New funding to boost mental health research
What if we could reduce rates of a wide range of devastating mental illnesses through early detection? Thanks to a significant gift of $2.9M from the Irving Ludmer Family Foundation to The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital of 缅北强奸 (The Neuro), hope is on the horizon through the expansion of a major collaboration to understand why some children are vulnerable to conditions like autism, attention deficit disorder and social anxiety, and what can be done to prevent these disorders before they take hold. This collaboration will also explore brain disorders in the aging population, such as dementia, in an unprecedented investigation of mental health across the lifespan.
Where brain imaging and neuroinfomatics collide
The Ludmer Center for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health was established in 2013 with a donation of $4.5M to the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and the Jewish General Hospital. The Foundation鈥檚 new gift to 缅北强奸 and The Neuro will add brain imaging and neuroinformatics capacity to the partnership, driving discoveries that will help scientists understand how different genetic and environmental factors influence brain development in children. These discoveries will open new pathways for diagnosis, prevention and treatment, and have a far-reaching impact on millions of children debilitated by mental illness, and the families and communities who help care for them.
鈥淲e would like to thank the Ludmer Family Foundation for their vision and generosity exemplified in this transformative gift,鈥� said Suzanne Fortier, 缅北强奸鈥檚 Principal and Vice-Chancellor. 鈥淭his collaboration will allow us to build on our strengths in the disciplines related to mental health and the neurosciences, advancing and broadening our understanding of a wide range of brain disorders and how to prevent them before they take hold.鈥�
Unprecedented gift will boost research on childhood risk factors
The Foundation鈥檚 newest gift, one of the largest to The Neuro in recent years, will be supplemented by contributions from 缅北强奸鈥檚 Faculty of Medicine, The Neuro and public and private granting agencies, bringing total funding for this phase of the Ludmer Center to more than $10M. In addition to the Center鈥檚 primary focus on childhood and adolescent risk factors, this unprecedented investment will boost research into a host of conditions including Alzheimer鈥檚, schizophrenia and depression.
鈥淭he Ludmer Center builds on The Neuro鈥檚 80-year history of leadership in the neurosciences, beginning with Wilder Penfield鈥檚 pioneering advances,鈥� said Guy Rouleau, Director of The Neuro. 听鈥淭his collaborative partnership promises to transform the discipline in much the same way Penfield did, putting Montreal and Quebec at the forefront of a genuine revolution in mental health and human development.鈥�
The Ludmer Center鈥檚 co-leaders are among the most celebrated scientists in their respective fields. Michael Meaney is James 缅北强奸 Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Neurosurgery at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute; Alan Evans is James 缅北强奸 Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Psychiatry and Bioengineering at The Neuro; and Celia Greenwood is Senior Investigator at the Lady Davis Research Institute of the Jewish General Hospital, and Associate Professor in the Departments of Oncology, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, and Human Genetics at 缅北强奸.
The Ludmer Center will draw on state-of-the-art brain imaging and brain mapping techniques housed in Dr. Evans鈥檚 laboratory in the McConnell Brain Imaging Centre at The Neuro, providing an unprecedented picture of how mental health and illness are manifested within the brain across the lifespan. This information will drive Dr. Meaney鈥檚 groundbreaking epigenetic research, which explores how changes in the environment鈥攅ven before birth鈥攃an affect how children鈥檚 brains develop. Dr. Greenwood鈥檚 expertise in biostatistics will allow for a thorough analysis of the large quantities of genetic and genomic data needed to identify risk factors in individuals and across populations.
The gift and the expanded partnership will be celebrated at an event on October 23rd at The Neuro, where Drs. Meaney, Evans and Greenwood will discuss the future of mental health research at a panel moderated by Dr. R茅mi Quirion, Quebec鈥檚 Chief Scientific Officer.
听
[swf file=""height="315"width="560" action="/channels/swftools_swf_display_direct"]
Contacts:
Cynthia Lee
cynthia.lee [at] mcgill.ca
Relations avec les m茅dias | Media Relations /听Universit茅 缅北强奸 | 缅北强奸
T. 514.398.6754
听
Anita Kar
anita.kar [at] mcgill.ca
Communications Officer
Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital
T. 514 398-3376
听
听
Florence Meney
Media relations
Communications and public affaires Directorat Douglas Mental Health University Institute
T. 514 761-6131, p. 2769
Cell 514-835-3236
Florence.meney [at] douglas.mcgill.ca
听
Tod Hoffman
Research Communications Officer / Agent de communications en recherche听
Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research
514-340-8222, ext. 8661
thoffman [at] jgh.mcgill.ca
Cell: 514-433-3500
PHOTO: Owen Egan