Dr. Jon Meddings Graduate Student Leadership Award

Brandon Craig, supervised by Dr. Adam Kirton, MD, is a MD/PhD neuroscience candidate in the Cumming School of Medicine. He has been awarded the 2020 Dr. Jon Meddings Graduate Student Leadership award in recognition of outstanding leadership and community engagement primarily affecting graduate students at the Foothills Campus.

Craig has been involved with the Hotchkiss Brain Institute Trainee Organization (HBITO) where he was most recently the President, leading one of the largest student-run organizations on campus. He has also served as the Orientation Director and as a committee member of the Outreach team within the HBITO. Most recently, Craig has become the graduate student representative of the Leaders in Medicine Program for students who are completing both a medical and graduate degree at the U of C.

"It is truly an honour to receive this award. I have been very fortunate to be surrounded by peers and colleagues whose passion and dedication inspires me and makes it easy to be a leader. It is very humbling to be chosen."

Craig’s doctoral research uses advanced MRI techniques to understand how structural changes in the brain following a stroke near birth, termed perinatal stroke, influence motor function. He is a part of the Non-invasive Neurostimulation Network (N3) research program centered on the use of transcranial direct current stimulation to improve therapies for children with stroke. His research will attempt to discover new targets for brain stimulation to help improve motor function for children who have survived perinatal strokes.

Craig is a former recipient of the CIHR Banting & Best Doctoral Scholarship, CIHR Vanier Canadian Graduate Scholarship and the CSM Graduate Scholarship.