Funded Grants

This project will focus on comprehensively studying impaired transmission of signals (from the brain) at the location where neurons and muscles meet, called the neuromuscular junction.

Dr. Patten started his research career as a PhD student at the University of Alberta under the supervision of Dr. Declan Ali in 2004.

Over the past decade, the number of new cellular structures that have been identified with critical functions for life has expanded considerably.

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).

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.

One of the largest predictors of mental illness is childhood emotional and behavioural problems (EBP, e.g., aggression, anxiety, depression), which occur in 12-26% of children under age 6 years.

The project provides state of the art mouse brain imaging to researchers in Canada working on models of neurodevelopmental disorders.

The overarching aim of Ms Morena’s research is to investigate the role of the endocannabinoid system in the modulation of memory processes and its interaction with stress and emotional arousal in animal models of cognition, at a cellular, circuit and behavioural level.