Congratulations to the winners of the 2020 CAN- CIHR-INMHA Brain Star Awards!

CIHR-INMHAThe Canadian Association for Neuroscience (CAN) and the Canadian Institutes of Health’s Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (CIHR-INMHA) are proud to announce the winners of the 2020 Brain Star Awards.

The CIHR-INMHA Brain Star awards, administered for 2020 by the Canadian Association for Neuroscience, are awarded to students and trainees who have published high impact discoveries in all fields and disciplines covered by CIHR’s Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction in the 2020 calendar year.

The top 3 Brain Star Award winners of the year have been invited to make a presentation at the CAN meeting in August.

Brain Star Award winners of 2020

Claire Gizowski
Dr. Claire Gizowski – Winner of the Marlene Reimer Brain Star of the year award: Salt-sensitive neurons can affect the brain’s master clock time (first prize)
Nuria Daviu Abant
Nuria Daviu Abant – Identification of neurons that encode stress controllability and regulate stress response offers insight into the neural basis of stress resilience Top 3 winner
Lukas Tamayo-Orrego
Lukas Tamayo-Orrego – A protein called Sonic hedgehog is a key player in brain cancer initiation Top 3 winner
Benjamin Davidson
Benjamin Davidson – Using a new method to perform brain surgery without incision for treatment resistant Major Depressive Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Ramy Ayoub
Ramy Ayoub – Identification of a potential treatment to improve outcome for young brain cancer survivors (co-winner with Rebecca Ruddy)
Rebecca Ruddy
Rebecca Ruddy – Identification of a potential treatment to improve outcome for young brain cancer survivors (co-winner with Ramy Ayoub)
François Binet
François Binet – Neutrophils play an active role in retinas of patients undergoing proliferative retinopathies
Julie Ouellette
Julie Ouellette – Evidence that vascular deficits could contribute to the development of Autism Spectrum Disorder
Jeremy J Watts
Jeremy J Watts – The brain’s ‘cannabis’ neurotransmitter system identified as a potential biomarker for psychotic symptoms
Jade Degrandmaison
Jade Degrandmaison – A study of the interactome of the delta-opioid receptor from brain tissues reveals insights into its functions in pain-related pathways
Kathryn Vaillancourt
Kathryn Vaillancourt – Methylation could mediate addiction-related neurobiological changes in humans
Lisi Flores-Aguilar
Lisi Flores-Aguilar – Understanding the evolution of neuroinflammation across the Alzheimer’s disease continuum in individuals with Down’s syndrome helps identify stage specific targets for treatment
Matthew Demmings
Matthew D Demmings – Better understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal death in Parkinson’s disease
Milan Valyear
Milan D Valyear – Identification of two separate neuron circuits as targets for treating alcohol use disorder
Roberto Adamo Gulli
Roberto Adamo Gulli – Understanding how objects and space are represented in the brain using virtual reality and computational approaches
Lou Beaulieu-Laroche
Lou Beaulieu-Laroche – Identification of TACAN as a novel mechanical pain sensor and target for pain therapies