Funded Grants

The central nervous system (CNS, the brain and spinal cord together) is perhaps the most complex biological entity in the world.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease, primarily affecting motor neurons, for which there are currently no adequately effective therapies.

More Canadians are surviving stroke today than in previous years, but improved survival also means that more individuals are living with a disability due to stroke.

The Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank (DBCBB; douglasbrainbank.ca), based at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute (McGill University affiliate), has become one of the most important brain banks in the world.

Thanks to the late Dr. William Feindel’s vision, who in the 1970’s believed that brain imaging was the “future for neurology and neurosurgery”, and to a generous donation, the Montreal Neurological Institute (The Neuro) inaugurated the McConnell Brain Imaging Center (BIC) in 1984.

Brain imaging using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an essential tool in modern neuroscience, with many uses for examining brain structure and function in health and disease.

Need for project: The rate of success of a given treatment for brain cancer is dependent on early diagnosis followed by qualification for surgery, which to date remains as the course of treatment with the highest survival rate for brain cancer patients.

Need for project: Replication repair deficiency (RRD) is a genetic condition that significantly increases the risk of developing cancer, particularly early in life.

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.

Need for project: Glioblastoma (GBM) is an incurable brain cancer that changes rapidly confounding standard diagnostic and therapeutic methods.