What are Power Pitch Sessions?
Power Pitch Sessions at the CAN meeting offer a dynamic platform for trainees (Master’s, PhD and Post-Docs) to showcase their research in a short oral presentation. These sessions are designed to highlight the most innovative and compelling work in the field of neuroscience.
Who are the organizers?
Power Pitch sessions are organized by trainees, for trainees. The organizers of the 2026 Edition are Liv Ansley-Engel and Hunter Dyche.
When will the Sessions Occur?
Every day of the CAN meeting, six participants will be chosen to present their research. The sessions will take place just before the afternoon poster session.
How are Presentations Structured?
Each presenter will have 3 minutes to share their findings. Your presentation should include three slides (excluding the introduction slide) to convey your key points effectively. To ensure smooth proceedings, we request no videos or animations.
How were speakers selected?
Poster submitter were asked to check the designated box during your abstract submission process, and selected by random draw by the session organisers.
Why Join the Power Pitch Sessions?
This is a chance for trainees to captivate an audience of peers and experts with their research insights. Join us!
Speakers 2026
Tuesday May 19th – 3:15 – 3:45
| Zahra Rostami | P1-F-231 | Discovering translational behavioral strategies of reward processing across species |
| Bianca Bono | P1-E-190 | Brain-wide Klb expression in a novel Klb-cre mouse line |
| Emna Benmansour | P1-C-97 | Asymmetric Parietal Cortical Atrophy in a Patient with RAB39B-Associated Parkinsonism: A Novel Truncating Variant |
| Hedi Zhou | P1-C-127 | Development of a novel anti-amyloid therapeutic: an orally administrable anti-abeta-oligomer compound |
| James Wang | P3-A-550 | Elucidating the Neurodevelopment of Multisensory Integration in the Common Marmoset |
| Shawniya Alageswaran | P1-B-26 | High-throughput mapping reveals distinct excitatory wiring rules in V1 and M1 |
Wednesday May 20th – 3:00 – 3:30
| Lydia Shaw-Peters | P2-H-531 | Improving Brain Health Literacy Among Adolescents: The Maintain Your Brain Game |
| Josh Miller | P2-C-375 | Investigating eIF2α-Mediated Translational Control in Taste Memory Formation |
| Taylor Snowden | P2-C-372 | Integrating Serum Biomarkers with Diffusion MRI Identifies History of Concussion Signatures |
| Kathleen Ngo | P2-B-331 | Neuroplastic mechanisms underlying the antidepressant effects of psychedelics |
| Karishma Ramdeo | P2-G-521 | Feasibility of Accelerated Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation Combined with Balance Training in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias |
| Solal Aubailly | P2-F-492 | Investigating the role of nucleus accumbens D1 receptor neuronal outputs to ventral midbrain in anxiodepressive behaviour elicited by diet-induced obesity |
Thursday, May 21st – 1:30 – 2PM
| Yuto Kurihara | P3-D-708 | Theta-specific dual-brain stimulation of the right temporo-parietal junction modulates the sense of joint agency during alternating tapping |
| Abigail Kos | P3-D-707 | The Structure-Function Relationship of the Oscillatory Pacemaker Nucleus Network in Weakly Electric Fish |
| Christian Humphreys | P3-B-561 | Properties and activation mechanisms of membrane localized, chloride permeable Pannexin 2 channels. |
| Skylar Donovan | P3-B-610 | Unveiling Glial Contributions to Parkinson’s Pathology by Mitochondrial NDUFA13 Knockout in Dopaminergic Neurons |
| Emmaley Hunter | P3-C-641 | Selective Resistance and Vulnerability of Extra-Motor Circuits in ALS Revealed by Eye Tracking |
| Xiaoxuan Xiao | P3-F-769 | Time Cells in the Human Brain Support Working Memory Maintenance |