The 2025 Clinical Research Fellowship and Trainee Awards

Brain Canada and The ALS Society of Canada (ALS Canada) are proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 ALS Canada–Brain Canada Clinical Research Fellowship and Trainee Awards. This year’s funding supports one Clinical Research Fellowship and three Trainee Awards, empowering early-career clinicians and researchers who are working to improve care and deepen understanding of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a devastating disease that affects nearly 4,000 people in Canada.

This year marks 20 years of ALS Canada’s commitment to fostering early-career researchers and clinicians through dedicated funding opportunities to strengthen the future of ALS research and care. These programs have supported emerging leaders who are now driving innovative studies, clinical initiatives, and global collaborations. Since 2014, Brain Canada has partnered with ALS Canada, beginning with support generated through the Ice Bucket Challenge, an enduring collaboration that continues to expand research capacity and accelerate scientific discovery in Canada’s ALS community.

“For two decades, ALS Canada has focused on investing in early-career clinicians and researchers, who have gone on to lead programs, improve clinical care, and advance research in ALS. We are proud to steward the funds generously donated by our donors and invest in the people who will deliver discoveries, a deeper understanding of the disease, and future treatments,” says Tammy Moore, CEO of ALS Canada. “With partners like Brain Canada providing matched support, we can scale promising work and move closer to effective treatments.”

Together, ALS Canada and Brain Canada have committed $515,000 in research funding for the 2025 Clinical Research Fellowship and Trainee Awards.

“These awards reflect the impact that coordinated, long-term investment can have in accelerating discovery and improving care. Building research capacity is essential to accelerating breakthroughs in ALS,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, Brain Canada President and CEO. “Brain Canada is proud to continue our longstanding partnership with ALS Canada and to help equip the next generation of researchers with the support they need to move the field forward.”

The Clinical Research Fellowship is designed to support a clinician’s training in research and clinical care related to ALS over two years. This training is crucial to strengthening Canada’s clinical infrastructure for ALS care.

Summary of 2025 Clinical Research Fellowship

• Can a novel animal model of ALS help us understand if the spread of misfolded proteins contributes to disease progression?

TDP-43, SOD1, and FUS proteinopathies in vivo: interrogating prion-like mechanisms and drug rescue in zebrafish and ALS hiPSC-derived neuron xenotransplant models

Dr. Michele DuVal, a clinical fellow supervised by Dr. Wendy Johnston and Dr. Ted Allison, University of Alberta, awarded $200,000

The Trainee Awards include two streams of funding: Doctoral students pursuing their PhD and postdoctoral fellows, who receive financial support to cover their salaries for up to three years, providing Canadian labs with the necessary funds to have top researchers working on the best projects to understand the disease better and drive toward new treatments for individuals living with ALS.

A total of $315,000 was awarded through the 2025 Trainee Awards.

Summary of 2025 Doctoral Awards

• Can targeting support cells improve muscle-nerve repair in ALS?

Study of perisynaptic Schwann cells contribution on NMJ reinnervation efficiency in ALS Simon Alvado, a PhD student supervised by Dr. Richard Robitaille, Université de Montréal, awarded $75,000 over three years

• How does cellular stress impact TDP-43, a key ALS protein?

Examining the role of TDP-43 SUMOylation following ALS-relevant stress Veronica Grybas, a PhD student supervised by Dr. Maxime Rousseaux, University of Ottawa, awarded $75,000 over three years

Funding for Veronica Grybas’ Doctoral Award was made possible through a partnership with Foundation Vincent-Bourque, who generously contributed $37,500 to ALS Canada, which Brain Canada matched through the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF).

Summary of 2025 Postdoctoral Award

• Can a virtual AI platform make speech-language care more accessible for ALS?

Feasibility RCT of a digital tool for management of bulbar disease in ALS Dr. Jennifer Soriano, a postdoctoral fellow supervised by Dr. Yana Yunusova, University of Toronto, awarded $165,000 over three years