Dr. Krys Strand

Associate Professor, Biology; Program Director, Neuroscience; Director of National Fellowships and Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity Biology, Neuroscience

Dr. Krys Strand teaches courses in neuroscience, neurobiology, and cellular biology, and serves as director of the Neuroscience Program and director of National Fellowships and Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (URSCA). Strand is also campus liaison and faculty advisor for the interdisciplinary Innovation Scholars Program, an organizer with Concordia’s PRIDEnetwork, and a mentor for the student organizations Concordia Neuroscience Society, Nu Rho Psi national neuroscience honor society, and the Exotic Animal Care and Husbandry club. In teaching, Strand focuses on outcome-based learning and incorporates several active learning strategies, including involving students as co-inquirers in research. Beyond the classroom, Strand mentors many undergraduate research students each academic year and summer.

Strand has several interdisciplinary research interests involving behavioral and cellular responses to environmental enrichment, human factors of space flight, as well as the scholarship of teaching and learning. Strand’s zebrafish lab is currently exploring the role of music on behavior and molecular activities in the fish brain, with particular interest in demyelination and remyelination models of multiple sclerosis. Drawing on training in physics and space studies, Strand enjoys collaborating with scientists at the Integrated Lunar Martian Analog Habitat at the University of North Dakota investigating human factors related to space flight, with particular emphasis on the nervous system. Strand has presented work on rodent and fish models of autoimmune disease at neuroscience conferences and presented work on integrating research in the classroom, pedagogical strategies, and increasing computational and quantitative skills amongst undergraduate life science students at scholarship of teaching and learning conferences. Continued external collaborations at the intersection of neuroscience and space studies has benefited Concordia students through course offerings such as Human Neurophysiology of Space Flight, Stress, and Hormones.

Strand is a 1996 graduate of Concordia College, earned a Master of Basic Science degree in Biotechnology from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Beyond academic work, Strand enjoys gardening, working on old cars, sports, and making art.

Selected Presentations and Papers

Strickland Z.C., DeSilva Feelixge, H.S., Strand K., Comparison of Multiple Sclerosis Models in Danio rerio. 2021. MidBrains-mGluRs Joint Neuroscience Conference. Virtually hosted by the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and the College of Wooster.

Gikundiro E.K., Loidolt K., Tilahun B., DeSilva Feelixge, H.S., Strand K., Effect of Vivaldi Music Enrichment on Anxiety and Memory in Wild-Type Zebrafish. 2021. MidBrains-mGluRs Joint Neuroscience Conference. Virtually hosted by the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and the College of Wooster.

Krys Strand. Using Course Time Efficiently in an Introductory Undergraduate Biology Course. October 2016. International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference, Los Angeles, CA. 

Krys Strand, John Reber. Building a Culture of Integrating Mathematics, Statistics, and Computing into the Life Sciences at a Small Liberal Arts Institution. October 2016. International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference, Los Angeles, CA. 

Krys Strand. Can Mozart Make Myelin? Neuroscience Seminar Series. Fall 2014. College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St Joseph, MN

Strand, K. Mentoring a Multi-Disciplinary, Multi-Cultural Approach to Innovation: Prototype Development and Commercialization Strategy for a Novel Heart Monitoring Device. Poster Presentation at the CUR Pre-ISSOTL Conference. Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. 2014.

Lacey Shiue, Charissa Quinlan, Andrea Franz, Krys Strand. Relationship of Serum Complement Component C3 with Autoimmunity-Associated Behaviour in the MRL-lpr Model. Poster Presentation at the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada. 2014.

Lacey Shiue, Charissa Quinlan, Elizabeth Quincer, Susan Larson, John Reber, and Krys Strand. Time Course Analysis of Behavioural Heterogeneity in MRL/MpJ Lupus-Prone and Control Mice. Poster Presentation at the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada. 2014.

Krystle Strand and Elizabeth Jansen. Novel Transdisciplinary Undergraduate Research Provides a Developmental Pathway. CUR Quarterly.  2013. 34(1) 7-11.

Balabanov R, Strand K, Goswami R, McMahon E, Begolka W, Miller SD, Popko B. Interferon-gamma-oligodendrocyte interactions in the regulation of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. J Neurosci. 2007 Feb 21; 27(8):2013-24

Balabanov R, Strand K, Kemper A, Lee JY, Popko B. Suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 expression protects oligodendroctyes from the deleterious effects of interferon-gamma. J Neurosci. 2006 May 10; 26(19):5143-52.

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Dr. Krys Strand

Associate Professor, Biology; Program Director, Neuroscience; Director of National Fellowships and Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity ISC – 130