Get involved
The Brain-CE Fellowship and other ways to join
This fall Brain-CE relaunched with focused project cycles. Apply to the Core Team, join one of seven projects as a Fellow, stay connected as a Network Member, or partner with us as a clinician, researcher, school or sponsor.
Choose your pathway
Every pathway is valuable. Pick the one that matches the time you can give right now.
Fellow
4-6 hours a week, one project, one cycle
Apply by October 4Fellows own named tasks on one of seven Fall 2026 projects, work with a Project Lead and a director from our board, and finish a real deliverable by Demo Day on December 11. Every applicant completes a short starter task. There is no interview.
Apply to the fellowship- Named credit on every output you contribute to
- Training in the research skills nobody teaches: searching, screening, writing, posters
- A profile on brainclimate.org and a Fellow Spotlight
- A certificate with verified hours each cycle
- Reference letters after two completed cycles
- First consideration for conference, speaking and delegation opportunities
- See the seven projects and open roles →
Senior Fellow and Project Lead
5-8 hours a week, completed undergraduate degree required
Apply by October 4Lead a project team, keep the plan on track, and report to our Portfolio Lead. Senior Fellows receive leadership credit and first consideration as lead authors and presenters. Choose a Senior Fellow Lead role in the application.
Apply as a Senior FellowCore Team
1-7 hours a week depending on role, 6-month renewable term
Apply by September 30We are rebuilding our Core Team: 8 roles and 14 spots that keep Brain-CE running, from funding and partnerships to our new Emerging Voices podcast. No interviews: your written answers are the application.
Apply to the Core TeamNetwork Member
No weekly commitment
Join Emerging Voices sessions and events, help with one-off activities like outreach tents, and apply to a cycle when you have the time. Choose “Network Member” in the application form.
Join the networkFaculty, clinicians and organizations
From one hour a month
Advise a project, review outputs, co-apply for a grant, pilot materials in your clinic or organization, or join Emerging Voices. Tell us your real capacity and we match you.
Offer your expertiseSchools and University Network
For high schools and campus groups, registered by a staff or faculty sponsor
Start a climate and brain health club with our eight-session kit, or book a classroom workshop. Clubs come with ready-to-run slides, activities and recorded lectures from clinicians and researchers. Pilot schools begin in early 2027. High school students: ask a teacher or counsellor to reach out.
Register your interestSponsors and funders
Program, event and founding sponsorships
Support youth-led work that turns brain health evidence into community action. Sponsors receive impact reports each cycle and recognition across our programs.
Start a conversationAlready a 2025-26 fellow? You don’t need to reapply. Please complete the Recommitment Form by October 4 to recommit for the Fall cycle, move to Network Member, or step away. If we don’t hear from you by then, we’ll move you to Network Member so you stay connected without any weekly expectations.
Recommitment FormThe seven Fall 2026 projects
October 19 to December 11. Each project has a Project Lead, a director sponsor from our board, and one named deliverable due on Demo Day. Fellows join one project and give 4-6 hours a week. Spot counts are updated as roles fill.
Youth Climate Mind
Climate anxiety, climate grief and the neuroscience behind them, explained in language young people actually use. The glossary is finished; the toolkit is next.
- Deliverable by Dec 11
- Glossary and toolkit v1 published
- Open roles
- Senior Fellow (Lead), 2 design or writing fellows
- Good fit for
- Psychology, education, design, science communication
Community-Led Research: Indigenous and Rural Voices
How climate change is actually experienced in Indigenous, rural and remote communities is almost entirely absent from the brain health research record. We paused this project over the summer rather than run community research ahead of community relationships. It returns this fall as the groundwork — and the groundwork is the training.
- Deliverable by Dec 11
- Study registered on OSF with introduction and methods drafted, and an ethics application submitted
- You will learn
- Research ethics, OCAP®, qualitative study design, interview guide development, open science registration
- Open roles
- 2 research fellows joining an existing team
- What comes next
- Community interviews begin in the Winter cycle, once partnerships are in place
Hailstorm Alley Community Voices
Community-based participatory research with South Asian, African diaspora and Caribbean communities in northeast Calgary, where repeated climate shocks meet real barriers to culturally safe mental health support. Survey data collected at a Nagar Kirtan is already in hand.
- Deliverable by Dec 11
- Community event plan and findings brief
- Open roles
- Community events fellow, data visualization fellow
- Good fit for
- Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu speakers; public health; community organizing
Microplastics and the Brain
What we know, and honestly do not know, about plastic particles reaching human tissue, and what a clinician should do with that evidence today.
- Deliverable by Dec 11
- Commentary outline and evidence table
- Open roles
- Senior Fellow (Lead), 1-2 evidence fellows
- Good fit for
- Neuroscience, toxicology, medicine
Extreme Temperatures and Neurological Health
A registered scoping review on heat, cold and the nervous system. Screening and evidence synthesis taught properly, from people who do it for a living.
- Deliverable by Dec 11
- OSF protocol registered and search run
- Open roles
- 2 screeners
- Good fit for
- Anyone wanting review methods training; no prior experience needed
Brain-Healthy Green Spaces
Green space, urban design and cognitive health. It started with one article a fellow would not let go of, and is now a perspective piece with a draft underway.
- Deliverable by Dec 11
- Full draft of the perspective article
- Open roles
- Senior Fellow (Lead), 1 evidence fellow
- Good fit for
- Writers, planners, neuroscience students
Smoke, Heat and Your Brain
A public campaign for Alberta on what wildfire smoke and extreme heat do to the brain, and what people can actually do about it.
- Deliverable by Dec 11
- Three campaign assets
- Open roles
- Senior Fellow (Lead), designer, evidence fellow, social fellow
- Good fit for
- Designers, science communicators, public health
Core Team roles, Fall 2026
Volunteer roles, 6-month renewable terms. Every role includes ownership, board-level exposure to neurologists and physicians, named credit on everything you build, and management experience. Applications close September 30.
| Role | Spots | Hours/week | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funding and Partnerships | 3 | 4-6 | Research funders and sponsors, draft applications, track the pipeline |
| Recognition and Communications | 2 | 4-6 | Weekly Fellow Spotlight, LinkedIn and Instagram posts, cycle recaps, Demo Day content |
| Events and Emerging Voices | 2 | 4-6 | Produce Emerging Voices podcast episodes, Demo Day and community events |
| Recruitment and Onboarding | 2 | 4-6 | Review applications with Project Leads, keep records current, welcome new members |
| Website and Knowledge Hub | 1 | 4-6 | Keep brainclimate.org project and people pages current; publish outputs |
| Portfolio Lead | 1 | 5-7 | Support Project Leads, run the monthly lead check-in, help fellows who fall behind |
| Schools and University Network Coordinator | 1 | 3-5 | Recruit pilot schools and campus groups, support staff sponsors (starts November) |
| Opportunity Scout | 2 | 1-2 | Find grants, conferences and calls. Fully asynchronous, no meetings |
How fellowship selection works
We select for follow-through, and we review in writing. There is no interview.
- ApplyChoose one project role and tell us your real weekly availability.
- Starter taskA 1-2 hour task emailed to you with everything you need, due in 7 days.
- Written reviewScored by your Project Lead and the recruitment team. You hear back within four days either way, with feedback.
- PlacementSign the Commitment Agreement within 5 days.
- KickoffMeet your team on October 19.
What we expect, and what you can expect from us
From fellows
- The hours you committed, every week of the cycle
- A two-minute update every Friday by 5 pm Mountain Time
- Replies to your Project Lead within 48 hours
- Telling us in advance when you need a pause
From Brain-CE
- A clear role, named tasks and a finish date
- A Project Lead and a director sponsor who respond
- Training in the research skills your project needs
- Credit, recognition and references for your work
- A fair, predictable process if commitments lapse
The pathway, at a glance
| Tier | Commitment | How you get there |
|---|---|---|
| Network Member | None required | Complete the application and choose Network Member |
| Fellow | 4-6 hrs/week, one project per cycle | Application, starter task and Commitment Agreement |
| Senior Fellow / Project Lead | 5-8 hrs/week | Completed undergraduate degree and a strong delivery record |
| Core Team | 1-7 hrs/week by role, 6-month term | Core Team application (open until September 30) |
| Advisor | About 1 hr/month | Partner form, or an invitation from our directors |
Questions
What happens if I fall behind?
You can pause for up to two weeks by telling us in the weekly update. Without a pause, three missed weekly updates in a row, or two missed task deadlines, moves you to Network Member. You stay welcome and can apply to a future cycle.
Is there an interview?
No. Your written application and starter task are the whole process, reviewed by the Project Lead and the recruitment team. Everyone hears back within four days of the task deadline, with feedback, whether or not they are placed.
Do I need prior research experience?
No. A good part of what the fellowship does is teach the things nobody teaches: how to run a literature search, screen and extract evidence, read a result honestly, write a commentary, build a poster and present it, and how authorship is decided. You complete the two or three modules your project needs, when it needs them.
Can I join more than one project?
Fellows join one project per cycle so each team has enough time to finish. You can take on short opportunity sprints if your Project Lead agrees.
Can I apply to both the Core Team and the Fellowship?
Yes. Core Team decisions come first (applications close September 30), so you will know before the fellowship deadline on October 4.
Why was Project C paused, and what changed?
Project C is community-led research with Indigenous, rural and remote communities. Our team had completed a literature and policy review, but we had no community partner agreement, no data governance arrangement and no community co-lead. Research that runs ahead of relationships is not community-led research, so our board paused it while our directors built those relationships. It returns this fall focused on groundwork the team controls: open science registration, an ethics application, and training in research ethics, OCAP® and qualitative design. Community engagement resumes in the Winter cycle.
I was a fellow last year. Do I need to reapply?
No. Use the Recommitment Form by October 4. If we don’t hear from you, we will move you to Network Member so you stay connected.
I am in high school. Can I join?
Yes, through the Schools Network. Ask a teacher or counsellor to email us. This summer we also ran the NeuroClimate Youth Internship for high school students; watch our channels for the next intake.
Can I propose my own project?
Yes. Fellows who complete a cycle can pitch a one-page project idea for the next cycle.
Ready to deliver real work?
Core Team applications close September 30. Fellowship applications for the Fall 2026 cycle close October 4. Seven projects, one deliverable each, presented at Demo Day on December 11.