Western, McGill team up in new neuroscience initiative

The new McGill-Western Initiative for Translational Neuroscience will focus its research on biotherapeutics and Parkinson's disease (iStock) Two of the world's most accomplished neuroscience research initiatives at McGill and Western University have combined their expertise to take on two large-scale brain research projects. Focusing on biotherapeutics and Parkinson's disease, the new McGill-Western Initiative for Translational Neuroscience (ITN) will translate groundbreaking scientific research to benefit patients in the real-world. "Brain disorders are increasing rapidly, especially as Canada's population ages, so it's critical that we move brain research from the lab to the real world as quickly as we can," said Lisa Saksida, scientific co-director for BrainsCAN. "These projects have the support, expertise and world-class facilities that will make this possible." While research can take years for patients to see results, this collaborative neuroscience initiative is expected to have economic and societal impact for Canadians over the short term. One project is developing a better method to test and evaluate drugs for brain diseases and disorders, while the other is identifying a faster and more efficient method to diagnose Parkinson's. These two projects, established as part of the new McGill-Western ITN, are supported by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) through Western's BrainsCAN and McGill's Healthy Brains, Healthy Lives (HBHL) initiatives. This collaboration will deliver results by combining Western's advances in cognitive neuroscience with McGill's expertise in computational modelling, said Alan Evans, scientific director of HBHL.