Funded Grants

In 2023, over 3,000 Canadians were newly diagnosed as brain tumor, and around 2,500 succumbed to this disease.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common disorder that impacts development of the brain.

The microbes living in our gut have recently been found to affect important developmental processes such as brain development and hormonal regulation during puberty.

The emerging consensus that the brain functions as a single, complex system has led to the popularity of a network approach to studying brain function. Functional connectivity, a measure of the coordinated activity between brain regions, has been observed in neuroimaging studies to change during aging and could be related to cognitive decline. However, in humans, neuronal activity cannot be measured directly. Instead, our main neuroimaging technique measures blood oxygenation which is an indicator of neuronal activity through the coupling between neurons and blood vessels. Given that aging is associated with changes in blood vessels and in neuron-vessel coupling, the neuronal and vascular contributions to functional connectivity during aging cannot be distinguished. Furthermore, the timeline of neurovascular changes during normal aging is not well known because it is typically measured only at one point in time.

We propose to leverage innovative tools in 1) longitudinal brain imaging in the mouse to observe the evolution of neurons and blood vessels during aging; 2) mathematical modeling to study the connectivity of neurons from observed patterns of neuronal activity. Using this model, we will predict the effect on neuronal dynamics of perturbating blood vessels in a way similar to what naturally occurs in the aging brain. Our hypothesis is that during normal aging, vascular micro-strokes precede in time and could cause changes in neuronal activity. Our approach creates a new line of research combining measures of neuro-vascular coupling with models of neuronal networks, allowing to better understand the process of normal brain aging. The results are expected to improve the power of neuroimaging for studying aging and could help guide future studies of preventive and curative approaches for alleviating the consequences of aging on brain function.

Epilepsy – a brain disorder defined by repeated seizures – imposes significant challenges for individuals and society.

Our brains have their own GPS – the hippocampus, a region where special neurons, called ‘place cells’, help us navigate and store memories.

Retina-based optogenetic therapy is a promising approach to restore vision to individuals suffering from retinal degeneration.

Shreya Gandhi is studying how oxygen-deprived areas of deadly brain tumours called glioblastoma (GBM) contribute to treatment resistance to improve treatment options and outcomes for people with this type of cancer.

Cooking Together is an innovative project that provides the opportunity for developing new relationships between generations while cooking and eating together.

Rober Abdo is investigating molecular changes in breast cancer cells which enable them to spread to the brain.