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Building an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Plan for Research Funding Applications

Participants learned tips and strategies for fostering EDI in their research context and discussing EDI concepts in their funding applications. This interactive workshop was offered online for free and included: a speaker presentation, guided individual reflection and (optional) small group discussions.

The workshop enabled participants to:

1. Describe why funding programs now regularly evaluate EDI practices in research projects and teams and how this benefits the research community and public.
2. Identify common pitfalls in the EDI sections of grant applications and adopt strategies to avoid these pitfalls and improve their applications.
3. Reflect on the EDI practices they are currently implementing in their projects and teams and identify impactful practices that they could begin implementing in the near future.

Getting Started in Neuro-Entrepreneurship

Participants learned from , professor in the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at HEC, about how to successfully raise capital, navigate a competitive landscape and grow their company while avoiding common entrepreneurial mistakes.

Navigating through the pathway of commercialization

HBHL/NeuroSphere Workshop: Transitioning from academia to industry in neuroscience

This workshop geared towards neuroscience graduate students offers insights for those considering a career outside of academia after they complete graduate studies. In this workshop, participants gained insights and skills to navigate the challenges and opportunities of industry.

The workshop was led by professional recruiters and (), who spoke about how to acquire the transferable skills commonly learned through neuroscience research training and how to clearly express these skills to stand out in job interviews, as well as Dr. , Technical Director for, who spoke about her career path and how she transitioned from academic research to industry.

Sharpening Your Message SciComm Workshop

Participants learned from HBHL鈥檚 Managing Director, Krystle van Hoof, and Senior Communications Officer, Christopher Maskell, about how to build and sharpen their message for a variety of knowledge-user audiences (including journalists) and how to give a good interview that will keep the media coming back. Topics discussed were strategies to make yourself a go-to expert in your field (and ensuring that what is written is what you wanted to convey) for journalists and media, ways to improve the uptake of your research among knowledge users, and ways to make your message pop on social media, website posts, PowerPoints, promo visuals and other online content.

Bias in the Brain: Unconscious, but not invisible

Dr. Falisha Karpati led this session, which explored neuroscience research that shows unconscious bias happening in the brain. Participants gained insights into how and why our brains are wired to create stereotypes and bias, and learned brain-based strategies for mitigating the effect of bias in research and academic contexts.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Researchers

A workshop was presented in collaboration with the Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), 平特五不中 Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ENGINE) and Healthy Brains Healthy Lives (HBHL). It covered the path from scientific findings to commercialization, the resources are available for researchers on this path, where business funding comes from, how IP ownership handled and what a researcher needs to know before becoming an entrepreneur.

Let's Talk Neurodiversity: Creating environments where all brains can thrive

Neurodiversity is the idea that each individual has a unique brain and that there is a vast spectrum of neurological differences within the world鈥檚 population. With this spectrum comes a wide range of strengths and needs across the population.

This workshop covered scientific studies to learn about the neurological differences present in the population, insights into the experiences of individuals who identify as neurodivergent and of community advocates through recorded interviews, and actions everyone can take to facilitate the creation of environments where all brains can flourish.

This workshop was part of the 2020 Integrated Program in Neuroscience retreat. It was facilitated by , a group of 平特五不中 medical students who aspire to raise awareness about neurodiversity and inclusion of the neurodivergent community within the student population. MSS Diverging Minds has been offering this workshop to the Montreal community for the past year, and Healthy Brains, Healthy Lives collaborated with them to increase its focus on neuroscience for this workshop at the IPN retreat.

Postdoc Mentorship Program

The HBHL Postdoc Mentorship Program provided an opportunity for HBHL-funded postdoctoral fellows to explore career options by meeting successful professionals in academic and non-academic careers. It included the creation of an individual development plan, networking event for postdocs and mentors, individual meetings between each postdoc and three mentors matched based on career interests, as well as postdoc discussion sessions to reflect on the mentor meetings and discuss career planning.

HBHL Wellness Day

This full-day event included three sessions, all led by neuroscientists:

• Strain on the brain: Reducing stress to improve brain health
  • (PhD candidate, Psychology, 平特五不中) discussed the neuroscience of stress as well as research-supported tips for stress management. Attendees participated in interactive discussion and activities focused on real-world application of the presented research.
• Healthy screen-time and smartphone use: Ongoing questions and emerging research
  • Dr. Samuel Veissiere and Dasha Sandra presented findings from recent research on the impact of smartphone use and tips to to build healthier smartphone habits.
• The Neuroscience of Sleep / How to get a good night鈥檚 sleep in the modern age
  • Through a talk by Dr. Barbara Jones and workshop led by Drs. Aurore Perrault and Nathan Cross, participants learned what happens in the brain during sleep, how sleep deprivation and poor sleep hygiene affects health, and how and why to integrate better sleep habits into a busy lifestyle.

January 28, 2020/ March 13, 2019/ March 27, 2018

The Competitive Edge: Writing a successful HBHL Fellowship application

At this workshop and webinar, participants learned about the requirements, evaluation criteria, and evaluation process of the Healthy Brains, Healthy Lives Graduate Student Fellowship. We discussed qualities that grant application reviewers look for, and common successes and pitfalls of past applications. Participants completed independent writing activities to generate ideas related to their own projects that they can apply to their Fellowship applications.

This event was offered in collaboration with Graphos.

Science Communication Day

This full-day event included the following three sessions as well as art-science projections and a booth exhibition from science communication-related student groups.

• The Reviewer鈥檚 Perspective: A panel discussion on academic writing
  • Participants received tips and advice on writing impressive manuscripts and navigating the academic publication process from 4 平特五不中 neuroscience researchers.
• A Picture is Worth 1000 Statistics: Effective data visualization for scientific communication
  • At this interactive workshop led by Eisha Ahmed (offered in collaboration with the 平特五不中 Initiative in Computational Medicine), participants discussed and applied strategies for creating accurate, accessible and engaging scientific figures.
• #SciComm on Social Media: Sharing Your Science Beyond the Lab
  • In this interactive workshop, SciComm expert Samantha Yammine shared best practices for audience-first storytelling, and tips and tricks for engaging folks with science through social media.

This event was offered in collaboration with .

Peer Pathways Program

Participants were guided through the creation of an Individual Development Plan for academic, career and personal success. The program included three expert-led workshops, two meetings with peer groups and ongoing independent reflection and activities guided by the myPath workbook.

This program was offered in collaboration with myPath.

Make Your Mark: Personal and project branding for neuroscientists

At this workshop, participants learned how creating a brand for their research projects can further the reach of their work and how creating a personal brand can help candidates stand out in the job market. They generated ideas for their own project and personal brands through guided activities.

This workshop was offered as part of the 2019 Integrated Program in Neuroscience retreat.

How To Plan Your Life

In this workshop, participants learned what is involved in creating an Individual Development Plan (IDP). They completed activities designed to promote reflection on academic and professional goals, and begin the process of creating an IDP.

This event was offered in collaboration with myPath and .

Intro2Programming

This workshop provided an introduction to computer programming for research trainees. On the first day, participants learned how algorithms are designed and how to perform basic programming tasks such as writing functions. On the second day, two concurrent sessions allowed participants to explore basic machine learning concepts in Python or data visualization in R.

Under Pressure: Stress management for better brain health

This workshop began with a talk on the neuroscience of stress from . Participants learned what happens in the nervous system during stress, how this affects cognition and behaviour, as well as evidence-based stress-reduction strategies. The talk was followed by activities focused on real-world application of these strategies, including mindfulness, improving sleep habits and avoiding co-rumination.

How to make more than minimum wage in grad school

At this seminar, participants were introduced to a variety of funding sources for research trainees, including Tri-Council scholarships, 平特五不中-internal awards, collaboration with industry through Mitacs fellowships as well as lesser-known alternative sources of funding. They learned strategies to effectively search for funding opportunities, communicate with potential funders, determine success rates for various competitions and avoid common pitfalls of the funding application process.

Neuroscience lab skills beyond the lab: Effectively presenting your skill set in the job search

Professional recruiter Aur茅liane Pajani from presented the transferable skills commonly learned through neuroscience research training, and tools for trainees to use to identify their own skills. Participants learned how to clearly express these skills in resumes and job interviews.

The Reviewer's Perspective: A panel discussion on academic publishing in neuroscience

Participants received tips and advice on writing impressive manuscripts and navigating the academic publication process from 5 平特五不中 neuroscience researchers. Discussion topics were guided by questions from the audience, and included writing style, what reviewers look for in a manuscript, common pitfalls of manuscripts, journal choice and open science.

From divergent thinking to convergent solutions: Including creative thinking in your research

At this workshop, participants learned why creative thinking is important in research, and how divergent and convergent thinking can be applied in scientific and artistic contexts. They participated in interactive artistic activities and discussions to generate ideas and potential solutions for complex, abstract science-related questions.

This workshop was facilitated by the .

The neuroscience of persuasion and effective public speaking

Public speaking expert provided participants with practical advice for giving effective and engaging presentations. Topics covered included handling nervousness, enhancing clarity, improving body language, and holding the audience鈥檚 attention. Findings from psychological and neuroscientific studies were discussed to support the advice given.

Small Talk, Big Impact: Developing an elevator pitch for your neuroscience research

Participants were guided through the process of writing draft 1.5-minute elevator pitches for their own research projects for both academic and public audiences. They learned to develop a hook to grab the audience鈥檚 attention, concisely state background/methods/results and express the value and impact of their research for both audiences.

Putting the "Go" in Negotiation: Strategies to drive your collaborations forward

At this workshop, participants learned how to effectively prepare for a negotiation. Then, they discussed five common negotiation strategies along with real-world situations where they can be used, with an emphasis on identifying opportunities for a collaborative approach. Participants applied these concepts to prepare for and execute a practice negotiation.

This session was offered as part of the 2018 Integrated Program in Neuroscience retreat.

The Road Less Travelled: Unique careers for neuroscientists

Six individuals who completed neuroscience-related graduate studies presented their inspiring and unique career paths in fields including business, government, communications, consulting and public outreach. The career panel included an interactive discussion guided by audience questions, as well as networking opportunities.

This event was offered in collaboration with the Integrated Program in Neuroscience, with support from the .

A Fresh Perspective: Poster and presentation peer-review

This peer-review session (for graduate students and postdocs) provided an opportunity to practice poster or oral presentations and participants gained valuable feedback that can help them impress that conference audience! This session covered:

• Practice your presentation in front of a small group of students/postdocs
• Receive feedback on your poster and/or presentation
• Develop critical reviewing skills by giving feedback to your peers

Increase Your Impact: Sharing neuroscience research with diverse audiences

Participants discussed the multitude of dissemination opportunities available for neuroscience research, and how to select appropriate dissemination method(s) for various types of research. They analyzed neuroscience research content targeted towards diverse audiences in order to extract communication strategies, and then applied these strategies to describe their own research.