Author: Julie

Program Director, CIHR Institute of Aging

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Western logoThis is a 2-year opportunity, with benefits package included, and possibility of renewal for 4 additional years. Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications.

About Us

With an international reputation for success, Western University ranks as one of Canada’s top research-intensive universities. Our research excellence expands knowledge and drives discovery with real-world application.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Aging (CIHR-IA) is one of thirteen Institutes of the CIHR, Canada’s health research investment agency. The Institute’s mandate is the aging person in an aging society, and the effects of different diseases and conditions on aging. With this mandate, the Institute has a vision to position Canada as a leader in the creation of knowledge through health research that benefits all Canadians and the global community.

About the Role

Working with the Scientific Director and Assistant Director of the CIHR-IA, the Program Director plays the critical role of providing leadership for all aspects of initiatives and programs relating to Brain Health and Cognitive Impairment in Aging. The Director builds relationships and networks through outreach and partnership development with national and international stakeholders, and will facilitate the development of large funding initiatives and provide input on the allocation of resources within research programs and initiatives. The Program Director also convenes and leads the Dementia Research Alliance, and work related to the research component of the first National Dementia Strategy released by the Government of Canada in 2019.

About You

As our ideal candidate, you are a strategic partner, advisor, and project leader with a background in brain health, dementia and Alzheimer’s research and knowledge of the Canadian landscape in this research area. You also have familiarity with peer-review granting systems and regulations governing research. In addition, you have influential communication and interpersonal skills that allow you to develop partnerships and networks of contacts, which in turn enable you to be on the cutting edge of emerging opportunities. You enjoy working in a dynamic, complex environment. You are also a creative problem solver, with the ability to use imaginative approaches, supporting by constructive thinking and innovation. You have a Master’s degree in Biomedical Science or a related discipline (a PhD in the area of brain health and dementia is preferred), which you complement with your experience in research administration, partnership development, and leadership of research programs.

Contact information

Please visit: https://recruit.uwo.ca to apply online to job reference #24915 by midnight on May 13, 2022.

The University invites applications from all qualified individuals. Western is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, Black persons, members of racialized groups, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation, and persons of any gender identity or gender expression.

Accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. If you require accommodations for interviews or other meetings, please contact Human Resources at hrhelp@uwo.ca or phone 519-661-2194.

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CAN-ACN response to budget 2022 – “A Plan to Grow our Economy and Make Life More Affordable”

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The Canadian Association for Neuroscience recognizes key investments that were made to support targeted research areas in budget 2022 but calls on the government to provide broader support to the Canadian scientific community through increased funding for fundamental research. We are specifically disappointed with the lack of increased support for non-targeted, hypothesis-driven & investigator-led research funded through Tri-Agency – Canadian Institutes of Health Research – CIHR, Natural Science and Engineering Research Council – NSERC, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council -SSHRC). Continue reading →

Boris Bernhardt wins the 2022 New Investigator Award from the Canadian Association for Neuroscience

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Boris Bernhardt
Boris Bernhardt

The Canadian Association for Neuroscience is extremely proud to present Dr. Boris Bernhardt, Assistant Professor in Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University, with the 2022 CAN New Investigator Award. Dr. Boris Bernhardt is a Tier-2 Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroinformatics and leads the multimodal imaging and connectome analysis laboratory (http://mica-mni.github.io) at the McConnell Brain Imaging Centre (BIC) of the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital (The Neuro).

Dr. Boris Bernhardt is recognized internationally for his research that seeks to better understand human brain organization, brain development, and neural mechanisms of human cognition across different spatial and temporal scales. His research integrates cutting edge in vivo neuroimaging, network science, histology, and transcriptomics approaches. He is one of the pioneers of an emerging system neuroscience field to study large-scale gradients – spatially organized patterns of brain microarchitecture, connectivity, and function– and to examine their role in human cognition. His research has contributed to the growing understanding of how multiscale network anomalies contribute to atypical brain function and cognitive difficulties in common conditions, notably in epilepsy and autism.

Read more here

Promising new treatment for ALS goes to clinical trials

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Physiotherapist assisting a patient with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Physiotherapist assisting a patient with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

After 12 years of research, Dr. Richard Robitaille is hopeful that we’ll soon have a treatment to help people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) regain mobility.

A new clinical trial is set to start soon, thanks to a $1-million grant from the American ALS Association announced just before Christmas. “I’m still in shock! For me, this grant is recognition of years of hard work,” said Robitaille, a full professor in the Department of Neurosciences in the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Medicine. “Now we will be able to run clinical trials on patients with ALS and ultimately use what we learn to help others suffering from the disease.”

Read the full story on the Université de Montréal website

Men and women process pain signals differently

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Drs. Annemarie Dedek, Eve Tsai, Mike Hildebrand and colleagues have discovered that neurons in the spinal cord process pain signals differently in women compared to men. Image courtesy of Justin Tang.
Drs. Annemarie Dedek, Eve Tsai, Mike Hildebrand and colleagues have discovered that neurons in the spinal cord process pain signals differently in women compared to men. Image courtesy of Justin Tang.

A new study published in the journal BRAIN shows for the first time that neurons in the spinal cord process pain signals differently in women compared to men. The finding could lead to better and more personalized treatments for chronic pain, which are desperately needed, especially in light of the opioid epidemic.

Although it has long been known that women and men experience pain differently, most pain research uses male rodents. The new study is unique because it used female and male spinal cord tissue from both rats and humans (generously donated by deceased individuals and their families). Continue reading →

Research lead – Huntington Society of Canada

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Research Lead
(Full-time Permanent)

Are you:

  • Passionate and excited about research?
  • Ready to support HSC as it continues to grow and become a more formidable and recognized leader in the global Huntington Disease (HD) space?
  • Organized and able to juggle competing priorities?

The Huntington Society of Canada (HSC) is a leading Canadian charity dedicated to a world free from HD. Our team is in search of a Research Lead to assist the organization in furthering its mission and strategic objectives related to research. This newly created position reports to the Chief Executive Officer.

Key Accountabilities:

  • Provide program support for all cl inical and scientific projects and corresponding relationships with patients, families, industry, academic institutions, government agencies, and research donors to further the mission of the organization
  • Manage HSC’s existing network of scientists in basic, translational and clinical science to enable them to advance new treatments for HD
  • Work with HSC’s Family Services Team to develop and maximize impact of care for individuals with Huntington Disease

Specific Requirements:

  • Passion for HSC’s mission and demonstrated commitment to the non-profit sector and patient population
  • A Master’s Degree (or equivalent)) in life sciences is required
  • An advanced degree (PhD, or PharmD) is desired
  • Solid understanding of biology and research is required
  • Knowledge of Huntington’s disease and/or other neurodegenerative disorders is preferred
  • Experience translating and communicating complex scientific and medical information in understandable
    language to educate all constituencies of the organization
  • Proficiency in English with excellent oral and written communication skills
  • Proficiency in French is an asset
  • Superb interpersonal skills and collaborative style
  • Willingness to travel, as well as able to work a flexible schedule, including evenings and weekends
  • Working knowledge of Microsoft Office 365 and products
  • Experience working with videoconference software

Resumes with cover letters can be emailed by end of day on April 22, 2022 to:
HR@huntingtonsociety.ca

Please enter “Research Lead” in the subject line of your email.

Thank you for your interest – only qualified candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.
HSC will provide reasonable accommodations for any applicant, as requested during the hiring process.

Contact information

HR@huntingtonsociety.ca

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March 21 – 25, 2022 is CAN Parliament Hill Week

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Canadian neuroadvocates are meeting with members of Parliament, Senators and Parliamentary staff this week for CAN Parliament Hill Week!

We are advocating for increased funding for basic research in Canada, provided through CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC. Our specific asks are:

Recommendation 1: That the government of Canada provide a one-time 25% increase in investment in the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for research restart and recovery from the setback of the COVID-19 pandemic to research laboratories in Canada.

Recommendation 2: The government should commit to providing robust and predictable funding for basic discovery research to sustain and grow Canada’s scientific community. Funding to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) should be increased by at least 10% yearly. This recommendation is in accordance with the 2017 Fundamental Science Review and will ensure Canada’s research ecosystem is healthy and resilient to face any future challenge.

Read more in our

Follow us on social media this week #CANHillWeek #NeuroAdvocate

CIHR Faces of Health Research 2022: Dylan Smith

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Dylan Smith

All humans require sleep daily to be physically and mentally healthy. Sleep is known to play a role in solidifying new memories and learning. However, researchers do not fully understand the processes in the brain that underlie the consolidation of newly acquired information and skills during sleep.

With the support of a CIHR Fellowship, Dr. Dylan Smith from University of Ottawa Institute for Mental Health Research is combining electroencephalography (EEG) with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to peer inside the brains of healthy volunteers and study these processes at work.

Study participants are placed inside an MRI brain scanner wherein they are instructed to solve a visual puzzle before falling asleep. Dr. Smith is analyzing the data from these brain scans with a focus on sleep spindles – fast bursts of brain activity linked to sleep and memory – in parts of the brain associated with learning, such as the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and striatum. This research is providing new insight into how our brains integrate new learning while we’re sleeping.

Learn more about the Faces of health research 2022 on the CIHR website.

Related reading:

UCalgary researchers use computer modelling to simulate impact of Alzheimer’s on the brain

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SumaLateral Whole Brain Image - NIH image gallery

New way to model neural disease could lead to better understanding

Author: Shea Coburn, Hotchkiss Brain Institute

A deep neural network is a computerized brain-inspired machine learning model, which uses many layers of simulated neurons to mimic the function of the cerebral cortex. Each layer in the network creates more complex activity, which simulates the way information is processed in the human brain. These networks can be designed to replicate structures in the brain, allowing researchers and scientists to model specific brain functions more easily.

University of Calgary researchers have taken a new approach to using these networks for modelling of the human brain. Most studies, to date, have used deep neural networks to look at healthy brain function. These investigators wanted to know if these models could be applied to better understand brain function in a diseased brain. In this case, looking at posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), an atypical form of Alzheimer’s disease affecting the visual cortex.

“Using these artificial networks to model dementia could enable an improved understanding of the disease,” says Dr. Nils Forkert, PhD, an associate professor in the Cumming School of Medicine and principal investigator. “It allows us to have one well-established reference model that can be damaged in many different ways versus having to image hundreds of patients with different neurodegeneration patterns to obtain similar information.”

In the findings published in Frontiers in Neuroinformatics, Forkert, along with Dr. Anup Tuladhar, PhD, Dr. Zahinoor Ismail, MD, and PhD student Jasmine A. Moore used a standard neural network for automatic object recognition in images, titled VGG19, to simulate a brain with dementia symptoms. The researchers progressively damaged connections between neurons in the network, to mimic neurodegeneration in the visual system of the human brain.

Read the full story on the University of Calgary website