Dr. Allen Chan

Dr. Allen Chan, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta and a principal investigator in the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute. He earned his doctorate in Physiology and Neuroscience at the University of Toronto, where he used patch-clamp electrophysiology to map presynaptic calcium-channel behaviour and its role in neurotransmitter release. His later postdoctoral studies at the University of British Columbia focused on in vivo optical imaging. There he helped establish wide-field “mesoscale” calcium and voltage imaging that tracks cortex-wide dynamics in the brain of awake mice. Publications in Nature Neuroscience, Nature Communications, and eLife positioned mesoscale imaging as a key tool for systems neuroscience.

Dr. Chan’s laboratory now combines mesoscale and two-photon calcium imaging with chemogenetic and optogenetic circuit manipulation and machine-learning analytics. 

The lab’s imaging suite, supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, provides cortex-wide recordings in the brain of awake mice. These data reveal how sensory inputs move through distributed networks and how experience or pathology reshapes those flows. Collaboration with pain researcher Dr. Brad Kerr applies this approach to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Together the teams visualizes, in real time, how neuroinflammation reorganizes the cortical pain matrix in the brain of both sexes.

Dr. Chan’s long-term goal is to harness discoveries about brain connectivity to guide targeted interventions that restore balanced cortical activity and relieve chronic pain and sensory dysfunction in MS.

What is the focus of your research? How did you become interested in MS research?

My lab employs high-resolution optical imaging methods that let us watch the entire mouse cortex in real time. We study how the brain’s balance between excitation and inhibition supports normal sensation and movement, and how that balance shifts in disease. I became interested in MS after talking with pain specialist Dr. Brad Kerr. His work showed that a mouse model of MS develops severe neuropathic pain, with hyperexcitability of the somatosensory cortex. However, very little was known about what happens in the cortex in other sensory modalities and in associative cortical regions. Our imaging approach offered the missing view of large-scale brain activity, so we joined forces to explore how inflammation reshapes the pain-processing network.

What inspires you to continue advancing research in this field? 

Every imaging session gives a live view of billions of neurons working together. When we change a circuit or test a new drug, we can see the network respond within seconds. Those moments show that brain disorders are not fixed; they can be guided back toward normal function. Hearing from people with MS who live with chronic pain, and knowing that current therapies are often inadequate, keeps our team focused and motivated.

How do you hope to change the lives of people living with MS through your research?

By mapping which cortical networks become overactive or disconnected during disease, and linking those patterns to pain behaviour, we aim to deliver concrete targets for therapy. These targets could guide non-invasive brain-stimulation protocols or drug strategies that calm specific circuits without broad side-effects. In the long term, we hope this circuit-level knowledge will lead to personalized treatments that reduce pain and improve day-to-day function for people with MS.

What do you enjoy most about your research? What are some of the challenges you face?

I enjoy the intersection of neuroscientific inquiry including optical engineering, physiology, and data science. The best moment is when students see a live cortical map flicker on the screen and realize they are watching thought and sensation unfold. A main challenge is scale and interpretation. Mesoscale imaging produces large datasets, and turning those terabytes into clear biological insight requires advanced analysis methods and computing resources.

How important is the support from MS Canada in your research?

MS Canada funding provides the essential support for pilot data that will pinpoint sex-specific cortical changes linked to pain in MS. This support was crucial for facilitating the collaborative approach intrinsic to this proposal. These data form the foundation for larger, mechanistic studies and, ultimately, for clinical translation. MS Canada also creates a community where basic scientists, clinicians, and people living with MS share ideas, ensuring that our research stays focused on real needs.