Programs

ALS Canada – Brain Canada Discovery Grants

The purpose of the Discovery Grant Program is to invest in the best possible projects that are focused on identifying causes of, or treatments for ALS and/or related neurological diseases, or research focused on avenues to maximize function, minimize disability and optimize quality of life through symptoms management, and to provide support to persons or families living with ALS.

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ALS Canada – Brain Canada Arthur J. Hudson Translational Team Grant

This program was designed to bring together researchers from across the country to accelerate therapeutic development by: 1) identifying and testing a relevant therapeutic target or candidate therapy and/or 2) addressing critical needs for early diagnosis and biomonitoring of clinical progression applied to clinical research. Research in all stages of development is welcomed, from basic/preclinical to phase I, II and III clinical trials.

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ALS Canada – Brain Canada Trainee Program

This program provides support to eligible trainees at the doctoral or postdoctoral level who have demonstrated contributions to research that may or may not have related directly to ALS, but propose future research and training that is ALS-related.

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ALS Canada – Brain Canada Career Transition Award

The intent of this award is for ALS Canada and Brain Canada to support a promising postdoctoral fellow or Research Associate working at a Canadian institution to transition into an independent position contributing to ALS research.

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ALS Canada-Brain Canada Clinical Research Fellowship

This fellowship is designed to support the further training of a clinician to develop the skills necessary to be a specialist in ALS and provide experience/training in clinical or basic research relevant to the field.

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Advancing Research on Care and Outcome Measurement (ARCOM)

The ARCOM funding program aims to address significant gaps in care and outcome measurement, and provide an opportunity to advance research so that care providers can ensure that they are implementing evidence-based practices and achieving desired outcomes.

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Alzheimer’s Association International Research Grant Program

The Alzheimer’s Association International Research Grant Program (IRGP) funds investigations to advance our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease, identify new treatment strategies, improve care for people with dementia and further our knowledge of brain health and disease prevention.

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Alzheimer’s Association Research Fellowship

The AARF grant program is intended to support exceptional researchers who are engaged in their post-graduate work (i.e. postdoctoral fellows) and before they have their first independent faculty positions (i.e. Assistant Professor) and working in diverse areas of research, including basic, translational, clinical, functional and social-behavioural research.

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Alzheimer’s Society Research Program (ASRP) Brain Canada New Investigator

This program supports individuals within the initial two years of their first faculty position who are pursuing careers in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia research.

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Alzheimer’s Society Research Program (ASRP) Brain Canada Career Change Grants

This program supports established investigators, who are new to the field of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and are interested in changing their research focus to this field. These investigators will be within the first two years of a career change and will be required to work collaboratively with a mentor who is an established researcher within the field.

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Knowledge Translation and Exchange (KTE) Accelerator Grants

The purpose of the KTE Accelerator Grants program is to help accelerate the dissemination of scientific findings on Alzheimer’s and related dementias to various audiences beyond academic researchers.

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2023-2024 Proof of Concept

These grants are designed to fund innovative, high-risk, and high-reward research that pushes beyond the boundaries of our existing understanding of dementia, including but not limited to mechanisms, prevention, treatment, care, program and policy. We are looking for bold and challenging new directions in dementia research that have the potential to lead to ground-breaking findings.

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Azrieli Neurodevelopment Research Program

This program is designed to support excellent systems or translational research in the area of neurodevelopmental disorders, with a special focus on Autism spectrum disorder and Fragile X syndrome. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to develop new diagnostic, treatment and prevention strategies for neurodevelopmental disorders, to reduce their economic and social burden on Canadians, and to improve the quality of life for those affected by neurodevelopmental disorders and their families.

Turnbull-Tator Award in Spinal Cord Injury and Concussion Research

This award recognizes an outstanding publication by a researcher at a Canadian institution in the field of spinal cord and/or brain injury research (including concussion) with a $50,000 prize.

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Bell Let’s Talk – Brain Canada Mental Health Research Program

The Bell Let’s Talk-Brain Canada Mental Health Research Program supports novel and transformative research that will accelerate the integration of emerging scientific knowledge into developing and/or improving mental health care, including substance use and addiction. The ultimate goal is the development of innovative solutions to ensure effective, sustainable, and accessible mental health care for all Canadians.

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Bell Mental Health Research Training Awards

This program funded 3 fellowships and 4 studentships in mental health research over a period of 3 years to further the understanding of mental illness and lead to new strategies for prevention and early intervention.

Brain Changes Initiative Award for Traumatic Brain Injury

In partnership with Brain Changes Initiative and Branch Out Neurological Foundation,  the Brain Changes Initiative Award for Traumatic Brain Injury encourages innovative, unorthodox, and exploratory research with potential for significant impact on our understanding of brain recovery after.

Innovation Grants for Research Impact in Traumatic Brain Injury

The purpose of the Innovation Grants for Research Impact in Traumatic Brain Injury is to generate creative, novel and practical evidence-based solutions that address stakeholder identified needs to improve the trajectory of recovery for individuals after brain injury. With the knowledge that behaviour, practice and policy changes are made possible by creating solutions that work, proven through rigorous academic research in collaboration with stakeholders, we expect the projects funded through this opportunity will have a substantial impact, especially for health care providers and patients.

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Brain Changes Initiative Award for Traumatic Brain Injury

In partnership with Brain Changes Initiative and Branch Out Neurological Foundation,  the Brain Changes Initiative Award for Traumatic Brain Injury encourages innovative, unorthodox, and exploratory research with potential for significant impact on our understanding of brain recovery after.

Canadian Cancer Society Impact Grants

The Impact Grant program is intended to contribute to the scientific idea ‘pipeline’ by supporting significant progression in cancer research programs that are anywhere in the continuum from basic high impact discovery to translational work of direct relevance to the clinic and beyond.

Canadian Cancer Society Innovation Grants

The Innovation Grant program is designed to support unconventional concepts, approaches or methodologies to address problems in cancer research. Innovation projects will include elements of creativity, curiosity, investigation, exploration and opportunity.

Canadian Cancer Society Innovation to Impact Grants

The Innovation to Impact Grant program is intended to support the further development of significant findings based on the goals originally explored through a funded CCS Innovation Grant.

CCS/CIHR/BC Spark Grants: Novel Technology Applications in Cancer Prevention and Early Detection

The CCS/CIHR/BC Spark Grants: Novel Technology Applications in Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Grants support extraordinary research that will use technologies to make cancer prevention, screening and early detection more accurate, accessible and convenient, and less invasive, with the goal of accelerating their translation to the clinic. Out of the total 27 new grants, nine are focusing on developing solutions for brain cancer, specifically.

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Breakthrough Team Grants: Transforming Low-Survival Cancers

In partnership with Brain Canada, Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Cancer Research Society and the Lotte & John Hecht Memorial Foundation, the program represents the largest ever collective effort in Canada focused on changing outcomes for pancreatic, esophageal, brain, lung, liver, and stomach cancers.

2022 Brain Canada-Cancer Research Society Translational Research Grant

The aim of this program is to promote effective translation and application of knowledge of brain cancer across the expanse of pre-clinical, clinical and health services delivery domains to improve patient outcomes.

Breakthrough Team Grants: Transforming Low-Survival Cancers

In partnership with Brain Canada, Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Cancer Research Society and the Lotte & John Hecht Memorial Foundation, the program represents the largest ever collective effort in Canada focused on changing outcomes for pancreatic, esophageal, brain, lung, liver, and stomach cancers.

Stroke Clinical Research Catalyst Grants

The purpose of this program is to increase capacity for clinical stroke research within Canada, with an aim to reduce the burden of stroke, prevent recurrence, and improve patient outcomes through clinical research that will improve our understanding of stroke and advance stroke care.

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Addressing Mental Health in Paediatric Rheumatic Diseases Team Grants

This funding opportunity aims to support research that will improve our understanding of the prevention, diagnosis, and/or treatment of mental illnesses in children and young adults aged 0 to 27 years with rheumatic diseases.

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Chagnon Family and Brain Canada Interventions for Prevention of Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD) Multi-Investigator Research Initiative

The Chagnon Family has partnered with Brain Canada to support a major $10-million project in the area of Alzheimer’s disease prevention entitled the Interventions for Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Team Grant.

Brain Canada – CIBC Brain Cancer Research Training Awards

Brain Canada and CIBC partnered to fund 4 studentships and 3 fellowships in the area of brain cancer. In addition to aiding trainees to develop their research skills, these awards have helped further knowledge on brain cancer development, diagnosis and treatment.

BC-CIFAR Partnered Initiative

Brain Canada and CIFAR are co-funding three brain-related programs totalling up to $20 million. Each of the three research programs consists of 10-40 leading researchers from around the globe who are answering fundamental questions about the brain and what it means to be human. The three programs are the Learning in Machines and Brains program; the Brain, Mind and Consciousness program; and the Humans and the Microbiome program.

Focus on the Brain

The goals of the program are to link academia with industry to support pre-competitive research that enhances bio-pharmaceutical R&D productivity, and to accelerate the development of new, safe, and effective drugs in neuroscience.

Quantum Leap

The Quantum Leap program is intended to support outstanding translational research projects implementing state-of-the art technologies with very high potential impact in key areas of unmet needs within the biopharmaceutical industry.

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SynergiQc

CQDM’s SynergiQc program is designed to promote university-based industrial research in the biopharmaceutical field that will generate economic benefits for Québec.

Call for Collaborative Research Projects on the Brain

A unique funding opportunity that brings together experts from academia and industry to support the development of platforms, tools and biopharmaceuticals that will pave the way for new advances in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders.

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Heart-Brain Connection IMPACT Award

This is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional, integrative research competition that will investigate the complex interactions between the heart and the brain by leveraging the power of collaboration and innovation in Canada’s research community.

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Heart and Stroke Foundation Emerging Research Leaders Initiative

This program is for researchers transitioning from a post-doctoral fellowship to a junior professional position in the areas of cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and/or respiratory health research.

Heart and Stroke Foundation Grant-in-Aid

The GIA program provides operating funds to support important, pertinent, and novel research in the areas of heart disease and stroke. GIA funding promotes research discovery, exploration and innovation across all health research themes.

Congenital Heart Disease Team Grants

Brain Canada, together with Heart & Stroke, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health and Institute of Genetics launched this competition, which focuses on congenital heart disease (CHD) throughout the lifespan and in the context of the whole person, with considerations for sex and gender, Indigenous health and wellness, and health equity.

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The Personnel Awards for Indigenous Scholars

This program, launched together with Brain Canada, Heart & Stroke, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (CIHR-ICRH), aims to increase the number of highly qualified trainees working in heart and/or brain research from Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) communities whose traditional and ancestral territories are in Canada.

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Personnel Awards for Black Scholars

Brain Canada along with Heart & Stroke and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (CIHR-ICRH), are excited to launch the Personnel Awards for Black Scholars. The objective of the competition is to increase the number of highly qualified Black trainees across Canada committed to working in the fields of heart and brain research.

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Stroke Clinical Research Catalyst Grants

The purpose of this program is to increase capacity for clinical stroke research within Canada, with an aim to reduce the burden of stroke, prevent recurrence, and improve patient outcomes through clinical research that will improve our understanding of stroke and advance stroke care.

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Brain Canada-Huntington Society of Canada Creating HD Clinician-Scientist-to-Patient Virtual Networks Multi-Investigator Research Initiative (MIRI)

Brain Canada and the Huntington Society of Canada have partnered on an initiative that supports research projects that connect clinicians with scientists, and scientists with the HD community. The multi-disciplinary and multi-investigator approach is expected to maximize the opportunity for discovery and translational research that will speed up the search for treatments, while expanding the overall understanding of HD therapy in humans.

2024 Undergraduate Student Fellowships

The purpose of this program is two-fold: first, to attract the brightest young scientists into the field of HD research and secondly, to facilitate meaningful HD research to clarify the biological mechanisms underlying HD pathology.

JDRF Canada – Brain Canada Addressing Mental Health in Type 1 Diabetes Team Grants

The JDRF Canada – Brain Canada Addressing Mental Health in Type 1 Diabetes Team Grants aim to support research on the development, validation, or implementation of interventions that address mental health concerns in people with type 1 diabetes. The ultimate goal is to support the development and testing of sustainable, scalable approaches that will enable improved support for Canadians who live with type 1 diabetes and are affected by mental health disorders, and that will translate into better quality of life and diabetes-related health outcomes for these populations.

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Brain Canada – Kids Brain Health Network Training Awards

The training award funds doctoral candidates and post-doctoral fellows performing research aimed at the origins, early detection, and effective treatment of brain development disorders. In addition to the award, the recipients will take part in the Kids Brain Health Network Training program, which endeavours to develop cross-disciplinary and collaborative skill sets for the next generation of scientists, clinicians, and health-service professionals.

Early Career Investigator & Mentorship Awards

The goal of the Early Career Investigator & Mentorship Award is to build capacity in neurodevelopmental disability research. This award is intended to strengthen the Early Career Investigator’s research program by supporting recruitment of excellent trainees and fostering increased connection to community partners.

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Strategic Investment Fund

Projects funded through this program will leverage KBHN funds and Network expertise in new ventures with the potential to generate impact and value for end users and stakeholders. The expected outputs of these projects could include, but are not limited to, changes in practice or policy, advancing new technologies or establishing new applications for existing technologies, and expanding or scaling direct supports for children and families.

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The Basics of Better Mental Health Program

This program funds experimental research that provides insight into the causes and onset of mental illnesses and explore the neuropathological changes and information processing deficits that may eventually lead to new directions for treatments and interventions. This consists of research with the goal of understanding signs and symptoms at the fundamental level, which may include studies at the molecular, cellular, organ system and/or whole-body levels, including development of tools and techniques to be applied for this purpose. The inclusion of sex-specific biological considerations in the rationale, hypothesis, and objectives will be instrumental in understanding the biological roots of mental illnesses.

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Early Years Initiative

The Early Years supports communities in the cultural adaptation and implementation of family-centred programmatic activities and resources, from Maskwacis Health Services in Alberta to the Yukon First Nation Education Directorate.

Impact in Neuroscience

Brain Initiative

The BRAIN Initiative is part of a US Presidential focus aimed at revolutionizing our understanding of the human brain. Brain Canada has partnered with the 10 NIH Institutes that are part of the NIH BRAIN Initiative to support the involvement of Canadian researchers in the NIH BRAIN Initiative.

Brain Canada Youth Mental Health Platform, powered by RBC Future Launch

The Brain Canada Youth Mental Health Platform, powered by RBC Future Launch supports the development, operation, and maintenance of a large-scale national platform that enhances the sharing of centralized research resources thereby increasing access to equipment, expertise, data, protocols, and more in the area of youth mental health, for three years.

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Shireen and Edna Marcus Excellence Award

The objective of the Shireen and Edna Marcus Excellence Award is to support graduate students engaged in autism research who demonstrate a high standard of achievement in their graduate studies and to encourage the academic development of promising postdoctoral fellows by providing salary support.

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The W. Garfield Weston Foundation Grant

The W. Garfield Weston Foundation has collaborated with Brain Canada to support five research teams conducting research across the full spectrum of brain sciences. The teams are pursuing novel, transformative research aimed at improving our understanding of human nervous system function and dysfunction, and its impact on health.

The Brain Canada & Weizmann Institute of Science Team Grants

The Brain Canada & Weizmann Institute of Science Team Grants program encourages innovative, unorthodox, and exploratory research that may be in the early and conceptual stages of project development but has potential for significant impact on our understanding of the brain.

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Brain Canada-Women’s Brain Health Initiative Expansion Grants: Considering Sex and Gender

The purpose of the Brain Canada-WBHI Expansion Grants: Considering Sex and Gender Program is to support the implementation and/ or continuation of sex and/ or gender considerations in previously funded projects focusing on brain research in the fields of aging, neurodegeneration, or stroke.

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The Basics of Better Mental Health Program

This program funds experimental research that provides insight into the causes and onset of mental illnesses and explore the neuropathological changes and information processing deficits that may eventually lead to new directions for treatments and interventions. This consists of research with the goal of understanding signs and symptoms at the fundamental level, which may include studies at the molecular, cellular, organ system and/or whole-body levels, including development of tools and techniques to be applied for this purpose. The inclusion of sex-specific biological considerations in the rationale, hypothesis, and objectives will be instrumental in understanding the biological roots of mental illnesses.

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