Neuroscience (MDNS)

Journal Clubs (JC)

Joining and presenting at a Journal club is a program requirement (minimum of 1 per year) for all active Graduate Neuroscience Program students during every passing year of study, up-to and including their eventual final defense year. The primary intent of these JC presentations is for the student to facilitate guided discussions with their peers around a selected journal publication (that is relevant to the club’s core focus) to help draw direct links and conceptual connections between current and future practices in the medical/life sciences as emerging research scholars. For further details regarding club availability and their respective sign-up processes, please visit:

• The HBI Trainee Organization's (HBITO) Journal Clubs webpage; or
• The ACHRI Trainee Association's (ACHRITA) Events Page (Journal Clubs drop-down tab)

JC Alternates: Inthe event of limited presentation slot availabilities and/or scheduling challenges with one's current HBITO or ACHRITA JC of membership, the MDNS program will permit the student to present at other JCs that are housed by another UCalgary research group/institution, departmental unit, or faculty in lieu, with whom their supervisor(s) hold member affiliation with to open up greater flexibility. These can include but are not limited to:

• The Libin Cardiovascular Institute (link)
• The Department of Emergency Medicine (link) or Psychology (link)
• The Faculties of Veterinary Medicine (link) or Kinesiology (link)

Graduate Research-In-Progress (GRIP) Presentations

It is a program requirement for all active Graduate Neuroscience Program students to conduct a minimum of 1 GRIP presentation during every passing year of study, up-to and including their eventual final defense year. The primary intent of these GRIPs is for the student to gain direct experience at presenting key portions of their developing thesis projects to fellow scientific community members with whom they do not normally interact with on a regular basis (serves as valuable practice in preparation for one's eventual graduate program oral examinations). This unfortunately means that neither the student’s regular internal lab meetings nor exhibit-style poster presentations will count as being GRIP-appropriate.

GRIPs can be satisfied through 1 of the following avenues: 

• (PREFERRABLE)
  • A Hotchkiss Brain Institute Trainee Organization (HBITO)-coordinated GRIP – Contact the HBITO (hbito@ucalgary.ca) directly for upcoming GRIP presenter opportunities.
  • An ACHRITA-coordinated GRIP, which includes the Owerko Centre for Neurodevelopment and Child Mental Health. Consult the ACHRITA Events Page (Seminars drop-down tab) or contact ACHRITA (achrita@ucalgary.ca) directly for upcoming GRIP presenter opportunities.
  • A Mathison Trainee Organization (MTO)-coordinated GRIP. Contact the MTO (mto@ucalgary.ca) directly to inquire about available GRIP opportunities.
  • An Advanced Medical Imaging Seminar Series (AMISS)  GRIP for those who have additionally declared the Medical Imaging (MEDI) Interdisciplinary Specialization to supplement/enhance their base Neuroscience graduate degree program.
• GRIP Alternates: Should scheduling challenges arise with securing either an HBITO or an ACHRITA-coordinated GRIP due to either limited availability or scheduling conflicts, then the following options can be pursued in lieu:
  • (Alt GRIP Option I) Oral presentations/platform talks at an external national or international scientific conference, disciplinary society meeting, retreat, etc., under the conditions that they are ~15 minutes in duration – ± 5 minutes, depending on the size of the audience (i.e. 10 minutes for significant, large-scale events, or 20 minutes for local multi-lab focus groups) – and conducted towards gatherings of other researchers/lab-supported research groups, rather than the general public.
  • (Alt GRIP Option II) Seminar sessions hosted by a UCalgary research unit (e.g. the Inflammation Research Network with the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases (link), the One Health Research Group with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (link), etc.).
  • (Alt GRIP Option III) Inter-lab oral presentations with another UCalgary research lab group (e.g. a sitting supervisory committee member’s lab, a previous oral examiner’s lab, etc.). Audience must be external to student's home lab.

Note on JCs and GRIPs for late-program students: MSc and PhD Neuroscience trainees who are in the final stages of their respective graduate programs and anticipate defending their theses within the next 12 months but are also in need of one last JC and/or a GRIP presentation to fulfill their final pre-defense requirements, please email neurosci@ucalgary.ca to discuss options.