Funded Grants

Scientists have long wondered what the contribution of environment is to ALS and in recent years the idea that a combination of genetic susceptibility and environmental triggers has taken shape.

One of the greatest advancements in science over the past 10 years is the development of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

Malignant gliomas, including oligodendrogliomas (OD) and glioblastomas (GBM), are currently incurable brain tumours with few effective treatment options.

To improve outcomes in brain cancer, better tools are needed to diagnose brain cancer, surgically remove brain tumours and monitor how they respond to therapy.

Membrane proteins are biological molecules of incredible importance, playing diverse roles in many processes critical to life.

Over the past several years, zebrafish have proven to be a valuable model to study motor neuron degeneration and search for new treatments.

The process by which ALS spreads throughout the body remains a mystery, but Dr. Neil Cashman has spent decades looking at how abnormal changes in shape (scientifically called misfolding) of crucial proteins (the substances that do life processes) in our cells might propagate disease from one cell to another.

ALS is a disease that is characterized by degeneration of both upper and lower motor neurons, and while a significant proportion of work has focused on motor neurons in the spinal cord, the motor cortex in the brain, where electrical signals to your muscles originate have clear, but poorly

Alzheimer’s disease disproportionately affects women and emerging evidence suggests there may be unique biological and lifestyle factors that underlie these differences.

In this Hudson project, the team led by Dr. Robertson will pursue a comprehensive understanding of the normal functions of C9ORF72 and provide a better determination of whether loss of these functions via mutation may cause or contribute to ALS.