Project Overview
Chronic pain affects millions of Canadians and is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Neurological and psychiatric conditions more broadly represent an immense burden, affecting one in three people and costing billions each year. Yet progress in developing new treatments has been slow. A major reason is that most research relies on animal models or artificial cell systems that cannot fully capture the complexity of the human brain. To change the trajectory of brain health, scientists need access to living human brain cells. NeuroAccess, The Canadian Platform for Human Nervous Tissue Research, is designed to meet this need. Working in partnership with organ donation programs, NeuroAccess respectfully collects living human neuronal tissue from donors who have given the gift of life. In addition to saving lives through transplantation, these donors make it possible for scientists to study the human nervous system in ways that were never possible in Canada. This represents a transformational leap forward in neuroscience, giving Canadian and international researchers access to living human brain cells and creating a foundation for discoveries that are directly relevant to patients. NeuroAccess accelerates research into chronic pain and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. By enabling experiments in living human tissue, the platform allows scientists to identify reliable drug targets, validate promising therapies, and reduce the high failure rate in clinical trials. This has the potential to transform the way treatments are developed, ensuring that lab discoveries can reach patients faster and effectively. Importantly, NeuroAccess is community-driven. The platform is accessible to researchers across universities, hospitals, and industry, including early-career investigators and smaller labs that might otherwise lack resources. By lowering barriers and ensuring equitable access, NeuroAccess democratizes the use of living human tissue in neuroscience, empowering a broad community of scientists to contribute to breakthroughs in brain health.
Partners & Donors
Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain (AECRP)
The Research Institute of McGill University Health Centre (RI-MuHC)
McGill Platform for Translational Pain Research (PTPR)
