Dr. Lara Boyd

Dr. Lara Boyd is a Professor and Distinguished University Scholar at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. She is both a Neuroscientist and Physical Therapist. Dr. Boyd directs the Brain Behaviour Lab at the University of British Columbia, which performs research that tests ideas surrounding how behaviour and brain health affect learning.

Dr. Boyd is an expert in motor learning and the mapping of neuroplastic change in the human brain. She employs magnetic resonance imaging and non-invasive brain stimulation approaches in her research which is largely focused on factors and interventions that impact recovery after stroke. Dr. Boyd directs the graduate program in Rehabilitation Sciences which contains a Master’s, Doctoral and MPT/PhD program.

Dr. Boyd was recruited to the University of British Columbia in 2006 to take a Canada Research Chair position. Since that time, she has established the Brain Behaviour Lab, recruited and trained over 80 graduate students, published more than 250 papers and been awarded over $25 million in research dollars. She has won numerous awards for her research and mentorship including: the Killam Research Prize (2023), Wall Scholar (2020), John McNeill Mentorship award (2019), and the Tony Hakim Prize (2016). In 2017 Dr. Boyd was elected to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Dr. Boyd’s TEDx talk on learning and brain plasticity (“After this your brain will not be the same”; www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNHBMFCzznE) has been viewed by over 44 million people.

Lab Website: http://www.brain.rehab.med.ubc.ca