Satellite events 2026

Organizers: Mark Cembrowski and Paul Frankland

Date & Time: May 18th, 2026 – 9AM – 4 PM

Venue: Hotel Bonaventure

We are hosting the third-annual “Circuits and Behaviour CAN Satellite Meeting”, a full-day satellite meeting that seeks to bring together Canadian neuroscientists working at the intersection of neural circuits and behaviour. The scientific scope of our meeting focuses on visualization and manipulation of neural circuits, and relating these properties to behaviour. Behaviour is broadly defined, including readouts involving cognition, emotion, motivation, stress, feeding, learning and memory, and motor function in both health and disease. Technological developments involving next-generation approaches to visualize and manipulate neural circuits in a behavioural context will also be within the scope of this meeting.
To capture the breadth of Canadian research in this area, we are hosting a full-day satellite meeting incorporating a total of eight talks from Canadian principal investigators and four trainee talks. Our speakers are representative of the broad cross-Canada engagement in neural circuits and behaviour, and are balanced across gender, institutions, geographical locations, and career stages. Opportunities for discussion and networking will be facilitated by coffee breaks and a free lunch for registrants.

Speakers

• Benedicte Amilhon (Université de Montréal)
• Maithe Arruda-Carvalho (University of Toronto)
• Caroline Menard (Laval University)
• Zach Pennington (University of British Columbia)
• Anna Phan (University of Alberta)
• Rob Rozeske (University of Toronto)
• Tuan Trang (University of Calgary)
• Stuart Trenholm (McGill University)

Organizer: Kate Shingler – Brain Canada

Date & Time: May 18, 2026 – 1PM – 4PM

Venue: Hotel Bonaventure

The 2026 Canadian Neuroscience Meeting in Montreal, Quebec, presents an ideal opportunity for Brain Canada to bring together researchers funded through one of its flagship programs – Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research. Launched in 2019, this annual grant program, which is anchored by a lead gift from the Azrieli Foundation, provides funding at the most critical point in a researcher’s career – the beginning, and gives budding scientists the courage to dream big and be brilliant. Through this revolutionary funding model, Brain Canada is establishing Canada’s pipeline of future leaders, and laying a foundation of research excellence and innovation.

Six cohorts, 131 recipients, have been funded to date through the Future Leaders program. At this satellite event, Brain Canada will be providing a forum for an in-person, half-day workshop comprised of panels and individual presentations, as an opportunity to connect, network, and share updates on their research.

Organizer: Stephanie Fulton

Date & Time: May 18, 2026

Location: Hotel Bonaventure

The Canadian Neurometabolic meeting, a satellite of the Canadian Association for Neuroscience, is a unique event that brings together scientists studying CNS controls of energy balance, neural cell metabolism, the impact of metabolism on brain and behavior, and the interaction between metabolism and brain disorders. A primary goal of this meeting is to provide a valuable platform for trainees to share their latest findings and network.

Keynote speaker: 

Karolina Skibicka, PhD – Canada Research Chair in Brain Circuits of Interoception;  Professor –  University of Calgary

 “From the Gut to the Brain: Neural Substrates Underlying GLP-1 Actions on Behavior and Physiology”

• trainee oral presentations (selected from abstracts)
• posters

Organizers: Anna MacKinnon (University of Montreal) & Tasmia Hai (University of Manitoba)

Date & Time: May 18, 2026 – 9 AM to noon

Location: Hotel Bonaventure

Ticket price: Registration is free but required

Registration: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=cZYxzedSaEqvqfz4-J8J6jkeHi0J2uVEtnrBYB8RxNpUNUJYMEJQUjE3N1E0OVlWMEJZOThGOTNSTyQlQCN0PWcu

This integrated knowledge exchange event will bring together researchers, clinicians, and trainees to advance the inclusion of social determinants of health (SDoH) in neuroscience. Through an interactive format, the session will highlight why understanding social, environmental and familycontext is essential for interpreting brain development and health outcomes, moving beyond traditional biological markers. Participants will explore the current state of SDoH integration in neuroimaging research, engage with a sociological framework for measuring these factors, and see practical applications across diverse datasets spanning perinatal development, childhood ADHD, and adult mental health. The event will culminate in the launch of guidance documents and digital tools designed to help researchers incorporate SDoH into their own pipelines. The session would also include interactive feedback opportunity to identify barriers, facilitators, and opportunities for implementation. By combining evidence, theory, and hands-on resources, this event aims to foster collaboration, identify implementation challenges, and promote more equitable and context-sensitive neuroscience research.

Co-Chairs :

• Anna MacKinnon, University of Montreal
• Tasmia Hai, University of Manitoba

Presenters:

• Rachel Cluett & Amy Jolin, McGill University; Students of Dr Tasmia Hai
• Marlo Naish & Ella Sahlas, McGill University; Students of Dr Boris Bernhardt
• Enzo Cipriani, University of Montreal; Student of Dr. Robert-Paul Juster
• Selina Belair, University of Laval; Student of Dr. Anna MacKinnon

Organizer: Shalini Iyer, University of British Columbia

Date & Time: May 18, 2026 – 9AM – 4PM

Location: Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University

Description:

Understanding how molecular identities shape cell types and function across brain regions relies on technologies that bridge spatial and transcriptomic information at single-cell resolution. With transformative technology such as spatial transcriptomics, researchers can now map the expression of hundreds to thousands of genes directly onto tissue sections while preserving spatial context. Such novel technologies offer an unprecedented insight into the brain’s cell-type organization, function, disease states, developmental trajectories and more. The Cells in Space satellite symposium will highlight recent advances from experts in the field and provide a hands-on workshop introducing workflows for analyzing and visualizing spatial transcriptomics data. The workshop will focus on data acquired using Xenium technology with possibility to expand to other platforms. Through guided tutorials, participants will explore (1) data processing (e.g. dimensionality reduction, clustering, merging vs integrating datasets), (2) data visualization and (3) integration with single-cell RNA-seq data to inform cell types. The workshop will use test datasets and preloaded analysis software on participants’ own laptops, guided by experienced spatial transcriptomics users.

Target audience: This workshop is designed for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and principal investigators in neuroscience who have an interest in big data and spatial transcriptomics analysis. Participants of all experience levels, including beginners exploring workflows to those with prior coding or analysis background, are welcome.

Speakers:

• Keynote Speaker is Dr Keri Martinowich, Johns Hopkins University.
• Trainee talks, to be determined.

Organisers

• Armen Saghatelyan (University of Ottawa)
• Karun Singh (Krembil Research Institute)
• David Kaplan (SickKids)

Date & Time: May 18, 2026 – Full day

Location: Hotel Bonaventure

Ticket Price: 70$ if registered for CAN, 90$ if not registered for CAN

Registration: Eventbrite link coming soon

Description:

The 7th Satellite Meeting on Neural Stem Cells (NSCs) and Neural Development will bring together experts and trainees to share ideas and discuss recent advances in embryonic and postnatal stem cells, synaptogenesis, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Speakers from institutions across Canada and at all career stages will present new findings on how neural development proceeds under normal conditions and how its disruption leads to disease.

The meeting will feature three themed sessions:

Session 1: Mechanisms underlying NSC heterogeneity and fate specification

Session 2: Synaptic development

Session 3: Human cellular models for studying neurodevelopmental disorders

We hope that this event will further strengthen collaborations and catalyze new interactions among researchers in the neurodevelopmental field.

TENTATIVE PROGRAM

May 18th, Hotel Bonaventure

• 8h30: arrival and registration
• 8h55 opening remarks

20min talks + 5 min questions

Session 1: Neural stem cells: from development to function

• 9h00   Freda Miller (UBC)
• 9h25   Guang Yang (U. Calgary)
• 9h50 Mateusz Ambrozkiewicz (U. Calgary)
• 10h15 short-talk from trainee
• 10h30 coffee break

Session 2: Neural development and synaptogenesis

• 10h45 Martin Munz (U. Alberta)
• 11h10 JF Cloutier (McGill)
• 11h35 Julie Lefebvre (SickKids)
• 12h00 Graziella Di Christo (U. Montreal)
• 12h25 short-talk from trainee

12h40 lunch

Session 3: Neurodevelopmental disorders

• 14h00 short-talk from trainee
• 14h15 Jeff Biernaskie (U. Calgary)
• 14h40 Julien Muffat (SickKids)
• 15h05 Carl Ernst (McGill)
• 15h30 Elsa Rossignol (U. Montreal)
• 15h55 closing remarks
• 17h00 CAN opening

Organizer: Marie-Ève Paquet

Date & Time: May 16, 2026 – half day

Location: The Neuro

Ticket price: $20 CAD

Event organized by the Canadian Optogenetics and Vectorology Foundry (COVF). Overview of the field of genetically encoded fluorescent sensors with historical perspectives followed by workshops that include practical considerations in design, screening and applications of these tools for neuroscience. There will also be a discussion on the ethical and regulatory aspects surrounding the potential use of optogenetics tools in humans. The event will be followed by a student data blitz.

Speakers

• Robert Campbell (UTokyo, confirmed)
• Rochelin Dalangin (CERVO, confirmed)
• Yufeng Zhao (UofT)
• Andrew Wooleey (UofT)
• Ahmed Abdelfattach (Brown)
• Yves De Koninck(CERVO/Laval, confirmed)
• Jennifer Chandler (UOttawa)

Organizer: Gaspard Montandon

Date & Time: May 17, 2026 – Full Day

Location: TBD

Ticket Price: TBD

Description:

This satellite symposium will bring together researchers and trainees who are investigating the neural circuits and physiological mechanisms underlying breathing. This symposium brings together teams from institutions across Canada covering a wide-range of topics and diseases related to autonomic nervous functions, such as sleep-disordered breathing, opioid-induced respiratory depression, cardiovascular and metabolic dysfunctions leading to abnormal breathing. Importantly, this symposium will also look at the role of biological sex and reproductive hormones in modulating the neural circuits controlling autonomic nervous functions. This satellite symposium is geared toward trainees and providing them with presentation opportunities and networking. Speakers include graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and principal investigators from a diverse community of scientists in Canada.

This satellite symposium aims to continue the Annual Symposium for the Legallois Society for the study of the Neural Control of Breathing, an annual research event that was held in Quebec for the last 20 years. We aim to extend this symposium to Canadian scientists and trainees. Furthermore, in light of the ongoing relationship with the US, many members of our community, including trainees, no longer have the opportunity to present, exchange, network with their colleagues. Our proposed satellite symposium is an excellent opportunity to attract new participants to the 19th Canadian Neuroscience Meeting. We expect undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty and lab staff to attend the symposium. We will advertise our symposium to colleagues in Canada interested in the topic.

Speakers

• Marc Poulin, University of Calgary
• Gaspard Montandon, University of Toronto
• Vincent Joseph, Université Laval.
• Tommy Provonost, Université Laval.
• Richard Kinkead, Universite Laval.
• Gabrielle Matteoli, University of Alberta.
• Richard Wilson, University of Calgary.
• Kayla Baker, University of Toronto.
• Silvia Pagliardini, University of Alberta.
• Mariana Bernardes, University of Sao Paulo.

Sponsor

Société Legallois

Organizer: Zeeshan Haqqee

Date & Time: May 18, 2026 – Full Day

Location: University campus in Montreal (TBD)

Ticket price: $30 CAD

Brief Description

Academic research has become increasingly specialized, narrowing trainee perspectives toward the small circles equipped to understand their work. Yet major scientific problems are inherently interdisciplinary. At conferences, we tend to remain in familiar bubbles, attending talks by the same groups, networking with people we already know, while connections that could reshape our thinking go unmade.

The Integrate and Fire Satellite Symposium offers a full-day, trainee-centered event designed to foster genuine interdisciplinary connections among early-career neuroscientists before the main CAN 2026 conference. Participants present their work within thematic sessions organized around big, shared questions in neuroscience, with guided extended discussions that focus each session on genuine dialogue. The event includes an algorithmic speed networking session designed around participants’ research abstracts and clustered poster sessions to provide additional structured opportunities for meaningful connections. We aim to provide attendees with an established network of peers going into the main CAN conference, ready to continue their conversations and expand into each other’s circles throughout the week. Lunch and coffee provided.

Speakers

Speakers will be selected through an open call for abstracts distributed across Canadian neuroscience programs. We anticipate 12-16 trainee speakers organized into 3-4 thematic sessions. Session themes will emerge from submitted abstracts using an open source matching algorithm, which clusters participants by research similarity, with our organizing team curating final groupings to highlight interdisciplinary connections across otherwise unrelated research areas. Speaker selection will prioritize students, postdocs, and early career scientists with attention to institutional diversity, gender balance, and representation of underrepresented groups. This process ensures our speaker composition reflects the breadth of Canadian neuroscience rather than predetermined topics or established networks.