Funded Grants

For this project Dr. Sanjay Kalra and his team aims to improve on current techniques to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a readily available way to examine if a potential new treatment is working to slow down progression of ALS.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is the result of in utero alcohol exposure and is characterized by central nervous system developmental impairments which causes lifelong physical and cognitive disabilities.

Autism is a neuro-developmental disorder characterized by social/communication deficits and repetitive behaviours.

Dr. Xie’s research focuses on the functional assessment of neuropsychiatric disease related synaptic genes – MDGA1 and 2. MDGAs bind to critical neuron synaptic proteins – Neuroglin (NLGN), disrupting the binding between NLGN and Neurexin (NRXN), so suppressing synaptogenesis.

Ms. Raza’s research focuses on early development in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with the goal of identifying behavioral and physiological markers in at-risk infants.

As our brains age, they become vulnerable to diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease which can cause dementia.

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure.

Magnetic Seizure Therapy (MST) is a novel form of treatment that uses high intensity magnetic field pulses to stimulate the brain and induce a seizure as a therapeutic intervention for patients with depression resistant to antidepressant medication, known as Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD).

Dr. Peter McPherson, professor at the Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University will receive one year of support to work on the connection between the most prominent known cause of ALS, a mutation in a gene called C9ORF72, and a previously unrelated critical cellular function called endosomal membrane trafficking.

For this project, Dr. Park will examine how abnormalities in RNA binding proteins (RBPs) – in particular, one called Matrin 3 (MATR3) – can lead to ALS. MATR3 was discovered to be a genetic cause of ALS in 2014 and has yet to be studied in any detail.