Eleven Canadian trainees receive grants to advance their careers in neuroscience

The Brain Canada Rising Stars Trainee Awards aim to recognize the excellent research being conducted at Canadian institutions by graduate students (MSc, PhD), postdoctoral fellows, and residents in all fields spanning neuroscience research

Brain Canada is pleased to announce that 11 exceptional trainees have received grants to support the development of their professional and academic careers, thanks to the generous support of the Shireen & Edna Marcus Fund, the Seger-van Tol Family, the Wayne-Coleman Family Fund/Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC), and S. Galati & Associates Inc./Brain Changes Initiative.

“As a convenor and catalyst, it is critical for Brain Canada to invest in capacity-building through salary support and opportunities for training, networking and mentorship,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President, and CEO of Brain Canada. “We are proud to be encouraging trainees with the Brain Canada Rising Stars Trainee Awards and investing in the next generation of brilliant brain researchers.”

This year, the Brain Canada Rising Stars Trainee Awards program consisted of four funding opportunities open to graduate students (MSc, PhD), postdoctoral fellows, and residents conducting neuroscience research at a Canadian institution. The projects funded by Brain Canada include:

Shireen and Edna Marcus Excellence Award – To provide financial support to promising graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and/or residents conducting research in autism.

• Development and investigation of mouse models of deep brain stimulation for self-injurious behaviours in autism spectrum disorder. $4,500 CAD awarded to Flavia Venetucci Gouveia, PhD, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute.

Dr. Hubert van Tol Travel Fellowship – To allow graduate students (MSc, PhD) and postdoctoral fellows to attend a major international conference/ symposium or training course.

• Evaluating the frequency and impact of structural variation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Up to $5,000 CAD awarded to Allison A. Dilliott, PhD, McGill University to support attendance to the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) Annual Meeting 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
• Central pain is dependent on injury severity and neuroinflammation. Up to $5,000 CAD awarded to Courtney Bannerman, Queen’s University to support attendance to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) World Congress on Pain 2022 in Toronto, Ontario.
• Effects of Sex and Age on Nicotine Vapour Reward, Withdrawal, Pharmacokinetics, and Brain Activity. Up to $5,000 CAD awarded to Jude Frie, University of Guelph to support attendance to the 2022 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Neurobiology of Drug Addiction in Newry, Maine.
• Sedation and Cerebral Oximetry in Traumatic Brain Injury: A Potentially Non-Invasive Avenue for Personalized Approaches in Neurocritical Care? Up to $5,000 awarded to Logan Froese, University of Manitoba to support attendance to the 15th International Neurotrauma Symposium in Berlin, Germany.
• The dark microglial subset displays ultrastructural and metabolic alterations in an aged mouse model of beta-amyloid pathology. Up to $5,000 CAD awarded to Marie-Kim St-Pierre, Université Laval to support attendance to the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum 2022 in Paris, France.
• Neural indices of a modified auditory oddball task and their symptom correlates in post-traumatic stress disorder dissociative vs. non-dissociative subtypes. Up to $5,000 CAD awarded to Sara de la Salle, PhD, University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research (IMHR) to support attendance to the Pharmaco-EEG Society for Preclinical and Clinical Electrophysiological Brain Research (IPEG) Meeting 2022 in New York City, New York.

Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC) Neuroscience Fellowship in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research – To provide financial support to graduate students (MSc, PhD), postdoctoral fellows, or residents conducting neuroscience research at a Canadian institution in the field of cannabis/cannabinoid research.

• In vivo Quantification of Synaptic Density in Youth with High-risk Cannabis Use: A Positron Emission Tomography Study with the Synaptic Vesicle Glycoprotein 2A Radiotracer [18f] SynVesT-1. $10,000 CAD awarded to Laura Best, PhD, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
• Long-term effects of inhaled cannabis delivery during pregnancy on adolescent social behaviour and adult emotional behaviour in male and female rats. $10,000 CAD awarded to Samantha Baglot, University of Calgary.

Dr. Matthew Galati Brain Changer Award – To provide financial support to graduate students (MSc, PhD), postdoctoral fellows, or residents conducting clinical implementation research at a Canadian institution in the field of acquired brain injury. 

• Aerobic exercise for the treatment of Chronic symptoms following mild Traumatic Brain Injury (ACTBI) Trial. $10,000 CAD awarded to Leah Mercier, University of Calgary.
• Brain Gain: Identifying potential dementia-related markers and early intervention strategies for adults with histories of concussion. $10,000 CAD awarded to Taylor Snowden, University of Victoria.

The awards funded through this program have been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada) and Brain Canada Foundation, the Shireen & Edna Marcus Fund, the Seger-van Tol Family, the Wayne-Coleman Family Fund, and S. Galati and Associates Inc. To date, Health Canada has invested more than $130 million through the CBRF which has been matched by Brain Canada Foundation and its donors and partners. 

For more information, visit our directory of funded grants.