Anna Papanastassiou

What a nursing student found in a neuroscience lab: Alzheimer's research and a career edge

Anna Papanastassiou in a neuroscience lab As part of the University of Windsor’s Outstanding Scholars program, nursing student Anna Papanastassiou gains hands-on research experience in a neuroscience lab, contributing to Alzheimer’s-related genetic testing. (ROGERS KOBOJI/University of Windsor)

By Victor Romao

Anna Papanastassiou spends most days in her nursing classes learning how to care for people.

But in a quiet neuroscience lab at the University of Windsor, she is also learning how to study the brain through hands-on genetic testing.

The second-year nursing student is part of the university’s Outstanding Scholars program, a competitive initiative that pairs high-achieving undergraduates with faculty-led research projects.