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News on Brain Canada-funded researchers

June 30, 2020

Sex bias in pain research

Females process pain differently, but search for pain medication still based on hypotheses drawn from work in males It is increasingly clear that male and female humans and rodents process pain in different ways. Despite this fact, according to a review paper from McGill University published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience, most pain research remains overwhelmingly based on the study of male rodents, continuing to test hypotheses derived from earlier experiments on males. Jeffrey Mogil was the principal investigator on a 2014 Brain Canada Team Grant that studied sex differences in pain.

June 30, 2020

Even without concussion, athletes in contact sports may have brain changes

Female college rugby players may have subtle brain changes even if they haven't had a recent concussion, according to a new study published in the June 17, 2020, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study was supported through a 2015 Brain Canada Platform Support Grant, led by Ravi Menon.

April 03, 2020

Artificial intelligence for very young brains

Canadian scientists have developed an innovative new technique that uses artificial intelligence to better define the different sections of the brain in newborns during a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam. The study was supported by Brain Canada through a 2014 Platform Support Grant, led by Dr. Gregory A. Lodygensky.

February 25, 2020

Research helping teens with bipolar disorder

Dr. Benjamin Goldstein, recipient of a Brain Canada Improving Health Outcomes Team Grant, discusses his research on aerobic exercise as a treatment for teens with bipolar disorder as part of Bell Let's Talk Day.

February 25, 2020

Des cerveaux pour mieux comprendre la dépression et le suicide

La Banque de cerveaux Douglas-Bell Canada, à Montréal, est l'une des plus grandes banques du genre au monde. À l'occasion de ses 40 ans, le Dr Naguib Mechawar, directeur de la banque et professeur au Département de psychiatrie de l'Université McGill, explique comment quelque 3000 cerveaux sont conservés et comment ils contribuent aux recherches sur la dépression, le suicide et l'alzheimer. La banque de cerveaux Douglas-Bell Canada a été soutenue par une subvention de soutien aux plateformes.

February 25, 2020

Immune response in brain, spinal cord could offer clues to treating neurological diseases

U of A neuroscientist Jason Plemel was part of a team of Canadian researchers who discovered that immune cells in the brain and spinal cord behave differently from blood immune cells in their response to nerve damage. Dr. Plemel received a 2018 Azrieli Foundation-Brain Canada Early-Career Capacity Building Grant to further study the role of microglia in a progressive MS model.

February 20, 2020

Obesity, heart disease, and diabetes may be communicable

A new paper by UBC Faculty of Medicine’s Dr. Brett Finlay and a team of fellows from the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) proposes that non-communicable diseases may be transmitted between people through the microbiome. Brett Finlay is the Co Director of the CIFAR Humans & the Microbiome program, supported by Brain Canada.

January 29, 2020

AI-analyzed blood test can predict the progression of neurodegenerative disease

New technique could be used to choose best therapies for patients and measure their effectiveness. Evaluating the effectiveness of therapies for neurodegenerative diseases is often difficult because each patient’s progression is different. The research was supported through a 2015 Platform Support Grant for the McConnell Brain Imaging Centre.

January 28, 2020

Behavioural research gets boost with first open-access database

Neuroscience researchers at Western University have developed the first open-access repository for raw data from mouse cognitive testing. Called MouseBytes, the database gives researchers a platform to share rodent cognition data using touchscreen cognitive testing with labs around the world. The work was supported through a 2012 MIRI Team Grant and the Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform (CONP).

December 17, 2019

The Life Scientific, Adrian Owen

Adrian Owen tells Jim Al-Khalili about his search for awareness in brain-injured patients. Adrian Owen is the co-Director of CIFAR's Azrieli Program in Brain, Mind & Consciousness, which receives support from Brain Canada.

November 27, 2019

Découverte – ICI Radio-Canada

Cette semaine à Découverte, nous faisons le point sur une maladie qui touchera un million de canadiens, en 2050 : L’Alzheimer est irréversible et incurable. Pourquoi la recherche piétine-t-elle? Qu’en est-il du diagnostic précoce? Que sait-on de cette maladie? Survol d'une maladie qui mystifie encore la communauté scientifique. Sylvia Villeneuve a reçu une subvention de la Société Alzheimer et la Fondation Brain Canada en 2016 pour le projet - Suivi de la progression de la maladie d’Alzheimer dans ses premiers stades : un projet multimodal.

November 06, 2019

New study advances quest to better understand consciousness

In a new study published today by Nature Communications, Adrian Owen and his colleagues at the University of Cambridge compared brain of patients in a vegetative state with those of healthy participants who were anaesthetized. Adrian Owen is the co-Director of CIFAR's Azrieli Program in Brain, Mind & Consciousness, which receives support from Brain Canada.

November 06, 2019

Improving research with more effective antibodies

Scientists demonstrate flaws in protein detection tools, and outline a solution A new study points to the need for better antibody validation, and outlines a process that other labs can use to make sure the antibodies they work with function properly. This work was supported by an ALS Canada-Brain Canada Arthur J. Hudson Translational Team Grant.

October 03, 2019

Eye scan sheds new light on Alzheimer’s disease

New research has demonstrated that a quick, non-invasive eye scan can identify changes in the retina that could be used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease. This research was supported by a CQDM - Brain Canada Focus on Brain Grant, led by Dr. Jean-Paul Soucy.

October 03, 2019

ALS gene may be a hitchhiker’s guide to the neuron

Scientists peered inside neurons and watched the workings of annexin A11, a gene linked to a rare form of ALS. They found that neurons may normally use the gene to ship internal housekeeping instructions via a newly discovered “hitchhiking” system and that disease-causing mutations may tie up deliveries at the cell’s loading docks. This research is supported by an ALS Society of Canada/Brain Canada Arthur J. Hudson Translational Team Grant.

July 10, 2019

Helping first responder families learn how the work can ‘colour’ mental health

The Working Mind First Responders (TWMFR) is a well-established training course that helps first responders link colours in the program’s mental health continuum model with their state of well-being. “The program is evidence based,” explained Mike Pietrus, the MHCC’s director of Mental Health First Aid and Opening Minds. “The MHCC is indebted to Medavie and Brain Canada for funding the development and assessment of the family package, which is proving to be highly effective.”

May 21, 2019

Canada charts new course to attack brain tumours

Canada has launched its first brain tumour registry in its battle to better treat the disease and avoid reliance on foreign data. The Brain Tumour Registry of Canada (BTRC) is funded by Brain Canada and the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada through a Platform Support Grant, led by Faith Davis.