Ependymal cells are a largely understudied barrier cell type in the brain that provide a wall between brain tissue and brain fluid (cerebral spinal fluid, CSF), playing an important role in regulating fluid balance. These cells become dysfunctional in many brain diseases and this dysfunction contrib…
Decades of dance research have demonstrated the positive benefits of dance in terms of improving quality of life and reducing symptomatology for diverse groups of participants. Dance may improve mood, body image, self-esteem, and support healing processes for persons suffering from physical, cogniti…
The high and potentially increasing prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is taking a significant emotional and economic toll on patients, their families and Canadian society. Although progress has been made in identifying genes associated with ASD, the underlying mechanism of this disorder r…
Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and disability in children and young adults in Canada. Despite huge developments in basic neuroscience, no new therapies or diagnostic tests have been introduced in clinical care over the past 30 years. In the acute setting, neither clinicians nor…
New approaches in neurodevelopmental research increasingly seek to integrate enormous amounts of data through sophisticated informatics so as to determine the relationship between genotype and phenotypes, both structural and functional, as they change over time during development. Such approaches dw…
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
Motor neurons are extremely complex cells. Not only do they have an intricate set of inner workings, but they have a long wire-like portion called an axon that connects the central nervous system to muscles called an axon. Understanding all of the aspects of how axons are guided through the body is …
Epilepsy is a common neurological condition that affects 1-2% of the population. Despite dozens of anticonvulsant medications, over a third of patients remain refractory to drugs and our goal is to uncover novel therapies for this patient population. Here, we propose to create a national platform fo…
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) are two of the most common and devastating neurodegenerative diseases, affecting more than 2% of the population over the age of 65. However, a major hindrance in developing therapies for disorders of the brain has been limited access…
One of the greatest advancements in science over the past 10 years is the development of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). These cells make it possible to create essentially any cell type in the body using any other as a starting point. In ALS, iPSCs provide the opportunity to take skin or blo…
This project is a Phase II study involving 100 participants across 8 ALS clinics across Canada. The trial, led by the Principal Investigator of the Canadian Neuromuscular Disease Registry (CNDR) and the Chair of the Canadian ALS Research Network (CALS) will examine whether pimozide, a drug already a…
Neurological diseases including neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, and psychiatric disorders are collectively one of the leading causes of disability to the Canadian population. This poses a significant emotional and economic burden to patients, and a major strain to the Canadian healthcare syst…
Most mental disorders begin in adolescence; however, there are many gaps in our understanding of youth mental health. Clinical and policy gaps arise from our current inability to predict, from amongst all youth who experience mild behavioural disturbances, who will go on to develop an illness, what …
Need for project: Choroidal tumors present clinicians with many challenges. The overlap between clinical and imaging findings combined with the difficulty of performing choroidal biopsies can create diagnostic dilemmas. Obtaining a diagnosis is paramount in optimizing patient outcomes, minimizing sy…
A Phase 1/2 clinical trial led by Dr. Angela Genge and co-recipient Dr. Eran Hornstein is currently underway to test the safety and tolerability of enoxacin in people living with ALS. Enoxacin is an antibiotic that on a cellular level is known to activate an enzyme called DICER, which in turn can in…
Rhabdoid brain tumours are the most common brain cancers in infants. Usually these aggressive tumours are treated with intense chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which can have serious side effects. Dr Annie Huang found that these brain tumours come in 2 forms, including one that can be cured using…
EEG is a non-invasive, inexpensive, and efficient tool for measuring electrical signals in the brain. The EEGNet platform will provide a standardized, open repository of EEG data for the investigation of biomarkers of brain disorders that manifest themselves during the early years of life, disorders…
This project looks at the acceptability of the Family Check-up (FCU) program for caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The Family Check-up is a brief, evidence-based, assessment-driven intervention that uses a strength-based and motivational interviewing approach to engage care…
Mindfulness is a therapeutic technique that teaches one to focus on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting their feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. Previous research has demonstrated that learning mindfulness can help with navigating grief and benefit overall quality of…
Schizophrenia is a common and serious mental illness characterized by psychotic symptoms, social withdrawal and functional disabilities that are generally lifelong. Response to treatment with antipsychotics is variable and the manifestation of common side effects, including serious motor symptoms, i…
Maintaining the ability to prepare meals independently in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is of paramount importance to the individuals themselves and to their caregivers. Beyond being necessary to feed oneself, meal preparation supports self-esteem and maintenance of social roles. However, numerous diff…