Innovative Ideas Competition II provides funding for two-year projects of up to $200,000 each. In this competition, 90 Letters of Intent (LOI) were received, with 22 of them being invited to submit full applications. Of these 22 full applications, 14 received awards.
View a summary of the competition and review process.
Funded projects
Funded Project Summaries
From Cells to Brain Systems: Active Inference in Hierarchical Brain Networks
The complex dynamics of neural circuits are best captured by electrophysiology (e-phys), a versatile tool with direct access to neural activity across a range of measurement scales. However, conceptual and practical gaps limit the unique potential of e-phys for basic and clinical neuroscience. To fill these gaps, our multidisciplinary team proposes open-source integrated software solutions for multiscale data analytics and computational modelling of oscillatory brain networks. These tools will be compatible with the HBHL neuroinformatics ecosystem.
HBHL Research Theme: 1
Principal Investigator: Sylvain Baillet
Co-PIs: Massimo Avoli (McGill), Etienne de Villers-Sidani (McGill), Paul François (McGill), Birgit Frauscher (McGill), Bratislav Misic (McGill), Chris Pack (McGill). Adrien Peyrache (McGill)
Collaborators: Richard Leahy (University of Southern California), Randy McIntosh (University of Toronto & Rotman Research Institute), John Mosher (University of Texas)
Funding Received (over 2 years): $200,000
A new data-driven tool to analyze neuronal population dynamics monitored with calcium imaging
The recent development of miniaturized and portable microscopes has enabled researchers to monitor the activity of large groups of neurons in freely moving animals. In this project, the team will create and test new algorithms inspired by recent advances in machine learning that can directly map neuronal dynamics to behaviour with minimal manual intervention.
HBHL Research Theme: 1
Principal Investigator: Adrien Peyrache
Co-PIs: Blake Richards (McGill)
Collaborators: Mark Brandon (McGill), Sylvain Williams (McGill), Aaron Courville (Université de Montréal), Andrew Pruszynski (Western University)
Funding Received (over 2 years): $200,000
Myelin-weighted connectomics: the impact of conduction velocity on the relationship between structural and functional connectivity
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has revealed abnormal brain connectivity in several mental health disorders, including autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. Currently, almost no structural brain connectivity studies of these disorders or healthy people take myelination into account. This project combines in vivo MRI measurements of myelination with a study of healthy brain network connectivity to gain a better understanding of how subtle differences in myelination lead to significant differences in functional connectivity.
HBHL Research Theme: 1
Principal Investigator: Christine Tardif
Co-PIs: Bratislav Misic (McGill)
Collaborators: Maxime Descoteaux (Université de Sherbrooke)
Funding Received (over 2 years): $197,000
Mapping immune cell infiltration in a Parkinson’s disease model
Infections, toxins and injuries play a critical role in the onset of Parkinson's disease (PD), according to growing evidence. The project team discovered the role of two Parkinson's-disease-related proteins (PINK1 and Parkin) in the cellular response to bacterial infection. Patients lacking these proteins develop disease at a young age, whereas mice lacking the same proteins are asymptomatic. This project will use a mouse model of disease to investigate how the immune system may attack dopaminergic neurons, providing new insights into how infection may trigger neurodegenerative disease.
HBHL Research Theme: 2
Principal Investigator: Heidi McBride
Co-PIs: David Rudko (McGill), Louis-Eric Trudeau (Université de Montréal)
Collaborators: Samantha Gruenheid (McGill)
Funding Received (over 2 years): $200,000
Cell resilience and vulnerability common across several neurodegenerative diseases
In many neurodegenerative diseases, subpopulations of the same type of neuron respond very differently to the same genetic insult, with some surviving while others die. Cerebellar Purkinje cells (PC) are one of the most vulnerable neuronal cell types in the mammalian brain. However, certain PC show remarkable resistance to disease, with only a subset of PC typically vulnerable to a given insult. This project investigates the mechanisms underlying this selective neuronal and regional vulnerability and it holds great promise for the development of novel therapeutic approaches that leverage the brain's existing resilience mechanisms.
HBHL Research Theme: 2
Principal Investigator: Anne McKinney
Co-PIs: Alanna Watt (McGill)
Collaborators: Jean Baptiste Poline (McGill) , Jesper Sjostrom (McGill)
Funding Received (over 2 years): $199,800
Understanding Neurodegeneration in Multiple Sclerosis Using Multimodal High Field MRI and PET Neuroimaging
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The project team is developing methods to understand how sub-pial brain damage develops over time by using a specialized 'high field' magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner and positron emission tomography (PET). This study will help to quantify previously invisible MS tissue damage by providing new methods for doctors to use with MRI and PET to identify brain tissue damage in MS.
HBHL Research Theme: 2
Principal Investigator: David Rudko
Co-PIs: Douglas Arnold (McGill), Pedro Rosa-Neto (McGill), Alexey Kostikov (McGill), Sridar Narayanan (McGill)
Funding Received (over 2 years): $200,000
Creation of Novel Quantitative Chemo-specific Atlases for Investigating Patterns of Neuronal Degeneration in Parkinson’s Disease Compared to Healthy Ageing
The goal of this project is to develop a detailed quantitative roadmap of degeneration patterns in healthy ageing and Parkinson's disease. The project will eventually provide researchers with standardized methods for creating detailed brain roadmaps that can be analysed and superimposed on MRI scans. To achieve their objectives, the team is working with groups of imaging scientists, anatomists, geneticists, cell biologists and computer scientists.
HBHL Research Theme: 2
Principal Investigator: Abbas Sadikot
Co-PIs: Louis-Eric Trudeau (Université de Montréal), David Rudko (McGill), Christine Tardif (McGill), Naguib Mechawar (McGill), Ziv Gan-Or (McGill)
Collaborators:Louis Borgeat (National Research Council-Ottawa), Edward Fon (McGill), Marie-Christine Guiot (McGill
Funding Received (over 2 years): $199,750
Clinical application of genomic and metabolomic technologies in patients with neuropsychiatric disease
This study aims to advance the field of clinical psychiatric genetics by piloting the use of novel laboratory technologies (genomic and metabolomic tools) in psychiatric patients. The project's goal is to improve the diagnosis of known and novel genetic conditions in psychiatric clinic patients. Furthermore, this research program will potentially help discover biomarkers that may aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of psychiatric disease.
HBHL Research Theme: 2
Principal Investigator: Yannis Trakadis
Co-PIs: Celia Greenwood (McGill), Ridha Joober (McGill), Guy Rouleau (McGill), Gustavo Turecki (McGill)
Collaborators: Lila Amirali (McGill), Guillaume Bourque (McGill), Simon Ducharme (McGill), Eric Jarvis (McGill), Sanjoy Kumar (McGill), Valérie Tourjman (IUSMM), Paula Waters (Sherbrooke University), Jeff Xia (McGill)
Funding Received (over 2 years): $200,000
Real-time Auditory Feedback for Improving Gait and Walking in People with Parkinson’s Disease
Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) develop a poor walking pattern, which can lead to falls due to short, quick steps with little heel-to-toe movement. The project team created a device that provides auditory feedback to the user when they walk in a strong heel-to-toe pattern. The combination of auditory feedback and practise causes the brain to change, resulting in internalized and automatic improvements to the walking pattern.
HBHL Research Theme: 3
Principal Investigator: Nancy Mayo
Co-PIs: Anne-Louise Lafontaine (McGill), Lesley Fellows (McGill), Madelaine Sharp (McGill), Jose Morais (McGill), Nandini Dendukuri (McGill)
Funding Received (over 2 years): $200,000
Does adult hippocampal neurogenesis occur in the human brain?
The goal of this study is to determine if adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) occurs in the human brain. The project assesses the presence or absence of stem cells and immature neurons in well-characterized post-mortem hippocampal samples from healthy adolescents and adults. This study will generate a significant amount of original data, which will have a significant impact on future research directions and public funding allocations.
HBHL Research Theme: 3
Principal Investigator: Naguib Mechawar
Co-PIs: Gustavo Turecki (McGill)
Collaborators: Nada Jabado (McGill)
Funding Received (over 2 years): $200,000
Development of the marmoset model for neurocognitive working memory studies and electrophysiology in prefrontal cortex
This project aims to develop the marmoset model for neuro-cognitive research by developing paradigms for evaluating cognitive performance in working memory tasks in a healthy marmoset and examining the relation between specific aspects of cognitive processing and specific neural circuits. The findings can be used to investigate potential neurologic disease impairments as well as the effects of potential treatments in marmoset disease models. The team is also working with Rogue Research to create an in-cage wireless electrophysiology setup that is as unrestrictive to the marmosets as possible.
HBHL Research Theme: 3
Principal Investigator: Michael Petrides
Collaborators: Stephen Frey (Rogue Research), Veronika Zlatkina (McGill)
Funding Received (over 2 years): $199,146
Associating whole genome rare variants with brain structure and function
Standard medical diagnostic practices identify harmful genetic mutations in 10-30% of children referred to neurodevelopmental and child psychiatry clinics. Although these mutations are generally thought to be harmful, the mechanisms by which they confer risk or alter development remain unknown. To better understand these mutations and their effects, we want to link gene activity – i.e. gene expression and transcription – to brain architecture in this study.
HBHL Research Theme: 4
Principal Investigator: Celia Greenwood
Co-PIs: Sebastien Jacquemont (Université de Montréal), Mallar Chakravarty (McGill)
Funding Received (over 2 years): $200,000
A Molecular Screen for Maternal Mental Health
Growing evidence links maternal hormonal sensitivity to an increased risk of postpartum depression. This project builds on these findings to create a simple blood test that will directly assess maternal hormonal sensitivity in early pregnancy. It will combine biological measures of hormonal sensitivity with known psychological and social risk factors to see if the 'molecular screen' can help us identify women at risk for postpartum depression more accurately than is currently possible.
HBHL Research Theme: 4
Principal Investigator: Kieran O'Donnell (currently at Yale University)/Rosemary Bagot
Co-PIs: Sara Mostafavi (University of British Columbia), Tuong-Vi Nguyen (McGill)
Collaborators: Elisabeth Binder (Max Plank Institute of Psychiatry) , Vibe Frøkjær (Copenhagen University Hospital)
Funding Received (over 2 years): $200,000
The relationship between the microbiome and the host neural transcriptome along the gut-vagal-brain axis: A postmortem human survey
As the first investigation of its kind, this project will advance understanding of microbiome-neuron interactions in humans, which may be a factor in multiple neuropsychiatric diseases and an important target for future interventions. Using human post-mortem tissues and the latest sequencing tools, the team will investigate if the microbiome is associated with specific patterns of gene expression in neurons at 5 key sites along the gut-vagal-brain axis.
HBHL Research Theme: 4
Principal Investigator: Gustavo Turecki
Co-PIs: Ioannis Ragoussis (McGill)
Collaborators: Corinne Maurice (McGill)
Funding Received (over 2 years): $199,432
