The Canadian Association for Neuroscience (CAN) and the Canadian Institutes of Health’s Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (CIHR-INMHA) are proud to announce the winners of the 2019 Brain Star Awards.
Author: Julie
BC Leadership Chair in Neuroscience and Technology Translation Across the Lifespan – Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University (SFU) acknowledges the Squamish, Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, Katzie and Kwikwetlem peoples on whose traditional territories our three campuses stand.
For the sixth consecutive year, SFU has been ranked by the Maclean’s University Ranking Guide as Canada’s leading comprehensive university and it has held first or second place for nearly a decade. SFU is also ranked 13th in Canada by the QS World University Ranking. With unique campuses in Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey, SFU has deep roots in partner communities throughout the Province of British Columbia and around the world. SFU aims to become Canada’s leading engaged university through innovative education, cutting-edge research and community outreach.
Answers to critical questions in neuroscience lie at a pivotal intersection between biology, psychology, computer science, philosophy, statistics and engineering. These solutions also require the engagement of end users and stakeholders in all stages of research. In order to tackle these challenges, SFU now seeks to appoint the BC Leadership Chair in Neuroscience and Technology Translation Across the Lifespan. This Chair is supported by the Leading Edge Endowment Fund (LEEF) program, a multi-million endowment established by the Government of British Columbia (BC) to assist a total of 20 permanent BC Leadership Chairs at Research Universities in the province. The Chairs are designed to attract world-class faculty, strengthen the province’s capacity for innovative research, promote British Columbia as a centre for cutting-edge research, enhance economic development and position the province as a leader in the knowledge-based economy.
SFU is investing in, and building upon, its considerable expertise in brain imaging, neurobiology of development and disease, neuro-diagnostics, technology development, social behavioral research, youth mental health, addiction, aging and philosophy of mind. SFU has invested in a number of assets in the area of neuroscience and has a partnership with Surrey Memorial Hospital. Key amongst these are two new facilities embedded at Surrey Memorial Hospital – ImageTech an Imaging Research Center with MRI, MEG, and EEG and the Centre for Engineering-Led Brain Research (eBrain Lab). SFU hosts two Network Centers of Excellence – Kids Brain Health Network (KBHN) and AGE-WELL along with the recently launched $3.5M Digital Health Circle Innovation Hub, and WearBioTech a $8M CFI funded facility for wearable technologies. The leadership chair is expected to bring a vision for neuroscience excellence and the skills to build a collaborative team to maximize these significant infrastructure investments. SFU has further committed to a number of additional neuroscience hires including two Tier 2 Canada Research Chairs with additional Research Chairs to be considered with input from the Leadership Chair.
SFU is seeking a renowned scientific leader with a proven record of accomplishment in neuroscience research to work across Faculties and disciplines to address neurological issues across the lifespan. Special consideration will be given to senior scientists with a track record of leadership in neuroimaging including TMS, MRI and/or MEG. This position offers the potential to play a transformational leadership role in creating and implementing a vision for the next phase of engaged and impactful imaging and neuroscience research at SFU. SFU’s new Institute for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology (INN) will serve as a hub for research, training and community engagement. The Institute will serve as a focal point, bringing together researchers from a broad range of disciplinary areas. The focus of SFU’s neuroscience effort is translational, addressing neurological conditions from developmental to degenerative.
The successful candidate will have a strong scholarly track record and possess considerable experience developing and leading research teams in multidisciplinary contexts and working with external stakeholders. While senior academic leaders in any related area will be considered, experienced leaders in neuroimaging will be given special consideration. The successful candidate will be appointed to a Faculty or Faculties appropriate for their research. They will have a PhD in a relevant discipline and be eligible for appointment to a full-time tenured Full Professor position. Applicants must be based outside of British Columbia to be eligible for the LEEF Chair.
For further information, a full position description and application details, please visit www.perrettlaver.com/candidates quoting reference 4655. Interested applicants should submit a full curriculum vitae and a covering letter outlining their vision for the Chair. The closing date for applications is 12 noon (Pacific Time) on Friday, July 3, 2020.
To assist SFU with mandatory reporting requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, please advise if you are a Canadian Citizen or Canadian Permanent Resident in your CV or Cover Letter.
Simon Fraser University is an institution whose strength is based on our shared commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion. Diversity is an underlying principle of our Strategic Vision, which pledges SFU to “foster a culture of inclusion and mutual respect, celebrating the diversity reflected among its students, faculty staff and our community.” SFU is committed to ensuring no individual is denied access to employment opportunities for reasons unrelated to ability or qualifications. Consistent with this principle, SFU will advance the interests of underrepresented members of the workforce, specifically Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, racialized persons and women; embrace gender and sexual diversity; ensure that equal opportunity is afforded to all who seek employment at the University; and treat all employees equitably. Candidates that belong to underrepresented groups are particularly encouraged to apply.
Under the authority of the University Act personal information that is required by the University for academic appointment competitions will be collected. For further details see: http://www.sfu.ca/vpacademic/Faculty_Openings/Collection_Notice.html
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Contact information https://www.perrettlaver.com/candidates
Download a PDF version of this advertisement: BC Leadership Chair in Neuroscience and Technology Translation Across the Lifespan – Simon Fraser University – PDF
CAN Statement on Racism, Discrimination and Violence
This is a tragic and painful time for the Black community all over the world, including here in Canada. The Canadian Association for Neuroscience condemns racism in all its forms. The tragic death of George Floyd and many others obligate all of us to reflect on important questions about systemic forms of racism present in our society today. Continue reading
McGill Researchers provide real-time evidence that neurons that fire out of sync, lose their link, exploring the mechanisms underlying “Stentian plasticity”
It has long been appreciated that sensory experience helps to refine the connectivity of the brain during development. In 1949, Canadian psychologist Donald Hebb proposed that when different brain cells were consistently active at the same time as one another and acted in synchrony, the connections they formed would be strengthened as a result of their cooperation. This so-called “Hebb rule” for circuit remodeling is sometimes restated as “cells that fire together, wire together.”, and helps explain how the wiring of the brain could be fine-tuned in response to sensory input. Fast forward 70 years and many of the artificial neural networks we rely on today to make accurate predictions from large datasets rely on digital implementations of various learning rules, including variants of Hebb’s rule, that underlie their ability to learn associations. Continue reading
Postdoctoral Position in Neural Circuits – Topolnik Lab, Université Laval
Laboratory of Lisa Topolnik, Neuroscience Axis, CRCHU-CHUL, Laval University, Quebec-city, Canada
A postdoctoral position is available in the lab of Dr. Lisa Topolnik to work on the functional organization of hippocampal inhibitory and disinhibitory circuits. The laboratory conducts both basic and translational neuroscience research in the areas of neural circuits, synaptic plasticity, and intracellular signalling. Our current research program is focusing on the cellular diversity and function of cortical disinhibitory circuits formed by the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and somatostatin-expressing interneurons as well as interneuron dendritic integration and synaptic plasticity. Our research strategy is based on combination of transcriptomic, physiological, optogenetic, pharmacogenetic and imaging approaches applied to in vitro and in vivo animal models.
A current PDF project will be focusing on exploring the molecular and cellular basis of dendritic integration in GABAergic neurons. We will study the role of inhibition in dendritic input integration in specific types of interneurons in brain slices obtained from transgenic mice in vitro. A novel optogenetic approach based on a combinatorial targeting of specific cell types for selective manipulations will be developed. The data obtained in vitro will then be integrated for in vivo investigation of the network-state dependent recruitment of specific cell types and their functional role in behaving animals. For this part, we will use cognitive and behavioral animal models in combination with calcium imaging and optogenetic cell type-specific interventions.
Candidates should have a PhD in Neurobiology or a related discipline (with a graduation date within the last 4 years), and at least two first-author papers (published or accepted). Prior experience with patch clamp electrophysiology, optogenetics or 2ph imaging in vitro or in behaving animals will be an asset. Full funding provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada is available for up to 4 years. Salary will be commensurate with experience and will include standard benefits as per Laval University regulations.
Contact information To apply: email your CV and cover letter to Prof. Lisa Topolnik. Lisa.Topolnik@bcm.ulaval.ca
Specific brain cells are critical for linking stress controllability and future behaviour
UCalgary researchers discover that a group of ancient cells may play a key role in controlling stress
Stress is ubiquitous, and at no time in recent memory has this been more evident than right now — on a global scale. Our survival depends on our ability to continually adjust and respond to ever-evolving challenges in our world.
Interestingly, how we manage stress now has implications for how we will manage stress in the future. It is not necessarily about the actions we take now, but rather whether we feel our actions give us some control over the outcome during a difficult time. Psychologists and neuroscientists have pondered this ‘stress control’ theory for decades, but how the brain intertwines the perception of controllability of one situation into decisions and actions for future situations has not been well understood. Continue reading
Congratulations to Mihaela Iordanova, winner of the CAN Young Investigator Award
We are very proud to announce that Mihaela Iordanova, from Concordia University, has been named CAN’s 2020 Young Investigator Award winner!
Learn more about this exceptional neuroscientist on Mihaela Iordanova’s Young Investigator Award winner profile page.
COVID-19 assistance on federal laboratory reagents – Round #2
The Public Health Agency of Canada has sent a second call for items and reagents for the public health laboratories
- For loan:
- Thermofisher Kingfisher Flex Purification Systems (automated nucleic acid purification) with the 96- Deep Well head
- Associated plastic consumables (96-well plate blocks) would also be of interest
- For use:
- Laboratory grade Guanidine thiocyanate
As with ‘Round 1” please forward any items to:
Rita Finley (rita.finley@canada.ca)
Post-Doctoral Position Available – Concussion Research (Drs. Brian Benson and Sean Dukelow) – University of Calgary
A postdoctoral position is available immediately under the supervision of Drs. Brian Benson and Sean Dukelow at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary. The work is funded by a Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship award in association with Own the Podium. The successful candidate will take advantage of working with high-performance national level athletes at risk of concussion and advanced diagnostic tools including robotic technology (Kinarm) that monitors sensory, motor and cognitive behaviour. The environment involves working with a number of clinicians and scientists with a significant interest in sport-related concussion.
Qualified Canadian applicants should have a PhD degree in Neuroscience or related disciplines with significant expertise in human neuroscience and knowledge of coding in Matlab. Excellent written and oral communication are required. A strong academic track record as measured by publications and is an asset.
About the University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is Canada’s leading next-generation university – a living, growing and youthful institution that embraces change and opportunity with a can-do attitude. Located in the nation’s most enterprising city, the university is making tremendous progress on its Eyes High journey to be recognized as one of Canada’s top five research universities, grounded in innovative learning and teaching and fully integrated with the community it both serves and leads. The University of Calgary inspires and supports discovery, creativity and innovation across all disciplines.
For more information, visit ucalgary.ca. The University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their professional success while they are here.
Contact information:
Please send a statement of interest, Curriculum Vitae and the names of at least two references to:
Dr. Sean Dukelow
Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary
Email: spdukelo@ucalgary.ca
Public Health Agency of Canada – call for reagents for COVID19 testing
We have been made aware by some of our members that the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has sent out an urgent request for reagents, specifically RNA extraction reagents for COVID19 testing. If you have such reagents in your laboratory that you could donate (view list below) please consider doing so. If the laboratories have materials that we could use and are not included in the list, feel free to let us know and we will share with the National Microbiology Laboratory and asses their current requirements.
The contact person at the PHAC is Rita Finley (rita.finley@canada.ca). As this is a time-sensitive request please let her know directly what you have available. Continue reading
