Message from the President, Katalin Toth
Dear CAN members,
I am happy to share our latest news with the Canadian Neuroscience community. We are working on many initiatives to promote neuroscience research and investments in research in Canada, and I will highlight a few here.
One important initiative we are launching in 2020 is the first official CAN Parliament Hill Day, which will take place March 31, 2020 in Ottawa. We first want to thank all our members who applied to participate in this important event. Some difficult choices had to be made, as we received many excellent applications, but we are proud of the list of participants we will be bringing to Ottawa this Spring. They are a diverse and representative group of neuroscientists, from across the country, and at different career levels. You will be well represented in Ottawa!
The CAN meeting is fast approaching – We will be back in Montreal, May 31 to June 3 for the main meeting, and earlier for the satellite meetings. A listing of the confirmed satellites is included in this newsletter, including a special three and half day satellite organised in partnership with Mila (the Quebec Institute for Artificial Intelligence) and CAN, which aims to bring machine learning and neuroscience together.
As President of CAN, I have worked with Presidents of other neuroscience societies to promote interactions, and to provide more benefits to our members. I have signed agreements with the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) and the Australasian Neuroscience Society (ANS) to allow our members to register at member rates to each others’ meetings. Details about these partnerships, and instructions on how to take advantage of these benefits, are posted below.
Another important concern for our members is the level of funding provided through CIHR’s project grants. We have contacted the governing board of CIHR to urge them to reinvest the amounts recuperated by the sunsetting of the Foundation grants back into the project grants. We will continue to follow this important issue, and to be involved in conversations about funds allocation.
Finally, I invite you to register today for the CAN meeting. It is a great opportunity to come together with our friends and colleagues to discuss our science, but also the issues that matter most to our community.
Katalin Toth, President of the Canadian Association for Neuroscience
New partnerships
FENS
The Canadian Association for Neuroscience has reached an agreement with the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS https://www.fens.org/Meetings/Forum/ ) allowing our members to register at member rates to the 2020 FENS Forum in Glasgow. Procedure to register for the 2020 FENS Forum at partner rate
We are happy to announce that we will also be hosting a social at the 2020 FENS forum – more details soon.
Australasian Neuroscience Society
CAN has also reached a similar agreement with the Australasian Neuroscience Society. You can view the invitation to attend the 40th ANS Meeting to be held on 8 – 11 December 2020 at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, in Australia:
https://www.ans.org.au/ans-2020-asm/invitation-to-attend
Instructions to register at member rates will be posted on our website once registration for the meeting opens.
Registration now open!
Register today for the next CAN meeting, which will take place May 31 to June 3, 2020, in Montreal.
Visit the 2020 meeting webpage for the latest information and updates about the upcoming meeting:
https://can-acn.org/meeting-2020/
CAN Program highlights
We invite you to visit the 2020 CAN program webpage to view the updated meeting program. Meeting chairs Ruth Slack and Roger Thompson have put together an innovative scientific program with plenary speakers including:
Presidential lecture: Michael Hausser –University College London
Keynote lecture: Frank Polleux, Columbia University
Plenary speakers:
- Gwyneth Card – HHMI-Janelia
- Magdalena Goetz -Munich Center for Neurosciences – Brain & Mind
- Heidi McBride, McGill University
The full list of plenary and parallel speakers, proposed by our members, is now available in the program:
2020 Satellite symposia
The following workshops and satellite symposia will take place before and after the CAN2020 meeting. Satellite symposia are independently organised events – all information posted here is provided by the organisers.
Special satellite: Bringing Machine Learning and Neuroscience Together
Dates: Thursday May 28th to Sunday May 31st
Location: Mila (The Quebec Institute for Artificial Intelligence), 6666 Rue Saint-Urbain, Montréal, QC H2S 3H1
Organizers: Blake Richards, Katalin Toth, Artur Luczak, Karim Jerbi
Satellite symposium 1: GABAergic inhibitory circuits in health and disease
Date: May 30, 2020
Location: Hotel Bonaventure Montreal (CAN Meeting HQ)
Organizer: Lisa Topolnik, Graziela Di Cristo, Jean-Claude Lacaille, Elsa Rossignol, Sylvain Williams
Satellite symposium 2: 8th Annual Canadian Neurometabolic meeting
Date: May 30-31, 2020
Location: Hotel Bonaventure Montreal (CAN Meeting HQ)
Organizer: Stephanie Fulton
Satellite symposium 3: Recent Advances in Neurophysiology
Date: May 30, 2020
Location: Hotel Bonaventure Montreal (CAN Meeting HQ)
Organizer: Harley Kurata and Graham Collingridge – Canadian Physiological Society
Satellite symposium 4: Canadian Neurophotonics platform satellite meeting
Date: May 31, 2020
Location: Hotel Bonaventure Montreal (CAN Meeting HQ)
Organizer: Mario Méthot
Satellite symposium 5: Neural stem cells during development and disease
Date: May 31, 2020
Location: Hotel Bonaventure Montreal (CAN Meeting HQ)
Organizer: Armen Saghatelyan
Satellite symposium 6: 3rd Annual HBHL Research Day
Date: May 27, 2020
Location: New Residence Hall (3625 ave du Parc, Montreal)
Organiser: Healthy Brains, Healthy Lives (HBHL) Trainee Committee
More information forthcoming
Satellite symposium 7: Open Neuroscience for All Canadians
Date: May 31, 2020
Location: TBD
Organizers: Naser Muja, Jean-Baptiste Poline, Nikola Stikov
More information forthcoming
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion luncheon 2020
This year, the Canadian Association for Neuroscience Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee has organized a workshop by Dr. Lisa Willis (University of Alberta) titled
“Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: What CAN needs to know?”
This workshop will highlight the current EDI-related statistics for Canadian STEM fields as well as the scientific literature on the benefits of working in diverse groups, the manifestations of bias (both unconscious and intentional), and best practices for improving diversity in neuroscience. Topics include hiring practices, writing reference letters, reviewing grants, managing trainees, and incorporating EDI into tri-council grant applications.
A buffet lunch will be provided for the first 50 registrants with proof of registration, but all CAN 2020 attendees are encouraged to attend this seminar.
New Child, Dependent or Disability Care subsidies
The CAN Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee is proud to announce the launch of the Canadian Association for Neuroscience Conference Childcare, Dependent or Disability Care Subsidy program, which aims to help alleviate the financial burdens of childcare or adult dependent care while attending the meeting for oral or poster presentations. Members who require a travel companion due to their own disability are also eligible for the subsidy.
Details of the program and of the application process can be found here:
Opportunities for Sponsors and Exhibitors
Sponsoring and exhibiting at the CAN meeting is an excellent way to gain visibility and show your support for the Canadian neuroscience community. Many opportunities are still available – View the Sponsor & Exhibitors page to view the options available.
Sponsors and Exhibitors are valued participants in our meeting. Please share these opportunities in your networks!
Young investigator award – Deadline February 1, 2020
The CAN Young Investigator Award recognizes outstanding research achievements by a young neuroscientist at the early stage of his or her career.
Award: The awardee will have the opportunity to present at the CAN annual meeting. The award consists of economy class travel to the meeting, accommodation at the conference hotel for three nights, complimentary conference registration and a $1000 award presented at the CAN annual meeting
Eligibility: Candidates must hold a PhD or MD degree (or equivalent), hold an academic or independent research appointment, be within 7 years of their first appointment in a Canadian university or affiliated research institution at the time of application.
CAN at SfN19
CAN Social at SfN in Chicago
Thank you to all our friends and colleagues who participated in the CAN social in Chicago. It is always a pleasure to welcome you – your participation makes this event a highlight of the SfN meeting every year.
CAN participates in the SfN Advocacy reception
CAN was pleased to participate in SfN’s advocacy reception, on October 22, 2019, in Chicago, during SfN’s annual meeting. View our poster here:
CAN booth
Thank you to everyone who stopped by the CAN booth at SfN!
Neurojobs and other opportunities
Employment and funding opportunities are posted on the CAN website on a regular basis. Visit the Neurojobs webpage to see the latest advertisements by category: https://can-acn.org/neuro-jobs/
Posting advertisements is free for our members – Submit an ad today
