Year: 2014
Message from Dr. Donald Stuss, President and Scientific Director of OBI
Understanding who you are, deciding how you behave, experiencing love and laughter — the brain is key to these behaviours. Perhaps the most important brain region underlying these functions is the frontal lobes, the area of the brain most closely tied to these highest functions. Continue reading “Message from Dr. Donald Stuss, President and Scientific Director of OBI”
Brain: The Inside Story
A large part of what OBI does involves story-telling, making research accessible, and creating a strong sense of community across the neuroscience landscape. OBI is focused on making Ontario a world leader in brain research, commercialization, and care. And since Ontario was already home to top-notch neuroscience researchers and facilities long before OBI was founded, its mission has been to get diverse groups working together in new ways that were never before possible. Continue reading “Brain: The Inside Story”
Updates From Our Research Programs
As a research institute dedicated to maximize Ontario’s neuroscience excellence, OBI has reached out across Ontario to connect scientists, clinicians, industry representatives and patient advocacy groups, who are focused on similar challenges. To better achieve their shared goals, five Integrated Discovery programs were established for cerebral palsy, depression, epilepsy, neurodegenerative disorders, and neurodevelopmental disorders. “Integrated Discovery” programs are research programs that bring together scientists, clinicians, industry representatives, and patient advocacy groups from across Ontario to foster integration across disciplines and pursue new questions. Continue reading “Updates From Our Research Programs”
Connecting Families With The Research Community
One of OBI’s major goals is to facilitate collaboration between patients and their advocates, researchers, clinicians, and industry to improve outcomes for those affected by neurodevelopmental disorders. One of the best ways to do this is simply to bring people together which is one of the reasons why OBI’s Integrated Discovery program, the Province of Ontario Neurodevelopmental Disorders (POND) Network, held a parent information day on May 3, 2014 to engage in dialogue with the parents and family members of children participating in POND.“I now know many of the researchers involved in POND very well. The day gave us insight into how they work together and share an interest in the POND network and POND philosophies,” explained Connie Putterman, a parent representative on the POND Patient Advisory Committee. Continue reading “Connecting Families With The Research Community”
Addressing Dementia Research And Care: Can ‘Big Data’ Help?
We live in a world of big data which can serve as a particularly useful tool for health systems to gain a better understanding of patients and their needs across large populations. With appropriate use, big data has the potential to advance health research and help healthcare providers personalize care; however, this has been largely unrealized because of the challenges associated with connecting, processing, and analyzing large data sets to produce meaningful conclusions. Continue reading “Addressing Dementia Research And Care: Can ‘Big Data’ Help?”
NeuroTech Ontario: Province-Wide Innovation
Three years ago the Ontario Brain Institute and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) partnered to accelerate the development of a neurotechnology cluster in Ontario. Since then, the program, named NeuroTech Ontario, has fostered the development of game-changing technologies including devices, diagnostics, and health applications to improve the lives of people living with brain disorders. This past spring, the $13M program wrapped up a successful initial phase of building NeuroTech Ontario with 12 innovative projects from Ontario research institutions supported by $5.1M from the Government of Canada’s FedDev Ontario and $7.9M from industry partners. Continue reading “NeuroTech Ontario: Province-Wide Innovation”