Toronto’s standing as a global hub for neuroscience and advanced medical research continues to grow, driven by the groundbreaking work of local academic and clinical leaders. That reputation will be on full display when the city hosts the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) 2027 Annual Meeting from June 26–30, 2027, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC).
Championed by Leaders Circle Ambassador Dr. Jean Chen, and Dr. Rosanna Olsen, this major international congress will bring thousands of global researchers, clinicians, and innovators to explore the latest frontiers in neuroimaging, foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, and spotlight Toronto’s thriving scientific community on the global stage.
Senior Manager, Kathy Nicolay caught up with Dr. Chen to discuss the bidding process, what bringing this premier conference means for Toronto, and her vision for OHBM 2027.
KN: What motivated you to take the lead in championing this bid?
JC: As I call Toronto home, and as Toronto is fortunately a dynamic metropolis with a world-class community of brain mappers, and since Toronto’s conference-hosting abilities and allure as a destination are also world class, I had every incentive to try to showcase Toronto and to benefit the OHBM by bringing the 2027 meeting here.
KN: How did you coordinate roles and utilize the expertise of local tourism and conference services to make your proposal competitive?
JC: I coordinated with Destination Toronto and the MTCC, who were very actively involved in this bid. They provided infographics and applied for provincial incentives to help make this bid a reality.
KN: What specific strengths, research, or clinical expertise does Toronto/Canada bring to this discipline?
JC: Toronto is a world-class powerhouse for neuroimaging, clinical translation, and neurotechnology. It is home to pioneering institutions like the Rotman Research Institute (renowned for cognitive aging and network neuroscience, and the home of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging), the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH, a global leader in PET/fMRI psychiatric imaging), and the Krembil Research Institute. Furthermore, Canada’s collaborative networks—such as the Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression (CAN-BIND)—provide unprecedented open-science datasets and harmonized multi-site clinical fMRI infrastructure that model real-world psychiatric populations.
KN: What are the primary themes or program pillars that will define this specific congress?
JC: The 2027 congress will anchor itself on three vital pillars: Translational Neuroimaging (bridging the gap between basic bench science and bedside treatments like rTMS, deep brain stimulation, and personalized psychiatry), Multi-Modal Data Integration (fusing fMRI with EEG, MEG, and pet-imaging to overcome spatial-temporal limitations), and Reproducible & Equitable Open Science. This includes an intense focus on building finalized consensus standards (like the COBIDAS guidelines) for data sharing, data structure (BIDS), and mitigating “site-effects” across heterogeneous scanning hardware.
KN: How will the event structure facilitate collaboration, knowledge-sharing, or networking among global delegates?
JC: The event structure utilizes a flat, highly interactive architecture. Traditionally, there is a pre-conference OHBM Hackathon and workshops to foster hands-on coding and tool development. The core program combines traditional, top-tier keynote presentations with massive, open-concept poster sessions designed for organic networking. It also features dedicated, structured networking forums including those organized by the Student and Postdoc Special Interest Group (SIG) and Women Faculty SIG to actively lower communication barriers between early-career researchers and international principal investigators.
KN: What short-term impacts do you anticipate (e.g., enhanced organizational visibility, local community engagement, staff capacity building)?
JC: In the short term, hosting OHBM can elevate the international profile of Toronto’s local neuroimaging labs, putting local trainees directly in front of global hiring principal investigators. It can drive immediate capacity building by training local staff and students in large-scale event organization and neuroinformatics. Additionally, it can spark community engagement through “Brain-Art” public exhibitions and open public neuro-literacy lectures, translating abstract neuroscientific breakthroughs into digestible concepts for the local public.
KN: What are the long-term, systemic legacies this congress aims to leave behind (e.g., strengthened global partnerships, policy roadmaps, leadership development)?
JC: The long-term legacy focuses on structural change in global brain mapping. By gathering the world’s experts in Toronto, the congress aims to finalize and codify global clinical best practices, including for fMRI and MEEG application, establishing international data-sharing benchmarks. It will solidify cross-border research partnerships, accelerate the development of standard pipelines that account for scanner/site variations, and empower the next generation of diverse neuroimaging leaders through formalized mentorship frameworks.
Toronto looks forward to welcoming 3,500 leading experts from around the world in 2027 to share knowledge, advance research and shape the future of human brain mapping.