University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine

08/20/2026

Grade 11 students Zarifa, John and Aksh*ta were among this year’s Alberta Innovates High School Youth Researcher (HYRS) Program participants, spending six weeks this summer under the mentorship of CSM faculty. From immunology and neuroimaging to maternal and child health, they immersed themselves in hands-on research, building skills and gaining firsthand experience in leading research environments.
 
Their summer journey included guest lectures, lab tours and building connections, culminating in a research symposium that showcased their discoveries and highlighted the impact young researchers can have in the future of health and research.
 
🔗 Visit the link in bio to learn more about HYRS.

08/20/2026

📣 SPARK Alberta is recruiting for its Fall 2026 cohort!

Powered by the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking and a chapter of the SPARK Global network, SPARK Alberta supports the advancement of digital health innovations at Alberta’s post secondary institutions into clinical and patient impact.

👉🏼 Learn more & apply by Sept. 13: https://www.ucalgary.ca/hunter-hub/programs/powered-hunter-hub/spark-alberta

👉🏼 Or find out more at the information session on Sept. 9 at 12:00pm. Register here: https://luma.com/hunterhub-xu1g

W21C

08/19/2026

Dr. Leah Mayo, PhD, will join other leading Canadian researchers as part of Canada's first national cannabis & brain health research consortium.

As ’s Parker Research Chair in Psychedelics, Dr. Mayo’s research focuses on developing new treatments for stress-related mental health disorders with a particular focus on cannabinoid- and psychedelic-based therapeutics.

The new consortium will investigate how cannabis affects brain health across the lifespan. Dr. Mayo’s project, CannSleep: Exploring the relationship between cannabis and sleep in a nationally representative Canadian cohort and randomized controlled trial in PTSD, will contribute to research to better inform clinical care, public health policy and harm reduction strategies.

👉🏼 Read more: https://bit.ly/4x9gFV8

Canadian Institutes of Health Research | Hotchkiss Brain Institute - HBI | Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education | Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute | UCalgary Arts | University of Calgary

08/17/2026

An opportunity for faculty, postdocs, research staff and alumni to seek sponsored research, explore innovative health-care solutions and make new connections.

Join UCalgary on Sept 22 at the 2026 Health & Life Sciences Industry Collaboration Initiative. Featuring industry players who will reveal how to partner on their R&D pipeline and identify aligned research paths.

Highlights:
🔹 Watch Alberta Innovator Speed Pitches
🔸 Learn about UCalgary research services and licensable technologies
🔹 Join virtual pre-event industry collaboration sessions for UCalgary researchers

September 22 | 8:00am to 6:00pm
Libin Lecture Theatre & Azrieli Atrium, Foothills Campus

➡️ Learn more and register: https://bit.ly/4wSxdA5

University of Calgary | W21C

08/14/2026

Congratulating third-year student Jake Thorsteinson on being named a 2026 Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Award recipient! 🎉

Jake is recognized for his advocacy work and commitment to advancing health policy and medical education. Through his work with the Alberta Medical Association and other advocacy initiatives, he has helped amplify learner voices and represented medical students at provincial and national forums.

He recently played a key role in representing learner perspectives during the implementation of the Southern Alberta Medical Program (SAMP), a partnership between the University of Calgary’s Cu***ng School of Medicine and the University of Lethbridge. This summer, the program welcomed its first class of students, marking a new chapter in medical education and the future of healthcare in rural communities.

Congrats, Jake on this well-deserved recognition!

📢🏅We are proud to announce the selection of 15 exceptional medical students from across the country as recipients of the 2026 . Please join us in congratulating this year's Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Award recipients. Follow along as we showcase our deserving medical students over the next few weeks.

➡️Read all recipient bios: cdnmedhall.ca/2026cmhfaward

With special thanks to our program sponsors MD Financial Management - Gestion financière MD, Scotiabank, Canadian Medical Association, the medical schools and to the private donors supporting this award.

08/13/2026

08/11/2026

From buzz cuts to colourful hair makeovers, the community came together in a big way at this year’s Rock Your Locks event! 🎉

Congratulations to the UCalgaryMed Class of 2028 for one of the biggest events to date, raising an incredible $32,458 in support of Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta. All funds raised will support life-saving research, Camp Kindle summer camps, therapeutic exercise programs, and much more.

Second-year medical student Clara Letef organized this year’s event at Foothills campus, bringing together 10 participants who cut, coloured, or shaved their heads in this annual, medical student-led tradition.

"This year’s Rock Your Locks event truly showed what our medical community can do when we rally behind kids and families facing childhood cancer,” says Clara. “Raising over $32,000 is more than a fundraising milestone, it reflects the heart of Kids Cancer Care’s work and the community-based support that helps families navigate challenges that families should never have to face.”

📷 Photography by Kai Zhang & Kristen Fong

08/06/2026

When UCalgary researchers observed immune cells during sepsis, they noticed something unexpected: the cells moved together in mesmerizing swarms, much like the aerial ballet performed by a flock birds.
 
This discovery prompted the team, led by critical care physician and clinician-scientist Dr. Bryan Yipp, MD’05, to develop a novel way of studying cellular behaviour and find ways to prevent cell clustering.
 
An often-fatal condition, sepsis is the body’s overwhelming response to an infection that can cause immune cells to cluster together, obstruct blood flow and lead to organ failure.
 
Dr. Yipp talks about the development of their innovative method for analyzing immune cell response during severe infection.
 
🔗 Visit the link in bio to read more.

08/05/2026

The annual UCalgary Innovation Postdoctoral Awards honour researchers from across campus, recognizing postdoctoral fellows who are making a real-world impact.

Congratulations to these recipients!

⭐ Dr. Amir Azimi, MD, is developing AI-enabled technologies that transform routine cardiac MRI and CT scans into personalized models.

⭐ Dr. Manuel Ester, PhD’23, is helping people with chronic conditions such as arthritis and cancer become and stay physically active.

⭐ Dr. Leila Rezaei, PhD, is bringing together microbiome science, child development, and computational biology to better understand early-life health.

⭐ Dr. Keely Shaw, PhD, is investigating the interplay between physical activity and nutrition to optimize health and physical function in diverse populations.

⭐ Dr. Raissa Souza de Andrade, PhD’25, is developing privacy-preserving distributed learning frameworks that enable AI models to be trained on large, representative, multi-centre datasets.

Read more about them: https://bit.ly/4fBAnmg

Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute | Charbonneau Cancer Institute | Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases

08/04/2026

University of Calgary researchers have invented a new way to analyze immune cell response for a better understanding of sepsis infection.

Recently published in the journal Science, the discovery called cellular behavioromics combines microscopy with digital informatics to investigate the patterns and pathology of infection.

During sepsis, immune cells cluster together and clog the circulatory system which can cause organs to fail. The research team led by critical care physician and clinician-scientist Dr. Bryan Yipp, MD’05, discovered the cell clusters are the result of complex swarming behaviors.

“Our approach enabled us to sort out the cells,” says the study’s first author, Dr. Luke Brown, PhD’26. "We found 18 different clusters of behaviours involved in the cellular swarms during sepsis. Understanding cell behaviour can provide insight on new treatments including when to administer the treatment.”

Read more: https://bit.ly/4hOsUBG

⬇️ WATCH

University of Calgary | Hotchkiss Brain Institute - HBI | Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases | Canadian Institutes of Health Research | Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | Science