TORONTO , Sept. 12, 2022 /CNW/ – Today, Brain Canada and Heart & Stroke announce that Canadian researchers Drs. Peter Liu and Dr. Douglas Lee are each recipients of the Heart-Brain Connection IMPACT Award — a competition totaling $6 million. These researchers will lead two interdisciplinary teams that will bring together nearly 100 members from institutions across the country.
From left: Trudy Hall, Dr. Douglas Lee, Dr. Gustavo Saposnik, Peter Chaban. Dr. Lee and Dr. Saposnik are the principal investigators of UNEARTH CVD: Using new approaches to early recognition of transient ischemic attack, heart failure and connections to vascular dementia. (Heart & Stroke/Brain Canada) (CNW Group/Heart and Stroke Foundation)
“We are excited by the caliber of the two teams and the thoughtful, innovative research programs they have designed,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada. “By bringing together leading and diverse experts from across the country, including people with lived experience and Indigenous peoples, they will lead to discoveries that go beyond what would be possible for a single researcher or a single institution.”
The four-year projects will study pressing issues linking heart and brain health with the goal of making changes in patient care and improving outcomes for people in Canada. Currently, a person dies in Canada every five minutes from heart disease, stroke or vascular cognitive impairment, surpassing other diseases. In fact, 20% more people die from diseases related to the heart and brain than from all cancers. The impact of these heart-brain connections on people’s lives and the health care system is profound, especially since our health system is designed according to a “single disease” model – with different conditions treated by different specialists. These projects challenge this system through broad collaboration.
The teams will start work on their projects in 2022 and there are plans to bring the two teams together to share updates on their work as early as 2023. “Implementing research by sharing knowledge and results are critical elements of this of the award,” says Doug Roth, CEO of Heart & Stroke. “We are confident that these groups, these projects and this approach to research will accelerate a much-needed change around the way we explore heart disease and brain disorders.”
Heart-Brain Connection IMPACT Award Recipients:
BHRIITE (Brain-Heart Research Integrative Innovation Team Endeavor), led by Dr. Liu, University of Ottawa Heart Institute
“Our program came from talking to patients who were falling through the gaps created when heart and brain diseases are treated and researched separately,” explains Dr. Liu, principal investigator of BHRIITE. “Our goal is to change the fundamental disconnect between brain and heart disease and develop new tools to predict who is at risk and how severe it is with new diagnostic blood tests and new ways to take pictures of the heart and brain. Together with patient partners, we will also test new treatments that can be used to protect both the heart and the brain.”
This diverse team will integrate lived patient experience with expertise in molecular manipulations, deep cognitive and cardiac testing, pharmacology, systems biology, clinical trials, epidemiology, biostatistical modeling, machine learning and artificial intelligence. It will also include elements such as an Indigenous-led curriculum to build a network of Indigenous health mentors and trainees to support Indigenous capacity to engage in research.
DISCOVER CVD (Using new approaches to early recognition of transient ischemic attack, heart failure and connections with vascular dementia)led by Dr. Lee, Ted Rogers Center for Heart Research at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, UHN, Toronto and Drs. Gustavo Saposnik, St. Michael’s Hospital, a Unity Health Toronto location
“By bringing together a group of leading Canadian experts in stroke neurology, cardiovascular disease, aging, general internal medicine, family medicine, sex and gender, health services research, basic science, biomedical engineering, biostatistics, bioethics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, will find better ways to diagnose potential strokes early and prevent devastating effects such as paralysis” says Dr. Lee, Principal Investigator of UNEARTH CVD.
The team will also develop new methods to diagnose early declines in brain function so patients can receive preventive strategies and study the intersection between heart failure and dementia that could fundamentally change the way doctors treat these situations in the future. The project will also involve collaboration with Indigenous researchers and the inclusion of Indigenous people with lived experience.
Funding for the Heart-Brain Connection IMPACT Award was made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative agreement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada) and the Brain Canada Foundation and Heart & Stroke.
To date, Health Canada has invested over $130 million through the CBRF, which has been matched by Brain Canada and its donors and partners.
About Brain Canada
Brain Canada is a national not-for-profit organization that enables and supports excellent, innovative, paradigm-changing brain research in Canada. It plays a unique and invaluable role as the national body for the brain research community. We engage with people, labs and platforms across the country, as well as with institutions, organizations and sectors – to drive innovation and advance an interconnected system of brain research. Our work enables Canada to excel and make even greater contributions to the global quest to understand brain and brain disorders. Join us in funding brilliance every day, braincanada.ca.
About Heart & Stroke
ZOE. We don’t want you to miss it. That’s why Heart & Stroke has been leading the fight to beat heart disease and stroke for 70 years. We need to create the next medical breakthroughs so Canadians don’t miss out on precious moments. Together, we work to prevent disease, save lives and promote recovery through research, health promotion and public policy. Heartandstroke.ca @HeartandStroke
SOURCE Heart and Stroke Foundation
For more information: Melissa Arauz, Brain Canada, [email protected]514-377-6461; Kate Comeau, Heart & Stroke, [email protected]902-412-6523
