ALZHEIMER’S and DEMENTIA RESEARCH powered by BIG DATA
28 Sept. 2017, Montreal, Canada
Brain development is an important aspect in the study of the brain’s vulnerability to damage and repair.
Alzheimer’s and dementia are complex interactions of age and gender, genetics and epigenetics, environment and lifestyle. There is no single cause. Understanding these risk factors and early interventions are key to prevention and treatments. Today, large datasets and big-data analysis are crucial to advancing research and treatment. This lecture explores Montreal’s and McGill’s leadership in Alzheimer’s and dementia research.
- The latest research in early detection and prevention.
- The data-sharing initiatives driving this research.
- The tools that make this research possible – neuroinformatics.
- Community services for those impacted by the disease.
Speakers:
- Dr Howard Chertkow, Director of the Bloomfield Centre for Research in Aging at the Jewish General Hospital and the Scientific Director of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (http://ccna-ccnv.ca), discusses the importance of data-sharing initiatives.
- Dr Alan Evans, Director of the McGill Centre for Integrative Neuroscience at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) and Scientific Director of the Ludmer Centre, speaks about the importance of big-data analytics in neuroscience and the importance of neuroinformatics tools to process these large datasets.
- Dr Yasser Iturria-Medina, a Ludmer Centre Postdoctoral Researcher, presents his groundbreaking research using big-data and neuroinformatics that has shifted the goalpost for early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease.
- Dr John Breitner, Director of the Centre for Studies on Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease at the Douglas Hospital summarizes the latest research on early diagnosis and prevention.
- April Hayward, Director of Programs and Services at the Alzheimer Society of Montreal, presents their support services.
This event was co-hosted by the Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics & Mental Health, the Alzheimer Society of Montreal, and McGill’s Healthy Brains for Health Livesinitiative, a program funded by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.
IMAGING THE DEVELOPING BRAIN: GROWTH, INJURY & REPAIR
May 30th, 2017, Montreal Canada
Brain development is an important aspect in the study of the brain’s vulnerability to damage and repair.
Using both mouse and human studies, Dr. Szulc will illustrate how MRI can provide novel insights into the way the brain develops and how these developmental trajectories can be altered by genetics, injury and treatment. She will also discuss new evidence showing some acquired brain injury can be ameliorated by pharmacological and lifestyle interventions.
Kamila Szulc, PhD
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto
When Nature Meets Nurture
May 24th, 2016, Toronto Canada
What we know about early-childhood development, mental health and epigenetics.
The emotional and physical environment in which we raise our children matters and early childhood experiences can impact the risk of developing a mental illness across our lifespan, from attention deficit disorders (ADD) to depression to Alzheimer’s.
Dr O’Donnell, a Ludmer Centre researcher, is a leading expert in early-childhood development, mental health and epigenetics. He has written numerous research publications and co-authored 5 book chapters in leading research journals. His lecture provides an overview of what we know about early-childhood development, mental health and epigenetics.
Dr Kieran O’Donnell, PhD
- Assistant Professor, Epigenetics & Epidemiology, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University
- Epigenetics Researcher, Douglas Hospital Research Centre
& Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics & Mental Health
Moderator: Anthony Robart
Anchor at Global TV evening news
Honourable Michael A. Meighen
McGill University’s Chancellor
Dr Alan Evans, PhD
Scientifc Director, Ludmer Centre
- Director of the McGill Centre for Integrative Neuroscience (MCIN) at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI)
- James McGill Professor in the departments of Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering, and Neurology & Neurosurgery at McGill University
- Director of the Montreal Consortium for Brain Imaging Research.
Brain Imaging in the Information Age
March 16th, 2016, Montreal Canada
Dr Alan Evans and a panel of experts discuss the past, present and future of brain imaging as a research tool.
Imaging technologies (MRI, PET, etc.) have revolutionized our ability to understand the brain, providing clearer structural and functional imaging.
The videotaped lecture provides an overview of brain imaging as a research tool and how brain-scanning technologies combined with sophisticated computational modelling can provide hitherto inaccessible information about what constitutes normal brain development and the impact of ageing diseases and mental illness.
Facilitator: Dr Julien Doyon, PhD
Scientific Director of the Functional Neuroimaging Unit, (IUGM) research center Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal.
Keynote Speaker: Dr Alan Evans, PhD
Scientifc Director, Ludmer Centre
- Director of the McGill Centre for Integrative Neuroscience (MCIN) at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI)
- James McGill Professor in the departments of Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering, and Neurology & Neurosurgery at McGill University
- Director of the Montreal Consortium for Brain Imaging Research.
Dr Alain Dagher, PhD
- Principal investigator of the Human Dopamine Neuroimaging Lab at The McConnell Brain Imaging Centre (“The BIC”)
- Professor in the departments of Neurology & Neurosurgery and Psychology at McGill.
Dr Dagher discusses addiction combining computational and new imaging methods.
Dr Sherif Karama, MD, PhD, FRCP(C)
- Associate professor at the Douglas Hospital Research Centre
- Affiliated faculty member of the McConnell Brain Imaging Center of the Montreal Neurological Institute
Dr Karama presents the neurobiology of human intelligence.
Dr Barry J. Bedell, MD, PhD
- Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University
- Director of the Small Animal Imaging Laboratory (SAIL) of the McConnell Brain Imaging Centre (BIC) at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI)
Dr Bedell presents the application of big data to rodent models of CNS disease.
The Brain, Poverty & Mental Health
October 7th, 2015, Montreal Canada
Dr Michael Meaney and Dr Sonia Lupien discuss the impact and programs aimed at diminishing childhood stress.
The brain, especially the circuitry governing emotion, attention, self-control and stress, is shaped by a complex interplay of genes and early-childhood experiences.
Childhood adversity, of which poverty has been identified as a significant factor, can result in deficits leading to a range of mental-health issues that can diminish social, educational and employment opportunities.
Dr Michael Meaney, C.M., PhD, C.Q., FRSC
Co-Director & Primary Investigator, Ludmer Centre
Researcher & Laboratory Director, Douglas Mental Health University Institute
James McGill Professor, Dep. of Psychiatry and Neurology & Neurosurgery, McGill University
Director, Program for the Study of Behaviour, Genes & Environment, McGill University
Dr Michael Meaney presents the neurobiology and epidemiology evidence demonstrating how early exposure to childhood adversity can become biologically embedded, effectively switching genes “on or off”.
Dr Sonia Lupien, Ph. D.
Researcher, Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal
Full professor, Department of psychiatry, University of Montreal
Director, Centre d’études sur le stress humain
Dr Sonia Lupien discusses how we secrete stress hormones when faced with (or anticipating) a situation that is either Novel, Unpredictable, Threatens-our ego, or lowers our Sense of control (NUTS). She then presents the DeStress for Success Program which educates and helps youth manage stress.