Meet the junior researchers behind the 2022 ALS Canada – Brain Canada Trainee Awards
Dr. Hussein Ghazale is the recipient of a $165,000 ALS Canada – Brain Canada 2022 Trainee Award.
After finishing his PhD in France, Dr. Ghazale moved to Canada to work with Dr. Carol Schuurmans at Sunnybrook Research Institute. Her team examines if neuronal reprogramming could serve as a potential treatment strategy for neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS.
ALS causes damage to neurons, affecting the body’s everyday ability to function. Dr. Ghazale’s work focuses on attempting to reprogram glial cells – a common and abundant type of brain cell – into new neurons. The team hopes these fresh cells could effectively integrate with existing cells in brains of people with ALS, improving their capacity and quality of life.
At the moment, Dr. Ghazale is testing the strategy in animal models. But with this influx of funding, he notes he can speed up his project timeline and do higher-tech experiments. The award will also help him refine his strategy to potentially translate this work to clinical applications.
“I know that this work could one day end up supporting people living with ALS and their families and help … ease what they’re going through,” he says. “This is what motivates me every day to keep working hard to improve therapeutic strategies.”
“We must continue to push the boundaries of ALS research,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada. “It’s through these uncharted territories that we will uncover the solutions and enable ourselves to envision a future where ALS no longer exists.”
Funding for the 2022 Postdoctoral Fellowship was made possible by Fondation Vincent Bourque, who generously contributed $82,500 to ALS Canada, which was matched by Brain Canada through the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF).
The CBRF is an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada) and Brain Canada Foundation, which increases Canadians’ support for brain research and expands the philanthropic space for funding brain research to achieve maximum impact. To date, Health Canada has invested more than $145 million in brain research through the CBRF which has been matched by Brain Canada Foundation and its donors and partners.
For a full project description, visit our “Projects Funded 2022” webpage.
The ALS Canada-Brain Canada Trainee Program has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada), Brain Canada Foundation and ALS Canada.
Interested in supporting projects like these?
Donate now and make a difference today.
Meet the students who received the 2022 ALS Canada – Brain Canada Doctoral Awards
PhD student Lucia Meng Qi Jadon (previously Liao) is the recipient of a $75,000 ALS Canada – Brain Canada 2022 Trainee Award. She will use the funding to investigate whether a newly discovered tag on TDP-43 might have an important role to play in ALS.
For her first six months of doctoral work in Dr. Dale Martin’s lab at the University of Waterloo, Lucia struggled. “I was trying to show something that hadn’t been shown before, so it was difficult,” she said.
But then – success. She detected a faint signal that confirmed she was on the right path. Thanks to her persistence, her work is opening up a new pathway for research.
In a way, the award was like that first signal, confirming her work as a researcher. “I put in all this work, and this award helps me know I’m good enough to be here,” she said. “It’s a huge encouragement that I am cut out for this.”
Lucia’s desire to understand the intricate, complex processes of human cells drives her passion for research.
“When you discover one process, it immediately opens up new possibilities. It’s like a puzzle you keep finding more pieces to,” she says.
Lucia’s project looks at one piece of the complicated ALS puzzle. Early in her PhD work, she confirmed that TDP-43 undergoes a modification called palmitoylation. This process may play a role in TDP-43 mislocation, one of the most common hallmarks of ALS.
She will use this funding to better define the properties of palmitoylation of TDP-43 and understand how it might be abnormal in ALS.
“I’m peeling back the layers, little by little,” she says.
“Ms. Jadon’s work will serve as a beacon, drawing the attention of like-minded scientists eager to explore new frontiers in ALS research,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada.
Lucia says looks forward to sharing her findings to spark new collaborations within the ALS research community. “I want to establish the basics of this information I discovered and get this out there,” she said. “Then other researchers will know this is something they may want to look into.”
For a full project description, visit our “Projects Funded 2022” webpage.
The ALS Canada-Brain Canada Trainee Program has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada), Brain Canada Foundation and ALS Canada.
Interested in supporting projects like these?
Donate now and make a difference today.
Meet the students behind the 2022 ALS Canada – Brain Canada Trainee Awards
Charlotte Manser is the recipient of a $75,000 ALS Canada – Brain Canada 2022 Trainee Award. As a PhD student at the University of Ottawa, she investigates how ALS-linked genes might contribute to the loss of normal stress granule formation.
When our cells are stressed, they create “stress granules” to protect RNA, which are critical substances to cellular health. Charlotte explores how the abnormal accumulation of stress granules might contribute to the mislocation of the protein TDP-43, a common hallmark of ALS.
She has tested many genes that might be linked with both stress granule formation and ALS.
“I found two hits that I’m actively pursuing,” she says. “With these, we can try to uncover new mechanisms of disease or a new therapeutic target. They can help us better understand how the disease comes about.”
Determination motivated by loss
Charlotte’s work is motivated by her personal connection to the disease.
In 2013, her father died from ALS. Around that time, she switched her undergraduate major from forensics to neuroscience.
“It was a light bulb moment,” she says. “I knew this is what I wanted to do.”
She also became an active member of the community of families affected by ALS. Charlotte notes that it means a lot for this same community to recognize her work with this award.
“This work represents the hope of turning something awful, like grief, into something productive and positive,” she says. “My hope is that I can contribute something to the field so that it isn’t so bad for the next person.”
For a full project description, visit our “Projects Funded 2022” webpage.
The ALS Canada-Brain Canada Trainee Program has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada), Brain Canada Foundation and ALS Canada.
Interested in supporting projects like these?
Donate now and make a difference today.
Meet the junior researchers who received the 2022 ALS Canada – Brain Canada Trainee Awards
Donovan McDonald is the recipient of a $75,000 ALS Canada – Brain Canada 2022 Trainee Award. As a PhD student, he investigates how the function of tRNA could contribute to ALS disease processes.
Donovan came to Canada from the Bahamas. “People don’t always recognize the challenges that international students face,” he says. Funding opportunities, for example, can be far more limited.
Award programs like those provided by ALS Canada and Brain Canada help fill a critical funding gap for promising students like Donovan.
“Supporting international students in brain research is vital for fostering diverse perspectives, advancing global scientific collaboration, and accelerating breakthroughs in understanding the complexities of the brain,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada.
“It’s not just about the money,” Donovan says. “It’s also having your research recognized. This is crucial to your development as a scientist.”
Donovan’s original project sought to understand basic biological processes around tRNA. This critical molecule acts as a master key within cells to help proteins form. But working alongside prominent ALS researchers at Western University, he realized how relevant his work could be to exploring “uncharted territory” in ALS research.
In particular, Donovan is exploring how tRNA dysfunction might contribute to ALS in relation to a protein called angiogenin. Researchers have linked mutations in angiogenin, which helps regulate tRNA, to genetic cases of ALS.
“Despite being known for a long time, very few studies look at angiogenin and its role in ALS. That’s where I come in,” Donovan says.
The young researcher hopes his work helps others recognize to the idea that tRNAs are important molecules to study in ALS.
“I want to unravel how tRNA dysfunction can help point to either development of or predisposition to ALS,” he says. The ALS Canada – Brain Canada Trainee Award will help him do just that.
For a full project description, visit our “Projects Funded 2022” webpage.
The ALS Canada-Brain Canada Trainee Program has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada), Brain Canada Foundation and ALS Canada.
Interested in supporting projects like these?
Donate now and make a difference today.
Meet Dr. Philip McGoldrick, recipient of the 2022 ALS Canada – Brain Canada Career Transition Award
Dr. Philip McGoldrick, a researcher at the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Toronto, is the 2022 recipient of a $250,000 ALS Canada – Brain Canada Career Transition Award.
This award helps launch talented early-career researchers, allowing them to set up their own labs, giving them the independence to establish their own research programs.
“This award enables me to continue something I’ve been passionately working on for several years,” he says. “The work I am doing is so exciting. It would have been a huge loss to not be able to continue it.”
Dr. McGoldrick was inspired to study neurodegenerative disease at a young age after seeing how these types of diseases affected family members. After moving to London (UK) for a PhD, ALS soon caught his interest.
“It was the most interesting one of the diseases being studied,” he says. He’s been working in ALS since 2008.
Dr. McGoldrick studies mutations in the C9ORF72 gene – the most common genetic cause of ALS. His current projects explore how the loss of function that occurs when C9ORF72 is mutated can affect a crucial biological process called nucleocytoplasmic transport. He and his co-researchers recently published an article on the topic in Cell Reports. He is also interested in how these insights could be helpful in understanding sporadic cases of ALS.
“This support will allow me to investigate a fundamental but understudied mechanism that may contribute to ALS,” he says. “My hope is that I can be part of a sustained effort on multiple fronts to understand a genetic cause of ALS, but also apply these findings to understand sporadic disease too.”
“This transformative program and collaboration with ALS Canada has the potential to inspire early-career researchers to explore innovative approaches, which could lead to a future without ALS,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada.
The ALS Canada-Brain Canada Trainee Program has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada), Brain Canada Foundation and ALS Canada.
ALS Canada’s mission is to improve the lives of people affected by ALS through support, advocacy, and investment in research for a future without ALS.
Interested in supporting projects like these?
Donate now and make a difference today.
Meet the researchers behind the winning 2022 Discovery Grant projects
Could protecting the axon represent a promising treatment strategy for ALS?
Award: $300,000
Collaborators: Dr. Gary Armstrong, McGill University
Dr. Alex Parker, at the Centre de recherche du CHUM, Université de Montreal, is one of the first two recipients of the newly introduced three-year, $300,000 ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant. Dr. Parker’s grant was funded in generous partnership with Dr. Jean-Pierre Canuel Fund – SLA Québec.
Dr. Parker’s project looks at possible targets for slowing neuronal degeneration in small worms used to model ALS, called C. elegans, which he has worked with since his days as a doctoral student at the University of British Columbia. He has been fascinated by neurodegeneration even as an early career researcher.
“I liked the idea of trying to model neurodegeneration in a simple system,” he says. “You can go fast and find things.”
He started his work looking at Huntington’s Disease before switching to ALS – a challenging disease that motivates him to work on problems not everyone wants to tackle.
“ALS is not like other diseases. It’s a hard problem – the disease window is short and aggressive,” says Dr. Parker. “For many people, it seems intractable. But we’re keeping at it – and I think we can make a contribution.”
For decades, researchers have used worm models to understand which genes help regrow neuronal axons after they are damaged. To date, these genes have not been studied for their role in the damage done by ALS.
Dr. Parker began this project by cataloging more than 100 of these genes – which either promote axonal regrowth or slow further damage – as potential targets for study in ALS models.
“We tested them all. And lo and behold, some of them actually stopped further neurodegeneration in an ALS model,” he says.
He then tested his “short list” on older worms that better simulate the cellular environment of ALS patients, who tend to be diagnosed in midlife or later. The result was two “extremely potent targets for slowing neurodegeneration,” he notes.
“We’re taking biology that’s known and rephrasing it for ALS,” Dr. Parker explains. The hope is to find drugs that can target these genetic pathways that reignite a cell’s ability to regenerate its own axons, effectively slowing disease progression.
He said the upgraded funding opportunity helped him think more ambitiously about the project and bring in collaborators that could accelerate the research.
Dr. Parker is working with Dr. Gary Armstrong at McGill University, an expert on zebrafish models. With the larger funding amount, Dr. Parker can move his hypothesis through different levels of validation, including zebrafish and iPSCs (human cell models), which could allow him to advance his findings to clinical trial on a much shorter timeline.
“The structure of the grant opened up the possibility of pushing this further and faster,” he says. “We’re already moving towards validation, and we just started.”
“This type of program is so important,” he adds. “It funds projects at the early stages, when it’s more challenging to get funding. This ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant gave us the chance to really get our research going.”
“Supporting research at its earliest stages leads to transformative breakthroughs that have a lasting impact on human health and well-being,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada. “By funding early-stage research, we can address critical gaps in knowledge, focus on emerging challenges, and encourage researchers to explore unconventional approaches.”
The ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant Program has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada), Brain Canada Foundation and ALS Canada.
To find out more about the 2022 ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grants, read the full press release here.
ALS Canada’s mission is to improve the lives of people affected by ALS through support, advocacy, and investment in research for a future without ALS.
Interested in supporting projects like these?
Donate now and make a difference today.
Meet the researchers behind the winning 2022 Discovery Grant projects
Could improving the mechanisms of toxic protein disposal in motor neurons become a future treatment strategy?
Award: $125,000
Collaborators: Dr. Martin Duennwald, Western University, and Dr. Elizabeth Meiering, University of Waterloo
Dr. Gary Shaw is a biochemist at Western University and one of the nine ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant recipients for 2022.
“It’s always really exciting when you get a research grant, because you’re using your ideas that you’ve researched in the literature and created new experiments around,” he says. “After all that, it’s exciting to have other scientists review it and appreciate your ideas.”
This project represents his first grant for ALS research, but it builds on his decades of work studying the proteins involved in neurodegeneration, particularly in Parkinson’s disease.
“It’s a bit of a new direction for my lab, but it seems like a logical progression” says Dr. Shaw.
“At Brain Canada, we adopt the One Brain approach to research, knowing that every discovery has the potential to have an impact across a spectrum of brain diseases and disorders,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada. “Dr. Shaw’s work in both Parkinson’s disease and now ALS will improve our understanding of the complexity of the brain as a whole.”
Tagging proteins to “take out the trash”
When our cells age, our body has a mechanism to “tag” unwanted or problematic proteins so they can be removed. Unfortunately, the enzyme machinery for this process often does not work properly in ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Dr. Shaw’s project seeks to identify which proteins might be responsible for tagging the unwanted or misfolded proteins for removal from cells in common types of ALS.
“And if what we can do is identify proteins that we think are regulating these processes,” he explains, “those enzymes could be potential targets for small molecule therapeutics.”
His transition from other neurodegenerative diseases to ALS research is aided by his collaborators, including long-time ALS researchers Dr. Martin Duennwald, also at Western University, and Dr. Elizabeth Meiering at the University of Waterloo.
Though Dr. Shaw studies the most intricate of biochemical processes, he says he is inspired by the possibility that his research could make a difference for people living with ALS.
“I’ve always wanted to do research that is going to make a tangible difference, that has the potential to better people’s lives and health,” he says.
“In the long run, we are attempting to identify the root cause of diseases like ALS. These types of experiments are really important in doing that,” he adds. “This project does have the potential, I think, to impact people’s lives.”
The ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant Program has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada), Brain Canada Foundation and ALS Canada.
To find out more about the 2022 ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grants, read the full press release here.
ALS Canada’s mission is to improve the lives of people affected by ALS through support, advocacy, and investment in research for a future without ALS.
Interested in supporting projects like these?
Donate now and make a difference today.
Meet the researchers behind the winning 2022 Discovery Grant projects
Will this new way of looking at certain protective proteins better explain their role in ALS?
Award: $125,000
Collaborator: Dr. Heather D. Durham, McGill University
As one of the 2022 ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant awardees, she gets to take her expertise and apply it to a new field: ALS research.
“I don’t usually do biomedical research – I usually do fundamental biology,” she says. “This project is really exciting because it allows my research to be more meaningful.”
Her winning 2022 proposal focuses on something Dr. Vera Ugalde has studied since her earliest work as a researcher: heat shock proteins (HSPs).
When a protein misfolds in our cells, they no longer do their jobs properly or may become toxic. Fortunately, our bodies don’t leave us hanging: they deploy HSPs, our cellular “paramedics,” to come refold the misshapen protein and help get the cell running again. This process supports protein homeostasis, critical for the balanced, healthy functioning of our cells.
Unfortunately? One type of cell is particularly bad at inducing HSPs in times of stress, even in healthy people: motor neurons.
By the same token, drugs that boost the role of HSPs in repairing damaged cells in other parts of the body don’t seem to work as well in motor neurons – the site of misfolded proteins in people living with ALS.
With the help of her 2022 Discovery Grant, Dr. Vera Ugalde will look closely at why motor neurons are so bad at making HSPs, exploring an entirely new mechanism that could explain the problem.
“Dr. Vera Ugalde’s research could pave the way for groundbreaking discoveries in motor neuron research,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada.
Her hope is that by finding out the exact reason HSPs work poorly in motor neurons – and why current drugs don’t seem to help – she can help open a new pathway for future therapeutics.
“We have to do this”
The project started when Dr. Vera Ugalde began speaking with her McGill colleague, long-time ALS researcher Dr. Heather Durham, who is also an expert on HSPs.
The two realized quickly that Dr. Vera Ugalde’s technical expertise on protein homeostasis complemented Dr. Durham’s deep understanding of the pathways leading to cellular damage in ALS.
“When we started talking, we said, ‘we have to do this,’” Dr. Vera Ugalde says. “It’s a good synergy.”
The ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant Program has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada), Brain Canada Foundation and ALS Canada.
To find out more about the 2022 ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grants, read the full press release here.
ALS Canada’s mission is to improve the lives of people affected by ALS through support, advocacy, and investment in research for a future without ALS.
Interested in supporting projects like these?
Donate now and make a difference today.
Meet the researchers behind the winning 2022 Discovery Grant projects
What role does its sister protein play when restoring G3BP1 levels as a potential ALS treatment strategy?
Award: $125,000
Collaborators: Dr. Marlene Oeffinger, Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM)
Dr. Christine Vande Velde is a cellular biologist at the Centre de recherche du CHUM, Université de Montreal, and one of nine ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant recipients for 2022. While she and her team spend their lab hours parsing out biological intricacies, her work is always motivated by something bigger: the lives of people affected by ALS.
Dr. Vande Velde just finished her six-year term on the ALS Society of Canada’s Board of Directors, which has given her face-to-face experiences with people living with ALS and their families.
“It’s been a fabulous experience that changed the way I think about what ALS Canada does. It has helped me always keep the mission front of mind,” she says.
For more than a decade, Dr. Vande Velde’s lab has been part of driving ALS research forward in Canada.
With this award, the research team will seek to understand the function of two “twin” proteins called G3BP1 and G3BP2. The proposal emerged from conversations between two trainees in her lab, a promising sign for the future of Canadian ALS research.
Conventional knowledge would say the two proteins are so similar, they’re identical. But other researchers have shown the prevailing narrative may be wrong, as previous studies reveal that when G3BP1 levels are reduced, G3BP2 cannot fully compensate for the loss.
G3BP1 tends to degrade when a protein called TDP-43 leaves its home in the nucleus – one of the most common hallmarks of ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases. Its twin, G3BP2, does not.
Dr. Vande Velde’s project asks a number of questions about what G3BP1 might do that its sibling can’t, if restoring G3BP1 function might be a therapeutic target for ALS, and more.
“In research, we can’t rely on overgeneralizations (like assuming two “twin” genes have the same function),” she says. “I’m excited to go deep into the biology to understand the nuances. In treatment, the details matter.”
“Regardless of the results, we will learn something about a target we think is druggable and relevant to the disease that we didn’t know before,” she says.
“Dr. Vande Velde is playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of ALS research in Canada. Her ability to think outside of the box makes her a valuable asset in the quest for innovative solutions and advancements,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada.
“The more we understand the biology, the better we can interpret the results of any clinical trial,” says Dr. David Taylor, Vice-President, Research and Strategic Partnerships, ALS Canada. This is particularly important, as the research will help inform therapeutic strategies that Dr. Vande Velde is also working on in her lab.
At the end of the day, Dr. Vande Velde says she’s grateful to be part of such a robust research community – one that in recent years is producing real therapeutic results for patients.
“I don’t know anybody who works in ALS who’s not dedicated to the cause. Nobody does it as a hobby,” she says.
The ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant Program has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada), Brain Canada Foundation and ALS Canada.
To find out more about the 2022 ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grants, read the full press release here.
ALS Canada’s mission is to improve the lives of people affected by ALS through support, advocacy, and investment in research for a future without ALS.
Interested in supporting projects like these?
Donate now and make a difference today.
Meet the researchers behind the winning 2022 Discovery Grant projects
Can this routine and inexpensive procedure have a neuroprotective effect in ALS?
Award: $125,000
Collaborators: Dr. Minh Dang Nguyen, University of Calgary, and Dr. Deepak Kaushik, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Dr. Carlos Rodrigo Camara-Lemarroy is an early-career researcher and clinical neurologist based in Canada at the University of Calgary. He is a first-time recipient of an 2022 ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant.
In his clinical practice, Dr. Camara-Lemarroy has worked extensively with people experiencing neurodegenerative diseases – from multiple sclerosis (MS) to Parkinson’s disease and ALS.
“As a clinician, it has struck me that despite how much we know about the brain, we have so few therapies for patients,” he says. “Their stories just stick in my soul.”
Motivated by his many patients, Dr. Camara-Lemarroy’s primary research interest is to rapidly translate basic neuroscience research into novel therapies for neurodegenerative disorders. So far, his focus has been on MS. But he realized that many of the diseases he treats as a clinician have similar signatures.
“At the end of the day, across these diseases, brain cells are dying,” he says. “We need to find a way to stop that.”
One of his current research questions surrounds ischemic preconditioning, i.e., the practice of briefly cutting off blood supply to prepare the body to better withstand disease.
In recent years, researchers have found that when they briefly cut off a patient’s blood flow (ischemia) with something as simple as a blood pressure cuff, the body will start to develop natural protective mechanisms, effectively conditioning itself to withstand greater injury.
Dr. Camara-Lemarroy and his team are asking whether ischemic preconditioning could help people with neurodegeneration better ward off the effects of their disease, effectively slowing progression.
Through his 2022 ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant, Dr. Camara-Lemarroy is applying this concept in an ALS mouse model to see if there is any effect. Success in animal models could pave the way for the therapy to progress to clinical trials, and if ultimately found to be beneficial, it could lead to an accessible, inexpensive, and non-invasive treatment option.
He’s also leading a clinical trial using a similar concept in MS patients with funding from MS Canada.
“Dr. Camara-Lemarroy’s positive impact on MS research exemplifies the effectiveness of Brain Canada’s One Brain approach,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada. “This approach recognizes that every discovery has the potential to have an impact on a spectrum of brain diseases and disorders, as well as on our understanding of brain functioning.”
Both projects embody Dr. Camara-Lemarroy’s unique approach to therapeutic discovery.
“I’m trying to find therapies that don’t cost too much, are safe, that anyone can access, and that no one can put a patent on. We need therapies that can work for patients not just in the U.S. and Canada, but around the world. That’s the lens I use when designing studies,” he says.
In addition to working with Dr. Minh Dang Nguyen, also at the University of Calgary, Dr. Camara-Lemarroy is collaborating with Dr. Deepak Kaushik at Memorial University in Newfoundland, making it a cross-Canada collaboration.
“This research is truly novel,” says David Taylor, Vice-President, Research and Strategic Partnerships, ALS Canada. “And Discovery Grants are meant to fund novel ideas. It’s innovative ideas like Dr. Camara-Lemarroy’s that can open up new paths for discovery in ALS research.”
The ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant Program has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada), Brain Canada Foundation and ALS Canada.
To find out more about the 2022 ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grants, read the full press release here.
ALS Canada’s mission is to improve the lives of people affected by ALS through support, advocacy, and investment in research for a future without ALS.
Interested in supporting projects like these?
Donate now and make a difference today.
Meet the researchers behind the winning 2022 Discovery Grant projects
Can computational methods aid in the design of key antibodies for the diagnosis and treatment of ALS?
Award: $125,000
Dr. Maria Stepanova, a physicist at the University of Alberta, is one of nine 2022 ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant recipients. She works closely with Dr. Holger Wille, a structural biologist also at U of A. Though both have decades of experience researching other neurodegenerative diseases, the grant represents their first time being funded for ALS research.
“We are new to the ALS field, so it’s nice to get funded for some of our ideas and see what we can contribute,” says Dr. Wille.
As early as junior high, Dr. Stepanova had a passion for scientific inquiry, hoping to become either a physicist or a biologist. She began her career as the former, studying how complex structures, such as crystals, could arise from seemingly simple interactions between atoms.
“I chose physics at the beginning because it allowed me to start with the very basics,” she says.
Her relentless scientific curiosity has, in time, led her back to biology, where she takes a theoretical approach to understand how complex biological structures arise.
This experience underpins her 2022 Discovery Grant project.
A project with potential for ALS treatments
A common hallmark of ALS is the presence of proteins, such as FUS or TDP-43, that have left their proper home in a cell, become misshapen and possibly no longer function properly. Drs. Stepanova and Wille’s project is based on what’s called the Prion Hypothesis, the idea that these misfolded proteins can transmit their abnormal structure to normal versions of the same protein, creating clumps or aggregates that spread throughout the nervous system.
Dr. Stepanova’s lab will use computational methods to analyze these aggregates in ALS-specific proteins. In doing so, she hopes to find areas of the complex shapes for which an antibody could be made.
Dr. Wille’s team will then take her data to attempt to create antibodies that could bind to and, theoretically, stop the misshapen proteins from spreading their abnormal shape.
This process – analyzing misfolded proteins and creating disease-specific antibodies – is one the collaborators have used before in work on other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. It’s the first time they will take this approach to ALS.
If successful, the project could be the first step in validating new ALS treatment sites or new biomarkers.
Working with Dr. Wille has allowed Dr. Stepanova to bring her theoretical expertise to experiments with possible clinical impact.
“Dr. Stepanova and I have collaborated for a long time on the theoretical side,” Dr. Wille says. “My team and I are the ones who try to translate things into practical experiments.”
By bringing together their complementary skills, the pair look forward to contributing new knowledge to the field of ALS research.
“This is truly what’s important to us,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada. “Collaboration and knowledge sharing to advance brain research and magnify the potential for impact.”
“Our goal is to find insights that would be interesting, enriching, and useful for the community on the way toward the development of new treatments of ALS,” Dr. Stepanova says. “And we will do our best to achieve whatever we can in two years.”
The ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant Program has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada), Brain Canada Foundation and ALS Canada.
To find out more about the 2022 ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grants, read the full press release here.
ALS Canada’s mission is to improve the lives of people affected by ALS through support, advocacy, and investment in research for a future without ALS.
Interested in supporting projects like these?
Donate now and make a difference today.
Meet the researchers behind the winning 2022 Discovery Grant projects
Could this new 3D cell culture model help researchers better predict disease progression in ALS?
Award: $125,000
Collaborators: Dr. Yasser Iturria-Medina, McGill University
When Dr. Thomas Durcan, director of The Neuro’s Early Drug Discovery Unit (EDDU), found out his team had been awarded a 2022 Discovery Grant, “It was a very happy day for us all.”
“All” includes his EDDU research associate, Dr. Mathilde Chaineau, and PhD student María José Castellanos Montiel, two of the key players on the winning proposal.
Dr. Durcan’s project uses an innovative model ten years in the making, thanks in large part to researchers at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital).
The model uses donor human blood cells that have been transformed into neurons, astrocytes, and microglia – all important cell types in the brain – to create 3D structures called spheroids. By better representing the multidimensional nature of the brain, the spheroids will help scientists discover new interactions and processes that may be happening in a diseased brain.
For the ALS Canada–Brain Canada Discovery Grant project, the team will use blood samples from people living with ALS to create spheroids that will offer new insights into how microglia and astrocytes interact together with neurons in a 3D ALS disease environment. They will then work with Dr. Yasser Iturria-Medina, a computational biologist at McGill University, to analyze what’s happening on the molecular level to generate new insights.
“Through this multimodal approach, we can hopefully find disease signatures that we would miss by just looking at the data in a simpler way,” says Dr. Durcan.
“From a scientific perspective, it’s very exciting for us to get these funds and to see this great project moving forward,” Ms. Montiel adds. “We’re going to build a model to study things that are not very well understood – we’re going to find out something new.”
“This is a very exciting collaboration,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada. “Dr. Durcan and his team’s innovative approach towards data analysis has the potential to revolutionize the ALS research landscape in Canada.”
Keeping patients at the heart of the work
This research project relies on the generosity of people to donate their blood samples, something all three team members expressed gratitude for.
“Patients are going through a very hard time with their family, but they still find time to consent to give us their samples,” Dr. Chaineau says. “Research is always teamwork, and I include the patients as part of that team.”
When we spoke to the researchers, all three had just attended the 2023 ALS Canada Research Forum, which brings people living with ALS, clinicians, families, and scientists together. It is an excellent opportunity for researchers to put faces to the research projects they dedicate their time to.
At this year’s event, the sense of hope was palpable, the team says.
“The patients being so positive pushed us in the right direction,” says Dr. Chaineau. “Every time we go to an ALS Canada Research Forum, we come back ready to go.”’
“There are people that rely on us to get up every day early in the morning and work and do what we do,” adds Dr. Durcan. “I think that’s what really keeps us motivated.”
Ms. Montiel agrees. “As scientists, it’s nice to know who we’re helping and that we’re giving back to the community.”
Meet the researchers behind the winning 2022 Discovery Grant projects
Could this new mouse model help to understand the potential role of retroviruses in ALS and lead to new treatments?
Award: $125,000
Collaborators: Dr. Jody Haigh, University of Manitoba, and Dr. Domenico Di Curzio, St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre
When Dr. Renée Douville found out she had been awarded one of the 2022 ALS Canada–Brain Canada Discovery Grants, she was excited. Very excited.
“I screamed so loud, people down the hallway heard me,” she said.
Dr. Douville, a virologist at St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre and the University of Winnipeg, is one of nine grant recipients for 2022. The funding will help her build on nearly 15 years of research that has made her an expert in a niche area of ALS research: the role of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs).
She was awarded alongside her long-time collaborator, Dr. Domenico Di Curzio at St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre, as well as Dr. Jody Haigh at the University of Manitoba.
“It’s particularly exciting because we’ve been working on this project together for a long time, slowly but surely,” she said.
“Brain Canada is proud to support researchers who have demonstrated successful collaboration over many years, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and collaboration in advancing scientific knowledge,” adds Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada.
Unlike typical viruses, humans are born with dormant ERVs already in their DNA. Dr. Douville and others have shown that some people with ALS display elevated levels of a specific ERV protein, called ERVK, which led to the hypothesis that ERVs, if reactivated, can damage motor neurons.
Dr. Douville has already tested the effect of overexpressed ERVK in cell and fruit fly models. The results? Neuronal damage, similar to what we see in people living with ALS.
The ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant will now help her and her collaborators understand the effect of elevated ERVK levels in a mouse model. If the team can further validate that elevated ERVK levels lead to ALS-like symptoms, it could open up new targets for treatment.
The work dovetails with Lighthouse 2, a clinical trial happening in Europe, Australia and New Zealand to see whether targeting retroviruses can benefit people living with ALS. The trial is unique because it is testing a drug already approved to treat people with HIV that has previously been shown to be safe in people living with ALS.
Dr. Douville had started her career at Johns Hopkins looking at ERVs in multiple sclerosis, but she soon realized they had a much stronger signature in ALS. She hasn’t looked back.
“Everything started through scientific curiosity,” she said. “But today, my work with ALS has really changed how I think about endogenous retroviruses. My focus is now more on therapeutics, and how we could treat the damage ERVs do to our bodies…. I’m actually really hopeful that our research will potentially lead to new treatments for patients.”
In addition to excitement, she said the other emotion she feels is gratitude.
“I’m just extremely thankful for all the fundraising that people with ALS and their families do to raise money for our research,” she said. “And I’m thankful to ALS Canada and Brain Canada for taking a chance on us, even though our research area might be further afield.”
The ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant Program has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada), Brain Canada Foundation and ALS Canada.
To find out more about the 2022 ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grants, read the full press release here.
ALS Canada’s mission is to improve the lives of people affected by ALS through support, advocacy, and investment in research for a future without ALS. Interested in supporting projects like these? Donate now and make a difference today.
Meet the researchers behind the winning 2022 Discovery Grant projects
Could the study of neuromuscular junction proteins aid in the development of essential biomarkers?
Award: $300,000
Collaborators: Dr. Danielle Arbour and Dr. Roberta Piovesana at the Université de Montréal, and Dr. Robert Bowser, Barrow Neurological Institute
Dr. Richard Robitaille, at the Université de Montréal, received his first grant from ALS Canada ten years ago. Already a world-leading expert on the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), the funding was his first research foray into ALS and allowed him to find clinical applications for his expertise. His lab now spends nearly all their research efforts on the disease.
Dr. Robitaille’s work demonstrates how powerful Discovery Grants can be for moving ALS research forward.
This year, he received one of the first ever three-year, $300,000 versions of the Discovery Grants. The money will fund a project related to an upcoming clinical trial built upon the foundational research funded by his first Discovery Grant a decade ago.
“Both Brain Canada and ALS Canada are dedicated to supporting research across all phases of a scientific journey,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada.
The team will use this year’s grant to advance efforts to validate a set of candidate proteins linked to the NMJ as potential biomarkers for ALS treatment and disease progression. Biomarkers are objective measures to track the presence and effect of a disease in the body.
While many neurodegenerative diseases affect the places where neurons connect with other neurons, ALS also impacts the synaptic connection between a nerve and muscle cells – the NMJ.
If successful, using NMJ-linked proteins as biomarkers would have many advantages: changes to the NMJ appear early in the disease, potentially leading to earlier diagnosis and intervention. All forms of ALS lead to changes at the NMJ, making it a possible universal biomarker for the disease. Finally, changes in the NMJ can be tracked using blood samples – something much less invasive for people than a lumbar puncture or tissue sample.
“ALS has a big need for biomarkers, and these are very original. There’s nothing like this that’s been explored in ALS,” says Dr. Robitaille.
In addition, Dr. Robitaille will explore whether the NMJ could also be a target for treatment.
“It’s really exciting to use our basic research to target something with clinical use,” he says.
Dr. Robitaille is working with Dr. Robert Bowser at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona, an international leader in finding biomarkers for ALS.
Beyond the scientific side of his work, Dr. Robitaille is deeply involved with SLA Quebec, a strong partner of ALS Canada, which helps him stay connected to people living with ALS.
“I try to get as practical as possible,” he says. “Science is fun, but there’s an ultimate goal that we should also be useful as fast as possible. That’s the main driver.”
The ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grant Program has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada), Brain Canada Foundation and ALS Canada.
To find out more about the 2022 ALS Canada-Brain Canada Discovery Grants, read the full press release here.
ALS Canada’s mission is to improve the lives of people affected by ALS through support, advocacy, and investment in research for a future without ALS. Interested in supporting projects like these? Donate now and make a difference today.