For every $1 we spend in seed funding through the Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program, Future Leaders will attract an additional $7.75 to build on their findings.
For every $1 we spend in seed funding through the Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program, Future Leaders will attract an additional $7.75 to build on their findings. Since 2019, the Future Leaders program has supported 131 promising early career researchers with $100,000 each to pursue bold ideas, advance their research programs, and launch their careers. This seed funding has allowed Future Leaders to:
Brain Canada and Brain Changes Initiative recently announced $1.1 million in funding for new brain research in Canada through the Innovation Grants for Research Impact in Traumatic Brain Injury program. Two of the three recipients are focusing on an area of research that has emerged over the last decade: traumatic brain injury (TBI) related to intimate partner violence (IPV).
Approximately 1 in 5 adolescents who report having a Brain Injury experience persistent and long-lasting emotional and behavioural challenges. The reasons why have been difficult to tease apart – until recently. Future Leader, Dr. Anne Wheeler and her research team studied pre- and post-concussion data from male and female children.
A growing number of kids’ brains have likely been spared injury thanks to enhanced safety guidelines informed by a large-scale Brain Canada-funded research platform. A series of studies made possible by the Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping (CFMM) at Western University (Western) in London, Ontario found that even minor concussions cause changes to the brain’s structure and function. These findings from the CFMM, which operates some of the most sophisticated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) instrumentation in the world, informed a series of policies to protect youth while playing contact sports like soccer and hockey.
Funding solutions for people with spinal cord injury
Spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to a secondary problem of irregular blood pressure. That pressure problem then leads to an elevated risk of heart disease and stroke. Dr. Aaron Phillips has developed an innovative new technology that acts like a thermostat to regulate blood pressure in individuals with SCI.
Despite facing multiple brain injuries, Oscar Blyth, a graduate of the University of Victoria and a freestyle skier, has overcome obstacles and continues to pursue his goals.