We support research that fosters multidisciplinary collaboration and novel approaches, rewards excellence and innovation, and takes risks to advance high-potential ideas
Brain Canada develops and implements transformative, original, and outstanding research programs that address areas critical to advancing brain research. Brain Canada is also committed to working with strategic funding partners with interests across the entire range of neurological diseases and injuries, mental illnesses and addictions. Check out our directory for a complete, searchable database of the projects we fund.
Grants to sustain or enhance research platforms in areas such as neuroimaging and disease models to promote efficient sharing across research networks.
Grants for salary support, training and mentoring, and to convene the Canadian brain research community.
The Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Grants Program aims to support early-career investigators at a critical point in their career, on the path to a stable and sustainable independent research position.
Project Descriptions
Brain Canada and Bell Let’s Talk are joining forces to accelerate Canadian brain research while helping to address the impacts of COVID-19 on mental health care.
Bell Let’s Talk-Brain Canada Mental Health Research Program
This program is supporting novel and transformative research that will accelerate the integration of emerging scientific knowledge into developing and improving mental health care. The ultimate goal is the development of innovative solutions to ensure effective, sustainable, and accessible mental health care for all Canadians.
This Brain Canada initiative supports three-year team research projects that address improving health outcomes, including quality of life, over a reasonably short period of time. The competition is intended to provide opportunities for unorthodox collaborations between multidisciplinary teams of researchers (including social sciences), clinicians, allied-health workers, carers and patients.
Project Descriptions
This initiative will help support the development and maintenance of a large-scale neuroscience network as well as its operating costs for a period of three years. The platform grant will help bring together existing Canadian neuroscience platforms, initiatives and networks, and will allow them to link, leverage, enhance and expand to form an integrated network.
Project description
Brain Canada has partnered with the Azrieli Foundation on research programs related to neurodevelopmental disorders and on developing capacity in neuroscience research.
Azrieli Neurodevelopmental 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 diagnostics, 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.
Project descriptions
Early-Career Capacity Building Grant
This program is focused on investigators in the early stages of their careers. This program provides an opportunity to develop new lines of research on the fundamental properties and mechanisms of the brain and nervous system, to gather preliminary data and position these investigators for long-term scientific success.
The Chagnon Family has partnered with Brain Canada to support a major $10-million project in the area of Alzheimer’s disease prevention titled Interventions for Prevention of Alzheimer disease and Related Disorders Team Grant . This represents the largest single grant in the area of prevention of Alzheimer’s disease ever made in Canada.
Project description
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.
Project descriptions
In November of 2014, a partnership between the ALS Society of Canada and Brain Canada resulted in the largest one-time investment in research in the history of the ALS Society of Canada: a $20-million investment in a national research program. The Brain Canada and ALS Society of Canada partnership encompasses three jointly- funded programs; Arthur J. Hudson Grants for Translational Research; Career Transition Grant; and the Discovery Awards.
ALS Hudson Award
The 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.
Project descriptions
Discovery awards
The Discovery Grants program has been established to encourage new basic research focused on identifying causes of, or treatments for ALS and/or related neurological diseases, including primary lateral sclerosis, progressive muscular atrophy, and ALS/FTLD (ALS/frontotemporal lobar dementia). The spirit of this program is “high risk/high reward” and is aimed at independent investigator(s) proposing a novel research approach, supported by a sound rationale and feasible experimental plan, but not necessarily preliminary data.
Project descriptions
Career Transition Award competition
This program aims to identify and engage rising stars pursuing innovative research in labs and academic institutions in Canada. This award has the long-term goal of developing the next generation of scientists across various disciplines within basic and clinical sciences, contributing to knowledge generation and translation in ALS. The award will provide the necessary support to senior postdoctoral trainees as well as recently hired junior faculty members to secure or maintain a faculty job in Canada.
Project descriptions
Brain Canada has partnered with the Alzheimer’s Association to co-fund applications submitted by Canadian principal investigators through the Alzheimer’s Association International Research Grant Program.
Alzheimer’s Association International Grant Program
Alzheimer’s Association Research Fellowship
Alzheimer’s Association New Investigator and Career Change
Brain Canada and the Alzheimer Society of Canada have partnered to fund investigators who are pursuing research within the area of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
New investigator Grants
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.
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.
Project descriptions
Brain Canada is collaborating with the Canadian Cancer Society to support research focused on brain and nervous system cancer.
Spark grants
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.
Project descriptions
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.
Project descriptions
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.
Project descriptions
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.
Project descriptions
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.
Project descriptions
Brain Canada and CQDM have partnered on two initiatives linking neuroscience to the biopharmaceutical industry.
Focus on 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.
Project descriptions
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.
Project descriptions
Brain Canada partnered with the Kids Brain Health Network on the Developmental Neurosciences Research Training Awards program. 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 endeavors to develop cross-disciplinary and collaborative skill sets for the next generation of scientists, clinicians, and health-service professionals.
Project descriptions
Brain Canada has partnered with the Heart and Stoke Foundation (HSF) to fund three research initiatives:
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.
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.
Project descriptions
Grant-in-Aid (GIA) program
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.
Project descriptions
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.
Project descriptions
Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada (MS Society), Brain Canada and Biogen have partnered on an initiative to support an MS Progression Cohort that will provide a platform to address research questions related to the mechanisms of progression, treatments and the impact of MS.
Across Canada there are leading researchers in the area of Parkinson’s disease and related disorders. However, platforms are not currently available to link this pan-Canadian expertise. Through a partnership between Brain Canada and Parkinson Canada, the Canadian Parkinson Network and Registry program seeks to increase data-availability and promote integration across sites, to increase the access to and impact of this data. This platform will support diverse projects from bench to bedside that will inform us on mechanisms and markers of Parkinson’s disease progression, novel treatments and treatment strategies as well as clinical trials.
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.
Project descriptions
Brain Canada has partnered with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal to support a collaborative research study that evaluates the effects of dance therapy on mental health.
The Women’s Brain Health Initiative (WBHI) and Brain Canada have partnered to help translate and communicate the outcomes of brain research by engaging and educating Canadians on the importance of brain health.
Brain Canada-WBHI Expansion Grants: Considering Sex and Gender Program
This program is designed to encourage researchers to incorporate sex and gender-based analysis (SGBA)-driven research hypotheses into their existing work by contributing to overcoming barriers in research and creating a foundation for sex and gender considerations to become standard practice within the scientific community.
As part of the partnership, Brain Canada has sponsored three editions of the WBHI publication Mind Over Matter, focused on sex and gender and prevention. Brain Canada and WBHI have also co-organized 12 Millennial Minds events in Toronto designed to educate young Canadians on the importance of brain health and gender-based brain-aging disease research.
Brain Canada has partnered with the Mental Health Commission of Canada to support a national project addressing the mental health needs of first responders, whose jobs commit them to persistent, repeated exposure to potentially triggering incidents.
Project description
Brain Canada has partnered with Bell Canada on two initiatives related to mental health
National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety of Post-Secondary Students
Brain Canada and Bell Canada are supporting a project led by the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
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.
Project descriptions
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.
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