Join our team!

The Whelan lab currently has a research associate, 2 post-doctoral associates, 1 doctoral student, 2 masters students, a lab technician and a lab manager, all of whom provide valuable insight and input across all projects within the lab. We use a variety of research models and different approaches to answer questions regarding spinal cord circuitry. You will be exposed to the in vitro en bloc and slice preparations, calcium imaging and molecular staining techniques. Our in vivo experiments involve surgical techniques and injury models. Finally, we conduct a variety of behavioural experiments and make use of optogenetic approaches. 

Currently, our lab has 4 electrophysiology rigs: 2 for extracellular recordings and 2 for intracellular recordings which are equipped for calcium imaging. We also have 2 surgery suites used for intracerebral and spinal cord injections, spinal cord surgeries and other survival surgeries. The Cumming School of Medicine and the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) offers many training experiences to its graduate students. The HBI hosts a weekly seminar series, where leading international and national neuroscientists present their work. Students can also make use of the HBI NeuroTechnology Platforms which provide users with technical expertise and serves as an important venue for multidisciplinary training and collaborative interactions. The HBI NeuroTechnology Platforms include a state-of-the-art microscopy facility and an advanced rodent behavioural and optogenetic testing facility. The HBI Advanced Microscopy Platform (AMP) includes light sheet 3D microscopy, multiphoton, spectral & high sensitivity confocal imaging, laser capture microdissection, high-resolution slide scanning, in vivo confocal endomicroscopy and live widefield microscopy, as well as high-content screening capabilities. The CSM Optogenetics Platform includes advanced gait analysis, comprehensive sensorimotor testing, assays of cognition and emotionality, as well as optogentic and in vivo miniature camera imaging and electrophysiological tools for behaving animals. The HBI also runs the Research, Education And Leadership In NeuroSciencE (REALISE) program which offers modular based courses designed to further professional and academic abilities. REALISE helps trainees develop the tools necessary to become the next generation of community, business and academic leaders.

The lab's main operating grant is from CIHR and additional competitive funding has been secured from several grants including NSERC. These sources of funding put the lab in excellent financial standing.  Many of our students have been successful in obtaining various awards and scholarships.

Each member of the Whelan Lab is expected to conduct and communicate their research and development work in accordance with the highest scientific, professional, and ethical standards and in a manner that fosters mutual respect and enhances the reputation of the individual researcher, their colleagues, and the University of Calgary.

As a member of the Whelan Lab, I will adhere to the following principles:

When developing new ideas and proposals, I will:

• Record my ideas in lab notebooks. This forms the primary record. You are strongly encouraged to use another backup (photo of lab book, typed record). 
• Appropriately acknowledge the ownership of ideas that are generated.
• Create and support a collaborative climate, so as to minimize concerns that ideas may be appropriated by others.
• Keep confidential any unpublished research shared with me by other researchers.
• Inform all collaborators of the Whelan Lab policies with respect to intellectual property.

When performing research activities, I will:

• Clean up my work space and communal space.
• Follow all safety procedures.
• Treat equipment with respect and ask for help if needed.
• Take responsibility for mistakes, safety and for the impacts of my research on my co-workers, the environment, and animal subjects.
• Conduct, manage, judge, and report scientific research objectively, honestly, and thoroughly.
• Backup all data to the research cloud storage (currently G Suite).
• Be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data and understand the limitations of my knowledge.
• Preserve and maintain documentation, such as original data and auxiliary information, with sufficient diligence to enable others to verify and reproduce results.
• Acknowledge all conflicts of interest.
• Refrain from knowingly engaging in activities where a conflict of interest impedes my ability to act in an objective, honest, and ethical manner.
• Not upload photos or videos of research to social media, or distribute in any way without the consent of Dr. Whelan.

When communicating and proposing research, I will:

• Claim authorship in a work only if I have made a significant intellectual contribution as part of conception, design, data collection, data analysis, or interpretation and made significant contributions to the scientific communication’s preparation.
• Promote an environment in which it is clear that adding ​“Honorary authors” is never acceptable – other contributors should be acknowledged. Most journals abide by the Vancouver guidelines. 
• Claim authorship only if I am willing to take responsibility for the validity of the raw data and its interpretation in my area of expertise and for the conclusions as a whole.
• Ensure that all collaborators and co-authors on publications and proposals have the opportunity to review, comment on, and approve scientific communications prior to their release.
• Use the technical review to achieve the high-quality research product essential to maintaining both my reputation and that of the scientific community at the University of Calgary.
• Submit my research results for publication only when I believe that they represent new contributions to the field.
• Accurately describe research methodology and data processing in all research products, including the ability to trace all figures and images back to the original data.
• Recognize past and present contributors to my research and not accept or assume credit for another’s accomplishments.
• Properly reference and acknowledge past work and accomplishments of my colleagues and others in the scientific community.
• Acknowledge that all work performed remains the property of the Whelan lab when you leave. 

 When dealing with others, I will:

• Be honest and professional in my interactions which includes not gossiping about lab members' personal lives, being mindful when self-disclosing, and being cognizant of, and vigilant against, the negative consequences of conscious or unconscious bias.
• Create an environment in which sexual and other forms of harassment, including unwanted physical, sexual or repeated social contact, are not tolerated in order to avoid potential risks to my own research integrity and that of my colleagues.
• Welcome constructive criticism of my personal scientific research and offer the same to my colleagues in a manner that fosters mutual respect and objective scientific debate by using welcoming language. I will not address others in an angry, intimidating, or demeaning manner. 
• Foster a diverse and inclusive research environment that welcomes a diversity of thought and approaches. When speaking to or about others, I will be aware of their preferred pronouns and will not deliberately misgender others. Exclusionary comments or jokes, threats or violent language are not acceptable. I will be considerate of the ways the words I choose may impact others. Offensive behaviour or comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neuro(a)typicality, physical appearance, body size, age, race, ethnicity, religion, or a person’s lifestyle choices and practices are not welcome.
• Mentor new colleagues, students, and guests, leading them by example on how to conduct and report their research in an ethical manner.

Other rules that I will adhere to:

• The laboratory is not a public area; visits by outside personnel must be authorized by the lab supervisor.
• Removal of lab equipment from the premises must be authorized by the lab supervisor and/or the University.

If I see something inappropriate happening, I will remind those involved about this Code of Conduct. For further intervention, I will contact Michelle and Dr. Whelan. If issues are not addressed, graduate students should contact the Graduate Students’ Association to be advocates. Post-docs, research associates and staff should contact UCVM Human Resources and/or the Postdoc Office.