The Brain Brief - Vol. 8. No. 1 June 2012

Table of Contents

• Message from the Scientific Director
• Institute & Initiative Activities
• Funding Opportunities
• Research News
• Upcoming INMHA events
• What's New at CIHR?
• Contact CIHR-INMHA

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Message from the Scientific Director

It gives me great pleasure to share with you INMHA's new 5 year Strategic Plan: Changing the Paradigm of Brain Health Research. This is a culmination of a year-long process involving the Institute Advisory Board members, INMHA staff, along with an excellent team of consultants, as well as key stakeholders who provided relevant feedback. I would like to especially thank Dr. Elizabeth Theriault, Assistant Scientific Director of INMHA for shepherding the Institute through this important process. INMHA is the first of the CIHR Institutes to release its strategic plan since the finalization of the CIHR Signature Initiatives. As such, INMHA will optimize the impact of its Strategic Plan by aligning research in brain health and illness with the CIHR Roadmap and the eight Signature Initiatives. A significant portion of INMHA's budget will be allocated to these initiatives over the next five years as this represents a unique opportunity to leverage funds through effective partnerships. INMHA will also be responsive, flexible and focused by maintaining an entrepreneurial approach as it explores new paths to accelerate the discovery and translation of research focused on brain-related ill health. Last, but not least, INMHA will seek partnerships in knowledge translation through new and creative ways to realize its commitment to knowledge translation. Please take the time to read our Strategic Plan and see the many ways INMHA is supporting and promoting its research community.

I would also like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to the first Mental Health Strategy for Canada: Changing Directions, Changing Lives, released in May 2012 by the Mental Health Commission of Canada. INMHA has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with MHCC to work collaboratively on enhancing the impact of research findings by linking research, partners and policy.

Institute & Initiative Activities

INMHA once again sponsored the Opening Reception of the 2012 Canadian Association for Neuroscience meeting , May 20-23, 2012 in Vancouver and provided an information booth. The inevitable rain didn't put a damper on the activities at INMHA booth, as interested researchers at different career stages came by in substantial numbers to learn more about the CIHR, in particular the new 5 year Strategic Plan described in detail by Dr. Anthony Philips in his opening address to the meeting on Sunday. Particularly popular and timely were the colourful umbrellas, made in the same image as the Strategic Plan 2012-2017, proudly showcased here. INMHA staff were available to explain the Institute's mandate and describe current and expected funding opportunities, as well as provide an assortment of informative hand-outs.

On the Monday, May 21st CIHR's Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction hosted a training session: Alternatives to a career in the lab: a trainee/mentor session focused on presenting non-traditional career choices in science. A large number of trainees (and a few established researchers) came at lunch time to hear presentations from former researchers who chose non-research based careers. Drs. Chrystal Palaty, President, Metaphase Health Research Consulting; Michelle Tang, Key Accounts Manager, Octapharma Canada Inc; Nathalie Gendron and Elizabeth Theriault, both Assistant Directors with INMHA, talked about their career paths and the choices that led them to leave bench research. Overall the session was a success with more than 80 attendees and will be repeated at the next CAN meeting with an updated format.

2011 Barbara Turnbull Award for Spinal Cord Research

This prize is presented annually to the spinal cord researcher who scores the highest ranking in the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Operating Grants competition, for research in the field of spinal cord injuries

The 2011 Award was presented to Dr. Simon Gosgnach from the University of Alberta, whose research analyzes the structure and function of neural networks to learn how the nervous system produces essential behaviors such as breathing, swallowing, chewing, and walking. His laboratory focuses on signaling neurons in the spine to determine how the neural networks involved in movement are activated. These studies will help us to understand how these circuits may help to devise therapies aimed at enhancing functional recovery of movement after spinal cord injury.

"I'm delighted and honoured to accept this prestigious award," said Dr. Gosgnach, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology at the University of Alberta. "As a society, it's imperative to invest in research if we hope to improve our understanding of mobility to develop new treatments for spinal cord injury."

"It means a great deal to me to support basic research, which is still necessary before scientists find that magic combination which will impact chronic spinal injuries," said Barbara Turnbull, Chair and President of the Barbara Turnbull Foundation. "I have deep respect for the dedication researchers like Dr. Gosgnach exhibit year after year."

The announcement took place during the Charles H. Tator – Barbara Turnbull Lectureship Series in Spinal Cord Injury in Toronto, marking the 10th anniversary of the Barbara Turnbull Award. The award is administered through a successful partnership among the Barbara Turnbull Foundation, the NeuroScience Canada Foundation, and the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction. Barbara Turnbull is a well known Toronto journalist and research activist who was shot and paralyzed from the neck down during a convenience store robbery when she was 18.

The Barbara Turnbull Award for Spinal Cord Research was established in 2001 to raise awareness of the more than four million Canadians who are afflicted with neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. This award is for $50,000 per year for five years.

Spinal Cord Injury - Interview with Dr. Charles H. Tator and Barbara Turnbull
Transcripts of the videos

2011 Brain Star Award Winners

Three Brain Star Award Winners Bahareh Ajami, Simon Girard, Vivek Swarup attended the Canadian Association for Neurosciences (CAN 2012) which took place on May 20-23 in Vancouver, BC and presented their research

INMHA once again sponsored the 2011 Brain Star Awards which provided $1,500 each to 15 recipients of the Brain Star award. Plus, INMHA sponsored the top three applicants their attendance to CAN 2012. Moreover, the top applicant was honoured with the 'Marlene Reimer Brain Star of the Year Award' with this year's recipient being Bahareh Ajami for her paper published in Nature Neuroscience

Congratulations to all the 15 recipients and stay tuned to our next newsletter to hear more, including an interview with the three top winners

Information on the Brain Star Award program

Café Scientifique Not just genes: Epigenetics, and how early experiences may affect your health later in life

CIHR-INMHA, in collaboration with the Canadian Epigenetics, Environment and Health Research Consortium (CEEHRC) hosted a Café Scientifique Not just genes: Epigenetics, and how early experiences may affect your health later in life on March 27th in Vancouver BC.

What causes the complex illnesses associated with aging, like cancer and heart disease? Each day we discover new genes associated with these diseases. But as we learn more about the genetic code, it becomes clearer that what's written in our DNA is only part of the story. There are other factors, such as socioeconomic status, that seem to play an important role in health.

Now a new area of research, known as epigenetics, is building upon our knowledge of the human genome. Epigeneticists study the ways that our environment can have a long-term impact on the activity of our genes. And recent advances in technology are giving researchers remarkable new tools to study how nature interacts with nurture. Want to learn more? Join us for a discussion with some of the leading Canadian epigenetic researchers.

Café Scientifique Damage Control: How can we detect and treat concussions?

CIHR-INMHA hosted a Café Scientifique Damage Control: How can we detect and treat concussions? on Wednesday, March 28, 2012, Toronto ON

Concussions (or mild traumatic brain injuries) are a growing concern, particularly among young athletes and members of the military. A concussion can be difficult to detect, and people who experience this type of injury often have lingering symptoms. And repeated concussions appear to have a cumulative effect on the brain. What can we do to contain the damage? Canada's leading neuroscientists are working to answer important questions about this growing public health problem. What is a concussion? Why is it so hard to diagnose and treat? What signs and symptoms should doctors and patients watch out for? And can brain imaging technologies be improved in order to diagnose and manage concussions effectively?

The next Café Scientifique - Damage Control: How can we detect and treat concussions? is being held on June 25th in Calgary. Come to this Café Scientifique and find out what's being done in research related to concussions.

Funding Opportunities

For information on current funding opportunities, please visit INMHA's Funding Opportunities.

Brain Star Award – CIHR-Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (CIHR-INMHA), through the Institute Community Support Grants and Awards (2012-2013)
Application Deadline: January 18, 2013

INMHA has once again launched it's Brain Star Award. This award, existing since March of 2001 recognizes students and trainees published articles that demonstrate the excellence of research done in Canada in all fields and disciplines covered by our Institute. The award is based on the level of the student and the specific contribution, quality and significance of the Journal, demonstrated impact of the research knowledge and translation strategies.

This award, available each year, funds a maximum of fifteen awards of $1,500 each. For more information please consult the CIHR website.

Chair: Autism Spectrum Disorders Treatment and Care Research
Application Deadline: June 14, 2012

The CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction in partnership with Autism Speaks Canada, the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorders Alliance, Health Canada, NeuroDevNet and the Sinneave Family Foundation are pleased to offer a funding opportunity for a Chair in Autism Spectrum Disorders Treatment and Care Research to support an investigator (with less than seven years of independent research experience) bringing new innovative approaches, including translational research, to the treatment and/or care of autism spectrum disorders. Investigators working in Canada and investigators from outside Canada willing to relocate to a Canadian research institution are eligible. Investigators not currently conducting research in the field of autism spectrum disorders must demonstrate how they would bring new approaches to the treatment and/or care of patients with autism spectrum disorders.

The total amount available for this funding opportunity is $1,000,000, to fund one five-year award broken down as: $500,000 contribution to the Chair's salary (maximum of $100,000 per year including fringe benefits) and $500,000 for research, training, mentoring, travel and knowledge translation costs (maximum of $100,000 per year).

For more information about the Chair: Autism Spectrum Disorders: Treatment and Care Research please consult the CIHR website.

Dissemination Events - Spring 2012 Priority Announcement (Specific Research Areas)
Application Deadline: June 15, 2012

The CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction will provide funding for applications that are determined to be relevant to its mandate. More information on the research priorities of CIHR-INMHA can be found on its website.

The maximum amount awarded for a single grant is $25,000 per annum for up to one year. For more information please consult the CIHR website.

Other – Funding Opportunities related to INMHA's mandate

Vision colleagues: Here are two announcements of interest:

Form and Function in Ocular Disease, 2012 – I would like to draw your attention to the biennial Form and Function in Ocular Disease" meeting which will take place in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on October 12-13, 2012. It is a multidisciplinary clinical and basic science meeting. We have assembled guest faculty who are renowned in topics ranging from deciphering visual illusions to the cost of global blindness. There is no charge for registration. New this year, we will offer 4 travel awards to trainees to present their research at the meeting. The awards are open to graduate students, residents and post-doctoral (clinical or non-clinical) research fellows based in Canadian academic institutions. You can register online or by fax. Since we are using several mailing lists and listserves, please accept our apologies if you have received this notice more than once.

$25,000 CNIB Chanchlani prize
Deadline for Nominations: July 15th, 2012
Information and instructions

Research News

A Guide to the Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease

This 50-page patient-friendly booklet, available in English and French, is a user-friendly, educational booklet, designed to help people with Parkinson's recognize non-motor symptoms such as cognitive impairment, sleep problems and compulsive behaviours and learn about treatments and strategies to manage them. The author, Dr. Ronald Postuma, is a researcher in neurosciences at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Montreal. Dr. Postuma was funded by an Operating Grant - Psychosocial Research Parkinson's Disease, in partnership with Parkinson Society Canada and CIHR-INMHA.

Supporting Brain Injury Research

Brain injury is a complex public health concern. Thousands of Canadians sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year and some experience symptoms or require special care for the rest of their lives. In light of the upcoming Brain Injury Summit in Toronto (April 17-18), we wanted to share some resources.

To find out more about the latest TBI research, you can speak to researchers featured in our expert alert, read a profile of Dr. Donald Stuss, and watch a video featuring CIHR-funded TBI researchers.

Watch the video – Damage Control: Diagnosing and treating Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Read the transcript

Harper Government invests in autism treatment and care

The purpose of the Chair is to support a new investigator bringing innovative approaches to the treatment and/or care of autism spectrum disorders. The CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction in partnership with Autism Speaks Canada, the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorders Alliance, Health Canada, NeuroDevNet and the Sinneave Family Foundation are offering this funding research opportunity.

News release
Application form for the Chair : Autism Spectrum Disorders Treatment and Care Research

Upcoming INMHA events

Please keep an eye on INMHA's website to learn about upcoming events and related activities.

Café Scientifique - Damage Control: How can we detect and treat concussions
June 25th in Calgary

What's New at CIHR?

Please visit CIHR's website to learn about CIHR funded health research:

Show me the evidence

Communicating the Value of Health Research - A Guide to Public Communications for CIHR-funded Researchers

Subscribe Now!

Contact CIHR-INMHA

Anthony Phillips, Ph.D., FRSC, FCAHS
Scientific Director
anthony.phillips@ubc.ca

Elizabeth Theriault, Ph.D.
Assistant Scientific Director
elizabeth.theriault@ubc.ca

Diane Parsons
Executive Manager
diane.parsons@ubc.ca

Kale Gossen
Administrative Assistant
kale.gossen@ubc.ca

Nathalie Gendron, Ph.D.
Assistant Director, Ottawa
nathalie.gendron@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Tammy Whynot
Project Officer, Ottawa
tammy.whynot@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Vancouver Mailing Address:

CIHR-INMHA
UBC Strangway Building
430 - 5950 University Blvd.
Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z3

Ottawa Mailing Address:

CIHR Corporate Headquarters
Room 97, 160 Elgin Street
Address Locator 4809A
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0W9