In Canada, suicide accounts for 24% of all deaths among 15-24 year olds. For First Nation’s youth, the rate of suicide is five to seven times higher than that of non-Aboriginal youth. Although the incidence of suicide for each First Nation community is different, these statistics remain unacceptably high, inevitably devastating the overall well-being of many close-knit communities. Continue reading “Promoting Wellness and Resiliency in Communities”
Year: 2017
Enhancing the Neuroscience Research System through Strategic Collaborations
Brain disorders affect one in three Ontarians and the direct cost to the province exceeds $4 billion each year. The indirect costs from work missed and the emotional costs for families are incalculable and create an urgency to address brain health by means of innovation and translational research that can improve the quality of life for people living with brain disorders. Continue reading “Enhancing the Neuroscience Research System through Strategic Collaborations”
Setting the Stage for Deep-Data Analysis and Innovation
“With great power comes great responsibility” – Ben Parker.
Ontario Brain Institute’s (OBI) researchers collect ‘deep data’ using scientific and clinical tools like behavioural tests, neuroimaging and genetics. By bringing these data together in Brain-CODE, we can develop a holistic approach to understanding brain disorders. A recent report, “Dementia Research and Care: Can Big Data Help?”, by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Ontario Brain Institute and the University of Toronto highlighted the potential of linking ‘deep data’ from basic and clinical research to ‘broad data’ from healthcare and population-level statistics to driving new discoveries and applications of research in healthcare and policy.
The question is how can we best link ‘deep’ research data and ‘broad’ health data to drive new discoveries and benefit people in their communities?
Continue reading “Setting the Stage for Deep-Data Analysis and Innovation”
Inventiveness Accelerates Drug Discovery Process- A smart shortcut to developing new drug treatments for Parkinson’s disease
It takes almost a decade and billions of dollars to develop a drug for brain disorders. Furthermore, 88% of those drugs fail clinical trials because of their lack of efficacy and safety1. The entire process is not only daunting but very costly, in terms of time and money.
But, what if there was a way to accelerate the process? Continue reading “Inventiveness Accelerates Drug Discovery Process- A smart shortcut to developing new drug treatments for Parkinson’s disease”
Your Questions Answered: Neurodevelopmental Disorder Priority Setting Partnership
We asked people living with neurodevelopmental disorders, their families, friends, carers, and healthcare professionals to list questions they had about diagnosis, therapies, care, and other interventions for neurodevelopmental disorders. After receiving about 1300 questions from 300 individuals across Ontario, we grouped them by topic, and checked against published research to see if they have already been answered.
Continue reading “Your Questions Answered: Neurodevelopmental Disorder Priority Setting Partnership”
The Ontario Brain Institute assembles province’s Brain Power at Queen’s Park
By Shaalee Sone, Outreach Intern, Ontario Brain Institute
The Ontario Brain Institute (OBI) held “Meet Ontario’s Brain Power” on September 11 at Queen’s Park. The day served to showcase OBI’s work that has positioned Ontario as a world leader in brain research, commercialization and care. Continue reading “The Ontario Brain Institute assembles province’s Brain Power at Queen’s Park”
Physical activity protects us from losing brain function
By Shaalee Sone, Outreach Intern, Ontario Brain Institute
As our population ages, Canadians are looking for ways to prevent dementia. As of 2010, there are 136 000 Ontarians living with a confirmed diagnosis of dementia. In addition to the impact on individuals and their families, the direct cost to the Ontario health care system is eight times higher for an individual living with dementia than it is for the average Ontarian. Continue reading “Physical activity protects us from losing brain function”