CRANIA NeuroModulation Institute (CNMI)

The CRANIA NeuroModulation Institute (CNMI) is the educational arm of CRANIA, operating within the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering (FASE) bringing together experts in the fields of neuroscience and engineering in a collaborative hub for neuromodulation research.

The CNMI was conceived with the mission to engineer the next generation of brain scientists by providing students with the educational framework and state-of-the-art facilities necessary to be competitive in this expanding field, along with the opportunity to participate in neuromodulation-based research activities in health care institutions throughout Toronto.

At CNMI we aim to:

Provide students with equal exposure to the clinical and engineering aspects of neuromodulation.
Help students to develop & commercialize neuromodulation interventions and technology.
Promote collaborative research projects between research institutions and industries.

Upcoming events

Past events

Upcoming events

Past events

Jan 2022 - Entrepreneurship in the Life Sciences Sector
Oct 2022 - Electroencephalography: From the Clinic to Wearable Devices – How to get the perfect recording and analyze your data
March 2023 - Entrepreneurship in Biomedical Research
April 2023 - CNMI Workshop: Bruker-Neurescence Multiscope Technology
September 2023 - CRANIA 2023 Conference

Education & Training

Neuroscience & Clinical R&D

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Commercialization of Innovation

Creativity, Diversity & Inclusivity

Engineering & Technology R&D

Partners

The CNMI will drive the field of neuromodulation forward by bringing together currently isolated departments within University of Toronto, hospitals, and research institutes. Participating clusters include, but are not limited to the following:

University of Toronto departments and institutes

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering (lead faculty)

Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry
Department of Materials Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Department of Computer Science
Department of Mathematics
Department of Psychology

Faculty of Dentistry

Faculty of Medicine

Department of Medicine
Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
Department of Pharmacology
Department of Physiology
Rehabilitation Science Institute
Department of Surgery

Hospitals and research institutes

University Health Network

Krembil Research Institute
KITE Institute (formerly the Research Division of Toronto Rehabilitation Institute)

Center for Advancing Neurotechnological Innovation to Application (CRANIA)

Leadership team

Dr. Taufik A. Valiante
Director

I am delighted to welcome you to the CRANIA NeuroModulation Institute, where Neuroscience research meets leading-edge technology and innovation.

Neuromodulation is the process of altering or modifying the brain, spinal cord or nerve function using advanced devices that interface with specific areas of the central or peripheral nervous system. Neuromodulation-based therapeutics hold great promise in transforming the prognosis of several disorders including Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, stroke, depression, chronic pain, spinal cord injury, bladder dysfunction, anorexia, and Alzheimer’s disease – conditions that affect millions of Canadians. The field is experiencing unprecedented growth as technologically advanced therapies resulting from the convergence of machine learning, optical interfaces, and brain-computer interfaces are being rapidly developed and deployed. This is further evidenced by the dramatic market growth for neurotechnology, which is forecast to grow to $13.3 billion by 2022.

Despite this overwhelming progress, the full potential of the neuromodulation field has not been realized, owing to the scientific knowledge gap and disengagement between disparate neurotechnology disciplines. Our objective is to remove this barrier and specifically develop neuromodulation professionals instead of training engineers or clinicians. This new generation of integrative thinkers will be able to operate seamlessly in the neuromodulation space in clinical/engineering environments.

We aim to engineer the next generation of brain scientists by providing students an opportunity to develop the strong background necessary to be competitive in this expanding field. While success in research requires interdisciplinarity, collaboration and integration among varied fields of research, we believe that our vision for success can be best realized by encouraging students from diverse environments regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender identity or disability and promoting cross-cultural communication.

The CNMI is the first of its kind to connect the University’s varied departments, as well as affiliated research institutes and clusters in and around Toronto, to reduce boundaries between key disciplines, and improve the lives of patients and family members suffering from neurodegenerative conditions. As Canada’s leading University, we are clinical pioneers in neuromodulation research for brain disorders. We train engineers and basic and clinical scientists to become highly qualified neuromodulation experts who can seamlessly navigate the broad spectrum of disciplines and sectors at the nexus of neuromodulation education and research. We offer graduate courses in neuromodulation through participating graduate units, including lectures from neuromodulation experts. If you are interested in partnering with us or learning more about the CNMI, please feel free to contact us by email at info.cnmi@utoronto.ca. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Taufik Valiante

Collaborative specialization (CS) in neuromodulation

The collaborative specialization in neuromodulation is provided to master’s and doctoral students from participating graduate units through the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto. The specialization consists of undertaking neuromodulation-related graduate courses within participating departments and attending workshops organized by the CRANIA Neuromodulation Institute (CNMI).

Learning objectives

The field of neuromodulation is experiencing unprecedented growth with novel therapies driven by machine learning, optical interfaces, electronics, neuroscience and big data analyses being rapidly developed. The coursework and workshops in the collaborative specialization in neuromodulation have been specifically designed to provide students with the skills and practical knowledge essential to advance the field of neuromodulation. Participating students will be able to:

Explore bioengineering challenges and solutions at the neural interface.
Obtain hands-on experience in various neuromodulation modalities.
Apply their knowledge to solve critical problems in neuromodulation within an interdisciplinary environment.

Lead faculty of the collaborative specialization

Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering

Participating degree programs

Biomedical Engineering — MASc, PhD

Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry — MASc, PhD

Electrical and Computer Engineering — MASc, PhD

Materials Science and Engineering — MASc, PhD

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering — MASc, PhD

Medical Science — MSc, PhD

Supporting unit

University of Toronto CRANIA Neuromodulation Institute (CNMI)

About CS-neuromodulation

What is CS-neuromodulation?

The collaborative specialization in neuromodulation is a joint venture by the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering and the CRANIA Neuromodulation Institute. The CS aims to provide inter-disciplinary training opportunities for participating students and promote collaborative research in the field of neuromodulation. Upon completion of the CS, eligible students will receive the notation ‘Completed collaborative specialization in neuromodulation’ on their transcript.

Why CS-Neuromodulation?

The field of neuromodulation and its applications in the treatment of brain and spinal cord disorders is growing at an unprecedented rate, driven by advances in machine learning, optical interfaces, electronics and big data analyses. The CS-Neuromodulation will provide graduate students with the knowledge required to pursue a career in Neural Engineering and operate seamlessly in both an industrial and clinical setting.

Who is Eligible?

UofT students who have enrolled for a Master’s or PhD in a participating degree program are eligible to apply. A roadmap for eligible students to obtain their CS in Neuromodulation is detailed at the bottom of the section.

CS requirements

Admission to the program is open to all students who are registered in one of the participating degree programs. Students enrolled in the collaborative specialization in neuromodulation must complete the specific course requirements of the collaborative specialization, in addition to or within those requirements for the degree program in their home graduate unit, where possible.

CS-neuromodulation: Master’s level

Admission requirements

Applicants must meet the admission requirements of both the home graduate unit and the collaborative specialization (CS).
Applicants must apply to and be admitted to both the CS and a participating master’s degree program.

Specialization requirements

The thesis topic must be in the neurotechnology/neuromodulation area. Participating students are encouraged to have a co-supervisor or a member of their supervisory committee with research expertise in an area of study different from their home department.
The course BME1500H Topics in Neuromodulation is mandatory for all students. Students must attend all lectures in the course and present a project for course evaluation.
In addition, all master's-level students must complete at least 0.5 full-course equivalent (FCE) chosen from the approved list of graduate courses (see below).
Students must attend the professional development workshops organized by CNMI as part of the CS. Students must enroll in the workshops via Quercus, which will be used to record and track attendance.
Participating students from graduate units in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering cannot count the modular (0.25 FCE) MSC courses that are not letter graded towards the total FCE requirements of their home program.
Participating Institute of Medical Science students may double-count the courses taken as part of the CS towards their degree, except for some of the 0.25 FCE modular MSC courses, which are not letter graded. These students should consult with their graduate coordinator or the CNMI program coordinator to confirm this before opting for the modular elective courses.

CS-neuromodulation: Doctoral level:

Admission requirements:

Applicants must meet the admission requirements of both the home graduate unit and the collaborative specialization (CS).
Applicants must apply to and be admitted to both the CS and a participating doctoral degree program.
Students who have already taken the CS during their master’s degree program will not be eligible to take it again during their PhD.

Specialization requirements

The thesis topic must be in the neurotechnology/neuromodulation area.
Participating students are encouraged to have a co-supervisor or a member of their supervisory committee with research expertise in an area of study different from their home graduate unit.
The course BME1500H Topics in Neuromodulation is mandatory for all students. Students must attend all lectures in the course and present a project for course evaluation.
In addition, all doctoral-level students must complete at least 0.5 full-course equivalent (FCE) chosen from the approved list of graduate courses (see below).
Students must attend the professional development workshops and seminars organized by CNMI as part of the CS. Students can enroll in the workshops via Quercus, which will be used to record and track attendance.
In addition, doctoral students must attend the Annual CRANIA Research Day every year and are encouraged to present their research work at least once.
Participating students from graduate units in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering cannot count the modular (0.25 FCE) MSC courses that are not letter graded towards the total FCE requirements of their home program.
Participating Institute of Medical Science students may double-count the courses taken as part of the CS towards their degree, except for some of the 0.25 FCE modular courses, which are not letter graded. These students should consult with their graduate coordinator or the CNMI program coordinator to confirm this before opting for the modular elective courses.

School of Graduate Studies (SGS) CS-neuromodulation calendar

Graduate courses

The complete of list courses offered by the participating units which fulfill the collaborative specialization requirements can be found on the CS-neuromodulation SGS Website.

The timetable of offered courses is updated as information from the participating department becomes available. Please contact the appropriate departments for availability and enrolment information and to confirm course times/locations.

Core course

The course BME1500H Topics in Neuromodulation (0.5 FCE) is mandatory for all students. In addition, all students must complete at least 0.5 full-course equivalents (FCEs) chosen from the list of approved courses (listed below). Students are encouraged to select this elective course from a non-home faculty. Please note that some modular courses are worth 0.25 FCE. In this case, students will have to complete two 0.25 FCE courses to complete the 0.5 FCE elective course requirement.

Elective courses

Biomedical Engineering

BME1802H: Applying Human Factors to the Design of Medical Devices (0.5 FCE)

BME1473H: Acquisition and Processing of Bioelectric Signals (0.5 FCE)

BME1472H: Fundamentals of Neuromodulation Technology and Clinical Applications (0.5 FCE)

JEB1444H: Neural Engineering (0.5 FCE)

JPB1071H: Advanced Topics: Computational Neuroscience (0.5 FCE)

BME1466H: Advanced Topics on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (0.5 FCE)

Electrical & Computer Engineering

ECE516H1: Intelligent Image Processing (0.5 FCE)

ECE1656H: Nonlinear Modeling and Analysis of Biological Systems (0.5 FCE)

ECE537H1: Random Processes (0.5 FCE)

ECE1475H: Bio Photonics (0.5 FCE)

ECE1774H: Sensory Cybernetics (0.5 FCE)

ECE1777H: Computer Methods for Circuit Simulation (0.5 FCE)

ECE1647H: Introduction to Nonlinear Control Systems (0.5 FCE)

Mechanical & Industrial Engineering

MIE1359H: Engineering Cell Biology and Micro-Nanoengineered Platforms (0.5 FCE)

MIE1080H: Introduction to Healthcare Robotics (0.5 FCE)

MIE1208H: Microfluidic Biosensors (0.5 FCE)

MIE1232H: Microfluidics and Laboratory-on-a-Chip Systems (0.5 FCE)

Materials Science & Engineering

JMB1050H: Biological & Bio-Inspired Materials (0.5 FCE)

MSE1038H: Computational Materials Design (0.5 FCE)

Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry

CHE1333H: Biomaterials Engineering for Nanomedicine (0.5 FCE)

CHE1334H: Organ-on-a-Chip Engineering (0.5 FCE)

CHE1053H: Electrochemistry (0.5 FCE)

Medical Science

MSC1006H: Neuroanatomy (0.5 FCE)

MSC1087H: Neuroimaging Methods Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (0.5 FCE)

MSC1085H: Molecular Approaches to Mental Health and Addictions (0.5 FCE)

MSC1102H: Psychiatric Implications of Traumatic Brain Injury (0.25 FCE)

MSC1104H: Neurodegenerative Disease (0.25 FCE)

MSC1109H: Introduction to Neuroimaging (0.25 FCE)

MSC1113H: Radiomics and Machine Learning for Medical Imaging (0.25 FCE)

Workshops

All students must attend the professional development workshops organized by CNMI for CS-Neuromodulation students. The workshops topics may change from year to year and may include hands-on workshops on various neuromodulation modalities and lectures. These workshops are designed to equip CS students with technical and professional skills that will complement the knowledge required from the CS coursework and will be offered 2-3 times a year. Information about workshops will be posted on Quercus periodically. Participation in the workshops is mandatory and students are expected to sign up for the workshops via Quercus.

Applying to CS-Neuromodulation

The collaborative specialization in neuromodulation is an inter-departmental program for graduate students. The program does not issue degrees.
Students interested in joining must first apply to and be enrolled in one of the participating degree programs. Once accepted into a program, students can apply for admission to the collaborative specialization in neuromodulation. Students are encouraged to enroll in the collaborative specialization as soon as possible after beginning their graduate studies.
The student’s thesis requirement for the home program must be focused on a topic in the area of neuromodulation.
It is the applicant’s responsibility to find an appropriate supervisor to supervise them and support their thesis research. Applicants are expected to contact and meet with potential supervisors among the core faculty of the collaborative specialization before applying for admission into the CS-neuromodulation. The supervisor must provide a letter of recommendation in support of the student’s application to the collaborative specialization.
Participating students are also encouraged to have a co-supervisor or a member of their supervisory committee with research expertise in a different field of study to their home department, although this is not mandatory.
PhD students who have already completed the CS-neuromodulation during their master’s are not eligible to enroll again during their PhD.
As soon as possible after beginning your studies, complete the application form below.
Contact info.cnmi@utoronto.ca with any questions or concerns you may have.

CS-neuromodulation application form

CS-neuromodulation student signature form (PDF)