Regarded as the international benchmark of excellence in research funding, peer review engages a panel of independent researchers in evaluating and ranking all proposed research projects based on their potential to advance ALS research.
Proposals must achieve a certain ranking to be considered fundable. Of these, we fund as many projects as possible based on the research dollars that are available in a given year.
Applicants who are not successful in securing funding are provided with feedback so they have the opportunity to strengthen their proposals and reapply for funding in the future.
In this research funding process, donor dollars drive progress as researchers submit proposals, undergo expert review, and receive allocations guided by ALS Canada’s Board of Directors.
Each year, a portion of donor dollars are earmarked for investment in ALS research.
The awarding of grants begins with an invitation to the Canadian ALS research community to submit their research proposals. ALS Canada reviews all applications to ensure they are eligible and complete before they are moved on to the next phase.
ALS Canada recruits panels of experts in ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases to review the proposals. The panel meets to discuss the merits of each submission in detail after which all panel members assign a score to the proposal.
ALS Canada Board representatives and senior staff observe the process, along with at least one person who is living with ALS, but they do not
participate in the discussion or scoring.
The average scores are ranked and the top proposals are considered for funding. The panel then determines the list of projects they recommend for funding to the ALS Canada Board of Directors.
The ALS Canada Board of Directors reviews the panel’s funding recommendations to reach a funding decision. The goal is to fund as many project as possible based on the research dollars that are available in a given year.
In 2014, faced with unprecedented funds to invest in ALS research following the Ice Bucket Challenge, ALS Canada evolved our peer review process to include panels of international ALS experts for the first time. This breadth of involvement from the scientific community was identified to ensure that the research investments made would have impact on the global effort towards better understanding and treating ALS.
Thank you to the 65 researchers who have generously supported the ALS Canada Research Program by participating on at least one peer review panel between 2014 and 2017.
Federica Agosta
Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele
Turgay Akay
Dalhousie University
Jinsy Andrews
Columbia University
Julie Atkin
Macquarie University
Gary Armstrong
McGill University
Nazem Atassi
Massachusetts General Hospital
Yuna Ayala
Saint Louis University
Robert Baloh
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Sami Barmada
University of Michigan
Grayson Beecher
University of Alberta
Veronique Belzil
Mayo Clinic Jacksonville
Ian Blair
Macquarie University
Sanjay Bidichandani
University of Oklahoma
Séverine Boilée
INSERM, France
Robert Bowser
Barrow Neurological Institute
Ari Breiner
University of Ottawa
Hannah Briemberg
University of British Columbia
Ross Buchan
University of Arizona
Emanuele Buratti
ICGEB Trieste
Neil Cashman
University of British Columbia
Avi Chakrabartty
University of Toronto
Marvin Chum
McMaster University
Don Cleveland
UC San Diego
Phillipe Corcia
University of Tours
Stefania Corti
University of Milan
Alyssa Coyne
Johns Hopkins University
Merit Cudkowicz
Massachusetts General Hospital
Vanina Dal Bello-Haas
McMaster University
Jacqueline de Belleroche
Imperial College London
Sandrine Da Cruz
KU Leuven
Patrick Dion
McGill University
Christopher Donnelly
University of Pittsburgh
Renée Douville
University of Manitoba
Cristian Droppelmann
Western University
Martin Duennwald
Western University
Nicolas Dupre
Université Laval
Heather Durham
McGill University
Andrew Eisen
University of British Columbia
Sali Farhan
McGill University
Steve Finkbeiner
University of California
Christina Fournier
Emory University
Mary Kay Floeter
National Institutes of Health
Tania Gendron
Mayo Clinic Jacksonville
Angela Genge
McGill University
Benoit Gentil
McGill University
Amer Ghavanini
Trillium Health Partners
Derrick Gibbings
University of Ottawa
Aaron Gitler
Stanford University
Jonathan Glass
Emory University
Amanda Gleixner
University of Pittsburgh
Linda Greensmith
University College London
François Gros-Louis
Université Laval
Orla Hardiman
Trinity College Dublin
Lindsey Hayes
Johns Hopkins University
Lawrence Hayward
University of Massachusetts
Terry Heiman-Patterson
Temple University
Erika Holzbaur
University of Pennsylvania
Annemarie Hübers
University Hospital Geneva
Jack Humphrey
Mount Sinai
Alfredo Iacoangeli
King’s College London
Justin Ichida
University of Southern California
Hristelina Ilieva
Thomas Jefferson University
Carlayne Jackson
University of Texas
Jie Jiang
Emory University
Wendy Johnston
University of Alberta
Kelvin Jones
University of Alberta
Edor Kabashi
ICM Brain & Spine Institute
Sanjay Kalra
University of Alberta
Janine Kirby
The University of Sheffield
Jasna Kriz
Université Laval
Rashmi Kothary
University of Ottawa
Charles Krieger
Simon Fraser University
Clotilde Lagier-Tourenne
Harvard University
John Landers
University of Massachusetts
Melanie Leitner
ALS Investment Fund
Chris Link
University of Colorado Boulder
Catherine Lomen-Hoerth
University of California
Collin Luk
University of Alberta
Cathleen Lutz
The Jackson Laboratory
Honglin Luo
University of British Columbia
Dale Martin
University of Waterloo
Geneviève Matte
Université de Montréal
Christopher McDermott
The University of Sheffield
Lara McManus
Trinity College Dublin
Elizabeth Meiering
University of Waterloo
Matthew Miller
McMaster University
Tim Miller
Washington University
Manuela Neumann
University of Tuebingen
Johnny Ngsee
University of Ottawa
Colleen O’Connell
Dalhousie University
Marlene Oeffinger
IRCM
Hande Ozdinler
Northwestern University
Udai Pandey
University of Pittsburgh
Jeehye Park
University of Toronto
Alex Parker
Université de Montréal
Piera Pasinelli
Thomas Jefferson University
Rickie Patani
The Francis Crick Institute
Kessen Patten
INRS Armand Frappier
Owen Peters
Cardiff University
Gerald Pfeffer
University of Calgary
Vincent Picher-Martel
Université Laval
Magdalini Polymenidou
University of Zurich
Silvia Pozzi
Université Laval
Mercedes Prudencio
Mayo Clinic Jacksonville
Rosa Rademakers
Mayo Clinic Jacksonville
Joel Ramirez
University of Toronto
John Ravits
University of California
Richard Robitaille
Université de Montréal
Victor Rafuse
Dalhousie University
Janice Robertson
University of Toronto
Jeffrey Rosenfeld
Loma Linda University
Wilfried Rossoll
Mayo Clinic Jacksonville
Maxime Rousseaux
University of Ottawa
Rita Sattler
Barrow Neurological Institute
Kerri Schellenberg
University of Saskatchewan
Chantelle Sephton
Université Laval
Shan Sockanathan
Johns Hopkins University
David Stellwagen
McGill University
Kevin Talbot
University of Oxford
Alexander Tenenbaum
Sapienza University
Lisa Topolnik
Université Laval
Davide Trotti
Thomas Jefferson University
John Turnbull
McMaster University
Martin Turner
University of Oxford
Leonard van den Berg
UMC Utrecht
Michael van Es
UMC Utrecht
Ludo Van Den Bosch
KU Leuven
Christine Vande Velde
Université de Montréal
Jiou Wang
Johns Hopkins University
Yu Tian Wang
University of British Columbia
Ji-Young Youn
University of Toronto
Yeni Yucel
University of Toronto
Yana Yunusova
University of Toronto
Lorne Zinman
University of Toronto
From time to time, we become aware of research opportunities that are beyond the scope of what is fundable through our peer-review process. In these cases, we engage our Scientific and Medical Advisory Council in assessing these opportunities and recommending to the Board those that are deemed to be a good use of donor dollars. Because of their excellent knowledge of the field of ALS research in Canada, the Scientific and Medical Advisory Council also helps to shape our approach to funding research through the peer-review process.
Investing in this work, with the generous support of our donors, is critical for us to keep moving the needle closer to more effective ways of helping ALS people live longer and better lives.
We use cookies and other technologies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience and provide you with valuable content. By continuing on this website, you consent to the use of these cookies. For more information and to opt-out of cookies, visit the cookie section of our privacy policy.