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Maler regards the honour as an important personal milestone and a call to do even more. “It’s nice that after about 30 years and a lot of successful research there’s this acknowledgment that I’ve done okay.”
In fact, he has done a lot better than okay. Focusing on the unusual capabilities of “electric” fish, Maler has carried out detailed analyses of some fundamental issues facing neurobiology.
At the heart, is a deceptively simple question: with the input of signals from sensory organs, such as the eyes, or skin, how does the brain form a coherent picture of the surrounding world? The topic, dubbed “sensory coding” by scientists, gripped Maler’s imagination while a graduate student. Soon afterwards, he stumbled upon the Apteronotus, a variety of fish that uses a self-generated electric field to navigate murky rivers. Because the variations in this electric field can be isolated and monitored closely, the fish were a highly efficient model for examining the intricate mechanisms responsible for sensory coding.
Since joining the University of Ottawa in 1976, Maler’s methodology evolves with the emergence of new technology. For example, the sophisticated computations that assess sensory input and output were once computed on an expensive mainframe computer. Today, Maler carries out the same calculations with Matlab, a staple piece of desktop software that produces detailed graphic representations of data in minutes.
“If you had asked me in 1972 if this would ever be possible, I’d have said no way—maybe in a couple of hundred years,” he recalls.
In fact, the number crunching required to interpret the findings from this latest generation of lab equipment has become a crucial part of the work. Maler looks forward to working with uOttawa physicist André Longtin to establish a centre for computational neuroscience on campus, which would enhance graduate studies by fusing mathematical theory with experimental neuroscience.
Maler and Longtin demonstrate the value of this fusion through their own amicable and productive research partnership, which earned them the University’s award for interdisciplinary research last fall.
“We just hit it off and it worked,” says Maler, explaining the roots of their collaboration. “We both really enjoy this research. We just have a great time doing it.” However, Maler adds that despite the dramatic progress in facilities and understanding, they never lose sight of the daunting task they have set for themselves.
