SfN Ottawa Chapter

Canadian National: The Final Showdown (Brain Bee, Phase 2)
2025-05-23 08:00 - 17:00 UTC | Toronto Sheraton Centre Hotel, 123 Queen St W, Toronto, ON, M5H 2M9, Canada
Congratulations to Emma Rees for winning the Ottawa Brain Bee and ranking among the top 3 competitors in phase 1 of the National competition! Tune into phase 2 of the Canadian National: The Final Showdown, which will be held in person at the 2025 Canadian Association for Neurosciences annual meeting in Toronto on Friday, May 23rd.
2026 CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee

https://can-acn.org/meeting-2025/

Brain and Mental Health Art Show
2025-05-03 18:00 - 21:00 | Glebe Community Centre, 175 Third Ave, Ottawa, ON, K1S 2K2, Canada

Brain Awareness at the Museum
2025-03-12 11:00 - 2025-03-14 15:00 | Canada Science and Technology Museum, 1867 St. Laurent Blvd, Ottawa, ON, K1G 5A3, Canada

Brain Awareness Week
2025-03-03 - 2025-03-07 | ON

2025 Ottawa Brain Bee
2025-03-01 11:00 - 16:00 | Health Sciences Building, 1125 Colonel By, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada

Carleton Neuroscience Colloquium - Dr. Corina Nagy, McGill University
2024-11-22 11:30 - 13:00 | Health Sciences Building, Room 1301, 1125 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, K1S 5B6, Canada
Title: Deciphering Depression: Single-Cell Insights into Sex-Specific Depressive States and Depression-Related Developmental Trajectories.

Carleton Neuroscience Colloquium - Dr. William Colmers, University of Alberta
2024-10-18 11:00 - 13:00 | Health Sciences Building, Room 1301, 1125 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, K1S 5B6, Canada
Abstract:
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is the most abundant neuropeptide in the brain, and the Colmers lab is focused on understanding the biological contributions of NPY. In this regard, Dr. Colmers has made significant advances in elucidating the protective role of NPY in seizure activity, promoting feeding and obesity, and his latest work focuses on anxiety. His work encompasses a combination of electrophysiological, viral tracing, and behavioural techniques, and this seminar will examine the impact of NPY on anxiety via the amygdala. Specifically, he will elucidate how NPY interacts with different NPY receptors in the amygdala to induce or suppress anxiogenesis.
Dr. William F. Colmers, Professor Emeritus
University of Alberta
My laboratory studies the biological role which Neuropeptide Y (NPY), and related signals play in different brain regions. We are funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Carleton Neuroscience Colloquium - Dr. Craig Ferris, Northeastern University
2024-10-11 11:30 - 13:00 | Health Sciences Building, Room 1301, 1125 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, K1S 5B6, Canada

Carleton Neuroscience Colloquium - Dr. Katie Gunnell, Carleton University
2024-10-04 11:30 - 13:00 | Health Sciences Building, Room 1301, 1125 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, K1S 5B6, Canada
Abstract: Approximately 10-20% of children and youth are diagnosed with a mental disorder and many more experience subclinical symptoms. With increasing prevalence rates, researchers are attempting to identify modifiable behaviours that can prevent symptoms related to mental disorders. Increasing physical activity has been identified as an important target to enhancing mental health. Despite decades of research showing the benefits of physical activity, rates of physical activity are decreasing, with some suggesting that increased screen time has displaced time spent in physical activity. In this presentation, I will review the literature and my own research that has examined links between physical activity and mental health, with a brief discussion on screen time and mental health. I will also discuss factors related to better quality engagement in physical activity and screen time and their links to mental health.
About Dr. Gunnell: Dr. Gunnell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University. She is interested in understanding the psychological correlates and mechanisms of psychological health and behaviour across various populations including youth and adults. She examines all aspects of the psychological health continuum including ill-being (e.g., symptoms of depression), hedonic well-being (e.g., positive affect), and eudaimonic well-being (e.g., meaning).

Brainbytes Series
2024-09-27 11:30 - 13:00 | Nicol Building, Room 4040, 1125 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, K1S 5B6, Canada
Brainbytes is a neuroscience café that allows graduate students to share their work with their peers and the department on a monthly basis. It provides a space for colleagues within the department to exchange knowledge, covering both human- and animal-based research.
This month, our presenters will be:
Jessica McNeill (Salmaso lab): Nigral astrocyte function and dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease
Marina Martins (Abizaid lab): Central effects of the exercise-induced Lac-Phe peptide: are there any?
This event will take place in room 4040 of the Nicol Building. Hope to see you there!

Carleton Neuroscience Colloquium - Dr. Corey Baimel
2024-09-20 11:30 - 13:00 | Health Sciences Building, Room 1301, 1125 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, K1S 5B6, Canada
Abstract:
Dr. Baimel fostered an interest in reward and addiction, which led him to head west to pursue his PhD in Dr. Stephanie Borgland’s lab at The University of British Columbia, and then at The Hotchkiss Brain Institute at The University of Calgary. There, he examined orexin modulation of the ventral tegmental area, including its ability to alter the activity of different subsets of dopamine neurons. This inspired his interest in neural circuits, which he went on to study as a Postdoc with Dr. Adam Carter at New York University; where he used a combination of optogenetic, electrophysiological, and behavioural techniques to study neural circuits in the nucleus accumbens. He is now establishing these same techniques in his lab at Dalhousie University and aims to further define the neural circuits that underlie adaptative and maladaptive motivated behaviours.
Dr. Corey Baimel, Assistant Professor Dalhousie University Dr. Baimel grew up in Montreal and obtained his bachelor’s degree in Physiology from McGill University. After graduation, he spent a year as a research assistant running drug intravenous self-administration experiments in mice.
