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The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has announced the results of its Spring 2021 project grant competition, with five DMCBH members receiving funding to continue advancing research in multiple sclerosis, stroke, brain repair and bipolar depression.
Learn more about each project:
Researchers are investigating whether a multi-strain probiotic could relieve symptoms of anxiety experienced by many people with the condition.
New research led by DMCBH researcher Dr. Silke Appel-Cresswell is the first to examine whether a multi-strain probiotic could help relieve anxiety symptoms among people with Parkinson’s disease.
A progressive nervous system disorder that over 100,000 Canadians live with, Parkinson’s often causes muscle rigidity linked to reduced dopamine levels, along with tremors or slowed movements.
Over a year has passed since the pandemic hit Canada and the lockdowns began. While businesses, schools, institutions, public and health services were forced to shut down or reinvent themselves, so too were scientific research laboratories. Live experiments, grant funded research and educational activities ground to a halt as scientists around the world refocused their efforts on tackling the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the globe.
Microglia—the immune cells of the brain—have been an important area of study over the last decade, especially with respect to their impact on brain disorders. In a recently published paper, DMCBH member Dr. Annie Ciernia and her team used an open science platform to help researchers understand how certain genes are regulated in microglia.
Several awards have recently been handed out to DMCBH trainees. Congratulations to all the winners!
Jock & Irene Graham Brain Research Endowment:
Isabel Bestard Lorigados, PhD student
Congratulations to Dr. Emma Morton who received a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship from CIHR to develop and evaluate an app called PolarUs to help people living with bipolar disorder self-manage their symptoms and improve their wellbeing. Dr. Morton is supervised by DMCBH member Dr. Erin Michalak, who leads the Collaborative Research Team to Study Psychosocial Issues in Bipolar Disorder (CREST.BD).
Researchers have created an atlas of myelin among healthy people to support better brain disease diagnosis and timely treatment.
Up until now, normal levels of brain myelin—a key indicator of conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer’s disease and concussion—were not well characterized, making the use of it as a diagnostic tool similar to navigating a maze without a map. A new scientific study led by DMCBH researcher Dr. Shannon Kolind is the first to discover not only a robust atlas of brain myelin levels, but the key role age plays in their trajectory.
The virtual and community-based program makes it easier for patients to continue their recovery after being discharged from the hospital.
From X-rays to PET scans, our expert explains the true risks and benefits of different scanning technology used in health care, security and research.
The Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health Innovation Fund Kickstart Research Grant is intended to help kick-start new research collaborations, directions, and technological developments. It supports new projects that generate preliminary data for future grant applications to external funding agencies.
The following are DMCBH researchers who have received this year's Grant. Congratulations to all the winners!
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