2016
Henry Barnett, Robarts founder, dies at 94
October 24, 2016
Famed medical researcher Dr. Henry Barnett, co-founder of the Robarts Research Institute, who served as its first scientific director, died peacefully in the company of family on October 20, 2016. He was 94.
Tributes to the famed physician have been flowing in since the news became public.
“For those of us who were trained by Barney, it is a legacy that will stay with us forever. He instilled in all of us a sense that nothing less than excellence was acceptable, that we had a responsibility to practise medicine at the highest level using all available evidence and when it was not available, to work toward creating it,” said Dr. Michael J. Strong, Dean, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.
Feds applaud BrainsCAN potential to lead the world
September 21, 2016
It is important to support and celebrate research and innovation, but at the end of the day, what matters most is the impact research can have, said Peter Fragiskatos, Member of Parliament for London North Centre.Fragiskatos joined Kate Young, Member of Parliament for London West, at Robarts Research Institute last week, where members of the London and Western communities gathered to celebrate a $66-million Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) grant – the largest research grant in the university’s history – supporting the BrainsCAN: Brain Health For Lifeinitiative.Already ranked among the best in the world in cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging, Western excels in the breadth of cognitive, computational, clinical, technological and translational approaches required for understanding and intervening in brain function.
Ottawa Unveils Research Fund Winners
September 7, 2016
Thirteen large-scale initiatives led by universities across Canada are the winners in a high-stakes federal competition aimed at helping the country’s top scientists make a mark in the global research arena.
The projects will split a total of $900-million in federal funding to build on Canada’s existing strengths, and advance knowledge in fields as diverse as data science and sustainable food production.
Spread over seven years, the money represents the second and, by far, the largest boost for university-based science to come out of the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF), a program that was launched by the former Conservative government in late 2014 and has since been carried forward under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals. An earlier round of awards, totalling $350-million, was announced in 2015, just ahead of the federal election call.
Dr. Everling and His Team Receive 2.6M CIHR Research Grant
July 28, 2016
Muscarinic cholinergic modulation of cognition in primates ($2.5 million)
Stefan Everling, PhD, and his team are investigating the changes in normal cognition in schizophrenia and testing new drug treatments that may improve these cognitive changes. These problems can be seen in a reduced attention span, difficulties to memorize things, poor judgment skills, and in difficulties to plan and prioritize everyday life. The cognitive deficits are likely the most important factor for poor outcome in schizophrenia. Although current drugs are quite successful in treating hallucinations and delusions, they largely fail in treating these cognitive deficits.
The goal is to understand how brain areas interact and how certain drugs can improve cognitive processes to identify drugs that will improve the cognitive deficits in schizophrenia.
“My goal is to understand the role of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in cognition from the level of single brain cells to the communication in the entire brain,” said Everling. “By understanding how brain areas interact and how certain drugs can improve cognitive processes, we hope to identify drugs that will improve the cognitive deficits in schizophrenia.”
Dr. Menon and His Team Receive 2.6M CIHR Foundation Grant
July 27, 2016
Ultra-high field Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Brain Structure and Function in Multiple Sclerosis ($2.6 million)
Ravi Menon, PhD, and his team at Robarts Research Institute and Western’s Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, will be working to develop and use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods to inform decisions about drug timing and dosage for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients by measuring biomarkers of the disease. The hope is to characterize MS in patients on a microscopic scale which could lead to earlier diagnosis of the disease, and therefore the ability to intervene sooner with drug treatments leading to better patient outcomes and lower treatment costs.
Continuing To Lead In Cutting-Edge Research
July 26, 2016
When the Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping (CFMM) first opened its doors at Robarts Research Institute in 1996 you could stand beside the building and see the reflection of the hospital on one side and the University on the other. At the time, it was a revolutionary move; to have a cutting-edge Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) research facility on the doorstep of patient care and academics.
“You need a facility with access to patients and doctors if you want to have clinical impact, and you need access to the academic side to answer the basic science questions,” said Ravi Menon, PhD, Professor at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry and the director and founder of the CFMM. “We are right in the middle of that, we are a bridge between the hospital and the university.”
CFMM members and users win big in 2016 CIHR Funding
July 21, 2016
Congratulations to the following 4 individuals who won Foundation Grants
Dr. Ravi Menon
Dr. Stefan Everling
Dr. Andrew Pruszynski
Dr. David Holdworth
Students Illustrating Excellence
September 6, 2016
CFMM is proud to be associated with an outstanding group of students who are proving their excellence!
Congratulations to the following students for the well deserved awards.
CFMM is proud to be associated with an outstanding group of students who are proving their excellence! Congratulations to the following students for the well deserved awards.
A Look At Life Outside The Lab For One Student
June 10, 2016
When Jean-Guy Belliveau, PhD Candidate, is on the ice, time stops.
“When I referee hockey the world doesn’t exist anymore,” said Belliveau. “I drop the puck and the next thing I remember is the game ending, my instincts take over.”
The hockey rink is where this young researcher escapes to when he needs time off from studying the effects of radiation therapy.
Working under the supervision of Ravi Menon, PhD, and Dr. Glenn Bauman, Belliveau is using cutting-edge technology to examine what happens to normal brain tissue when it comes into contact with radiation.
CFMM Turns 20!
June 10, 2016
When the Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping (CFMM) first opened its doors at Robarts Research Institute in 1996 you could stand beside the building and see the reflection of the hospital on one side and the University on the other. At the time, it was a revolutionary move; to have a cutting-edge Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) research facility on the doorstep of patient care and academics.
“You need a facility with access to patients and doctors if you want to have clinical impact, and you need access to the academic side to answer the basic science questions,” said Ravi Menon, PhD, Professor at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry and the director and founder of the CFMM. “We are right in the middle of that, we are a bridge between the hospital and the university.”
Eric Lindros visiting @WesternCFMM advocating concussion research
May 9, 2016
For additional coverage of Eric’s visit, please follow the link http://www.robarts.ca/supporting-cutting-edge-concussion-research and http://www.giving.westernu.ca/where-to-give/schulich/concussionproject/ for more information on the concussion project.
Eric Lindros is the See The Line Honorary Chair http://seetheline.ca
CFMM Receives Major Donation for 7T MS Research from the Horne Family Charitable Foundation
May 6, 2016
The CFMM is thrilled to acknowledge a $250,000.00 donation from the Horne Family Charitable Foundation – Bridget (Horne) Colman, B.A. ’90 in support of our work in Multiple Sclerosis. This will be combined with CIHR funding to support our research into the earliest possible diagnosis of MS using advanced 7T MRI.
We sincerely thank them for their generous support!
Imaging – Did you know?…….
April 18, 2016
At Robarts Research Institute, advancements in imaging are enabling scientists to see inside the human body with incredible precision and detail.
Robarts houses Canada’s most robust and sophisticated imaging facilities, including cutting-edge MRI suites, CT scanners, ultrasound machines, and cellular and molecular imaging technologies. With access to these facilities, our scientists are focused on improving the understanding, early diagnosis and treatment of human disease through the development of innovative techniques and instrumentation.
Two Robarts Researchers named Faculty Scholars
April 18, 2016
Congratulations to Robarts scientists Stefan Everling, PhD, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, and Grace Parraga, PhD, Department of Medical Biophysics, on being selected as two of Western University’s 2016 Faculty Scholars.
This honour recognizes the significant achievements that Everling and Parraga have made in teaching or research. Both researchers will hold the title of Faculty Scholar for two years and will receive a $7,000 stipend each year for their scholarly activities.
Western welcomes new neuroscientist who unlocks minds with machines
March 29, 2016
If you watch science fiction movies from 1970s, you would think by the year 2016 there would be a robot in every home performing tasks like cooking, cleaning and cutting the lawn. But there isn’t.
Jörn Diedrichsen, who has come to Western University from University College London, says the simple reason robots aren’t prevalent in society yet is that understanding motor control (how humans and animals use the brain to move and act) is a difficult problem to solve. In his new role as Western Research Chair in Motor Control and Computational Neuroscience, however, his goal is to find the answers.
Internationally renowned neuroscientists join Western to further advance innovative technologies
March 29, 2016
An internationally renowned wife-and-husband team of cognitive neuroscientists have joined Western University after collaborating on game-changing research for the past 15 years at the University of Cambridge.
Tim Bussey and Lisa Saksida specialize in understanding cognition – learning, memory, perception and attention – and developing and discovering new techniques for translating data acquired in pre-clinical trials to the clinic where the findings can be used to better investigate what happens in the human brain when patients are suffering from neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Congratulations to Director Ravi Menon who was named CHR Researcher of the Month for March 2016
March 3, 2016
“The magnet”, as Dr. Ravi Menon fondly calls the magnetic resonance imager (MRI), is like a car. Models range from a 1.5 Tesla (1.5T) subcompact to the powerful 7T Ferrari. Most MRIs in clinical practice in Canada are 1.5T, mid-size, family cars.
Menon drives a Ferrari. His laboratory at the Robarts Research Institute (RRI), University of Western Ontario, has the only ultra-high field (7T) human MRI in Canada.
What’s the difference? Older 1.5T machines have the resolution of 1950s televisions, compared to today’s ultra-HDTVs. So, when Menon and his team of neuroscience researchers take a close look at the brain, they see more detail than ever before.
CFMM Plays a Key Part in ONDRI Study – January 21, 2016
January 27, 2016
Part of the Ontario Neurodegenerative Disease Research Initiative (ONDRI) Integrated Discovery Program, leading ophthalmology researcher Chris Hudson joined a team of Western researchers at Robarts Research Institute Wednesday to see first-hand some of the unique imaging work happening in London.
While not his main area of expertise, Chris Hudson has a vested interest in the neurodegenerative disorder research being explored at Robarts Research Institute.v
CFMM works with the Robarts Concussion Group to find treatment
January 15, 2016
A $500,000 donation from the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) in August served as the foundation of a $3.125-million fund to enable a team of Western researchers develop new ways to treat concussions and arrest the short- and long-term consequences of the injury. With researchers across campus, and around the city, the Western Concussion Study Group includes Greg Dekaban, Director of Molecular Medicine at Robarts Research Institute; Jeff Holmes, Health Sciences professor; Doug Fraser, Children’s Health Research Institute; Lisa Fischer, Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic; Tim Doherty, Chair, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; Robert Bartha, Medical Biophysics professor; and Arthur Brown, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry professor and Robarts investigator.
