The Canadian Neurodevelopmental Research Training Platform (CanNRT) and Brain Canada Foundation are pleased to announce a new partnership that will strengthen the CanNRT Fellowship, CanNRT’s flagship program for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and clinical fellows in neurodevelopmental research.
Through this partnership, the existing CanNRT Fellowship will become the CanNRT-Brain Canada Fellowship. The program will continue to recognize research excellence while providing Fellows with the funding, mentorship, training, and national connections needed to build meaningful careers in neurodevelopmental research.
Since 2021, CanNRT has supported Fellows across Canada through entry awards, training passports, mentorship, and the Annual Summer School. Brain Canada’s investment will help expand this model and support a new cohort of Fellows conducting research relevant to neurodevelopmental conditions at Canadian universities.
“Transformative research begins with talented people,” said Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada. “By partnering with CanNRT, we are helping strengthen the pipeline of emerging researchers who will advance our understanding of neurodevelopment and contribute to better outcomes for individuals and families across Canada.”
The Fellowship offers more than funding. Fellows join a national learning community that connects research, practice, policy, and lived and living experience. They gain opportunities to develop their research, strengthen communication and leadership skills, build cross-sector networks, and take part in immersive training alongside peers and mentors from across Canada and beyond.
The partnership also responds to a growing need across the research ecosystem: sustained investment in the people who will advance neurodevelopmental research in the years ahead. By supporting trainees at key career stages, Brain Canada and CanNRT are helping build a stronger and more connected community of future researchers equipped to contribute across disciplines, sectors, and communities.
“Research careers are shaped by opportunities, mentorship, and community,” said Mayada Elsabbagh, Director of CanNRT. “Together with Brain Canada, we are expanding support for emerging researchers and creating pathways for them to connect, collaborate, and contribute to the future of neurodevelopmental research.”
This program has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada), and Brain Canada Foundation, and CanNRT.
The Request for Applications for the CanNRT-Brain Canada Fellowship will launch in Fall 2026. Applicants will be invited to apply in English or French.
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