronger the association is with impaired memory” Kirkland says. “But if you remove it genetically through surgery, it improves learning and memory in mice.”
Kirkland is looking at how declining estrogen levels in mice increase Alzheimer’s pathology and memory impairment. This is critical because women are almost twice as likely as men to get Alzheimer’s. They also experience more rapid cognitive decline and worse treatment outcomes.
“Part of this may stem from the fact that, for an extremely long time, women were underrepresented in Alzheimer's research studies, " Kirkland says. “Even now, women still aren’t equally represented in studies, which affects how they respond to treatment.”
His goal is to better understand female biology to create more effective Alzheimer’s treatments for women.
Although Kirkland is at the beginning of his career, he is convinced that he’s found his calling. “I plan to continue doing Alzheimer’s research because I want to do meaningful work that has a positive impact on people.”