The Brain Image Team welcomes inquiries from people interested in MRI systems, quantitative imaging, brain physiology, vascular health, aging, and computational imaging. Applicants commonly come from engineering, physics, computer science, mathematics, and related STEM fields. We also consider candidates trained in neuroscience, psychology, physiology, health sciences, and other related fields.
There is no single route into this work. We welcome people from different cultures, countries, identities, educational routes, and career stages. Students do not need to arrive with their own research question. We are looking for students whose intrinsic motivations align with the lab's research program and who can explain what they hope to learn or contribute. What matters is alignment among those motivations, the candidate's experience and capacity to learn, the lab's supervision capacity, available funding, and University of Calgary requirements.
We do not have a specific opening advertised at this time. The pathways below describe the kinds of people who may work with the lab when a suitable project and appropriate support are available.
UCalgary undergraduate students may be able to support a summer project through internal and coordinated funding programs such as the PURE program and the university's Summer Studentships. Students hoping to begin a summer project should contact the lab by the end of November in the preceding year. This gives us time to define a feasible project and prepare for funding competitions whose dates and eligibility requirements vary.
International undergraduate students may also encounter Brain Image Team projects through the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship. Alberta high-school students interested in health research should review the Alberta Innovates HYRS program. These programs manage their own eligibility, applications, deadlines, and selection processes; contacting the lab does not replace the formal application.
The typical intake date for thesis-based MSc and PhD students is September 1. Prospective students should contact the lab by the end of November in the preceding year so there is time to assess alignment with the research program, identify a potential project together, and prepare scholarship applications. The Faculty of Graduate Studies maintains current information about graduate awards and funding.
Please explain what intrinsically motivates you about the lab's current program, what you hope to learn or contribute, and why the Brain Image Team is a good setting for your training. Program admission requirements and deadlines still apply, and an initial discussion with the lab is not an offer of admission, supervision, or funding.
Postdoctoral inquiries are considered on a rolling basis, but intake depends on available funding, research alignment, supervision capacity, and the expertise required by current projects. Research-staff roles are created under similar constraints. Formal employment openings, when available, will be advertised through University of Calgary Careers. A general inquiry is not an application to an advertised position.
We are open to focused collaborations and visiting-researcher inquiries when there is a clear scientific question, complementary expertise, and a workable plan for data, supervision, authorship, and resources. Please describe the proposed contribution and the outcome you hope to produce together.
Send a concise message to ethan.macdonald@ucalgary.ca. Please include:
Keep the first message short enough to review quickly. If there appears to be alignment, we can discuss the project, supervision, funding, and application route in more detail.
Because the lab receives many messages, we cannot reply to every request or inquiry. A lack of response should not be read as a judgment of your potential; it may simply reflect current capacity, funding, or alignment with current projects.
The Brain Image Team brings together people from engineering, imaging, neuroscience, and clinical research. We expect careful, well-documented work and respectful collaboration. People come before programs, and unnecessary competition or exhaustion is not treated as evidence of commitment.