Jimmy Fraigne

Campus

St. George (downtown)

CSB Appointment

Teaching

Research Areas

Animal Biology, Bioinformatics / Computational Biology, Neurobiology, Pathology, Physiology, Science Pedagogy

Education

B.Sc. University of Poitiers 2003
M.Sc. University of Poitiers 2005
Ph.D. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center 2010

Graduate Programs

Cell and Systems Biology

Research Description

My research aims to determine how neural circuits control sleep and motor behaviour. Some of the questions that I focus on are: How does the nervous system couple cortical arousal with the appropriate motor activity to produce meaningful behaviour? How are REM sleep and its characteristics generated and controlled? Our lab uses a range of techniques such as optogenetics, chemogenetics and live cell imaging to understand how and why pathology in sleep circuitry contributes to sleep disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.
My teaching focuses on promoting scientific literacy through active learning. I believe that scientific literacy helps students develop their critical thinking skills, knowledge, and curiosity. I integrate experiential learning in data science to my teaching, to give hands-on experience to students. I am recently exploring the use of generative AI to improve learning experiences for all students and creating tools for AI-assisted coding. Finally, I strive to create an inclusive and engaging learning environment that makes students feel at ease.