News

Sargin Lab – Department of Psychology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary https://sarginlab.com/ Research Focus: We are seeking highly motivated graduate students (MSc or PhD) to join our lab, where we investigate the neurophysiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using mouse models. Our research seeks to understand how changes in… Read more: Graduate (MSc / PhD) Student Positions – Neurophysiology of Autism Mouse Models – University of Calgary

We invite you to read our latest newsletter: CAN Connection – Fall 2025

Assistant Professor in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular BiologyCollege of Biological Sciences, University of Guelph Requisition 1717 The Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Guelph invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor in the area of Biochemistry. We seek outstanding candidates whose research program explores fundamental biochemical… Read more: Assistant Professor (Biochemistry) University of Guelph

The Department of Neuroscience (https://www.ulethbridge.ca/artsci/neuroscience) at the University of Lethbridge invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor. We are seeking a neuroscientist with demonstrated excellence in research on brain function across the life span in nonhuman animals, employing a systems-level approach and utilizing state-of-the-art methods. Researchers with experience in modern… Read more: Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track), Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge

The Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto invites applications for a full-time tenure stream faculty position in the area of Artificial Intelligence in Psychological Science. The appointment will be at the rank of Assistant Professor with an anticipated start date of July 1, 2026. This search… Read more: Assistant Professor – Artificial Intelligence in Psychological Science – University of Toronto

As the last Brain Star Award Feature of this series, we are proud to present the first place winner of the 2024 competition, Dr. Sergio Crespo-Garcia. He is also the winner of the Marlene-Reimer Award for 2024. Congratulations! Discovery of a new therapeutic avenue to protect vision in diabetic patients. Diabetes is a silent epidemic… Read more: Brain Star Award feature: Sergio Crespo-Garcia, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Center

An optomapping approach to better understand connections in the visual cortex of the brain In the brain, information is passed from neuron to neuron via connections called synapses. Synaptic dysfunction unsurprisingly underlies many neurological diseases, such as autism, schizophrenia, and epilepsy. Understanding how synapses are wired up in a cell-type-specific way is fundamental to understanding… Read more: Brain Star Award Feature: Christina You Chien Chou – McGill University

We invite you to read our submission to the Department of Finance pre-budget consultations

Studying how the deepest regions of the brain contribute to brain activity The brainstem is a structure which is crucial for survival and consciousness, yet it is typically excluded from live human brain mapping efforts due to the difficulties in recording and analysing activity in this small region which sits deep at the base of… Read more: Brain Star Award Feature: Justine Hansen, McGill University

Position description The Department of Zoology and the Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience at The University of British Columbia invite applications for a tenure-track appointment at the level of Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Educational Leadership stream with a focus on Neuroscience. The UBC Undergraduate Neuroscience and Biology Programs place a premium on excellent teaching.… Read more: Tenure-Track Assistant Professor of Teaching – Department of Zoology and the Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver

Date Posted: 07/25/2025Closing Date: 10/31/2025, 11:59PM ET  Open until FilledReq ID: 44471Job Category: Faculty – ClinicalFaculty/Division: Temerty Faculty of MedicineDepartment: Dept of PsychiatryHospital Affiliation: TBDCampus: St. George (Downtown Toronto) Description: The University of Toronto (U of T) Department of Psychiatry is seeking applicants for the Krembil Chair in Neuroscience and Mental Health. The successful candidate must already hold, or be eligible for, a… Read more: Associate Professor / Professor – Krembil Chair in Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Toronto

Identification of the Pannexin-1 channel in the brain as a target to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms Opioids remain one of the most effective analgesics, with 10-15% of Canadians receiving opioid prescriptions per year. However, opioids are also highly associated with substance use disorders and overdose related deaths. Last year alone, over 7000 Canadians passed away… Read more: Brain Star Award feature: Erika Harding, Nicole Burma, Charlie Hong Ting Kwok, University of Calgary

A new framework to assess placement of electrodes in the brain for epilepsy surgery Epilepsy is a chronic condition that is characterized by spontaneous recurring seizures. In clinical practice, the region which generates seizures is called the epileptic focus. The location of the focus can be localized by electrical measurement of brain activity, known as… Read more: Brain Star Award Feature: Kassem Jaber, Montreal Neurological Institute

Identification of CD33m as a new protective factor in Alzheimer’s Disease development. Immune cells in the brain, called microglia, are thought to be critical in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) development through numerous functions, including their ability to remove amyloid beta (Aβ), which is protein that accumulates in the brains of AD patients. In this study, Ghazaleh… Read more: Brain Star Award Feature: Ghazaleh Eskandari-Sedighi, University of Alberta

We are happy to share with you CAN’s pre-budget brief submission for the Consultations launched by the Finance committee of the House of Commons. https://can-acn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/CAN-FINA-Submission-July-2025_final-1.pdf Our two main recommendations are an effective doubling of tri-agency budget over the coming years, and increased investment in brain-related programs.  We believe if multiple organizations submit similar recommendations, including the… Read more: Read CAN’s brief submitted to the 2025 FINA Pre-budget consultations

Discovery of differences in encoding threat discrimination in the brain of males and females Learning to predict threat is essential, but equally important—yet often overlooked—is learning about the absence of threat. This study by Drs. Jessie Muir and Eshaan Sriram Iyer, working in the laboratory of Dr. Rosemary Bagot at McGill University, looks at mechanisms… Read more: Brain Star Award Feature: Jessie Muir and Eshaan Sriram Iyer, McGill University

A reduction in the number of connexions between brain cells is seen in the early stages of psychosis and is associated with negative symptoms. Schizophrenia is a complex psychiatric disorder typically emerging in adolescence or early adulthood. It is thought to occur because of alteration in the maturation or pruning of connexions between neurons called… Read more: Brain Star Award Feature: Maira Belen Blasco, Douglas Research Institute, McGill University

Better understanding the role of vision in the brain’s representation of space by studying freely moving primates The hippocampus is a structure of the mammalian brain that has been implicated in spatial memory and navigation. Its role has been primarily studied in nocturnal mammals, such as rats, that lack many adaptations for daylight vision. Here,… Read more: Brain Star Award winner feature: Diego B. Piza, Western University

The Nguyen and Sharkey Labs at the University of Calgary and Hotchkiss Brain Institute are seeking motivated applicants for a postdoctoral position studying the gut microbiome-brain axis in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).  Projects will involve gut microbiota manipulation and in vivo multiphoton imaging of the brain using animal models of ALS. The desired candidate will… Read more: Postdoctoral Position – Gut Microbiome-Brain Axis in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Better understanding how ensembles of neurons are recruited in memory formation. The hippocampus is a critical brain region for encoding and recall of episodic memories. The physical trace left in the brain by memory formation is called an ‘engram’, and the process by which new engrams are formed is still unclear. In this work, Andrew… Read more: Brain Star Award Feature: Andrew Mocle, University of Toronto

Better understanding the non-rhythmic components of Electroencephalography (EEG) can lead to better interpretation of brain activity Article citation Brake, N., Duc, F., Rokos, A., Arseneau, F., Shahiri, S., Khadra, A., and Plourde, G. (2024) A neurophysiological basis for aperiodic EEG and the background spectral trend. Nature Communications 15(1514). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-45922-8 Electroencephalography (EEG) has been in use… Read more: Brain Star Award Feature: Niklas Brake, McGill University

It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Dr. Leo P. Renaud (1941-2025), distinguished Canadian neuroscientist and Past President of the Canadian Association for Neuroscience on 6th July, 2025. Leo had an iconic status in the field of Neuroendocrinology and indeed Canadian Neuroscience that was founded on his outstanding scientific contributions… Read more: Remembering Leo P. Renaud

Development of a functional atlas of the human cerebellum The human cerebellum is a brain region that is activated during many behaviours, including movement, language and cognitive tasks. However, the cerebellum’s contribution to these processes remained poorly understood because of a lack of a comprehensive functional map of this brain region. To address this, Caroline… Read more: Brain Star Award Feature: Caroline Nettekoven, Western University

We invite you to read our latest newsletter! Content:

Uncovering the role of cilia in astrocyte development and function Astrocytes are a type of cells that act as crucial regulators of nearly all aspects of the brain. Different types of astrocytes exist; however, little is known about how different subtypes of astrocytes are created during development to differentially support their local neural circuits. Lizheng… Read more: Brain Star Award feature: Lizheng Wang, University of Calgary