On November 19th, 2015, the ALS Society of Canada announced historical investments to further research towards a treatment and a cure.
“We are committed to funding the most promising research through the ALS Canada Research Program, to make ALS a treatable disease,” said Tammy Moore, CEO of the ALS Society of Canada. “Never before have we had the financial resources to be able to fund multi-collaborative research projects across leading academic institutions to the extent we can today, it is because of the generosity of Canadians who embraced the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and the investment from the federal government’s Canada Brain Research Fund through Brain Canada. This important research brings hope to the 3000 Canadians living with ALS today, and the people who will be diagnosed in the future.”
A total of nine competitive calls were put out for grants ranging from $75,000 to $2.9 million, the portfolio of projects were selected through a highly competitive process, reviewed by national and international panels of ALS research experts, with the applications judged for work that would significantly move the field of ALS research forward. In total the 34 projects being funded through the announcements in one year represent 56 investigators at 15 universities in seven provinces.
ALS CANADA – BRAIN CANADA ARTHUR J. HUDSON
Team Julien
Preclinical and clinical studies with withanolides: therapeutic effects, molecular signatures and biomarkers
$2.5 million over 3 years
Team Kalra
Novel MRI biomarkers for monitoring disease progression in ALS
$2.9 million over 5 years
Team Kong
Selective knockdown of misfolded SOD1 as a therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
$1.6 million over 5 years
Team Korngut
A randomized controlled trial of pimozide in subjects with ALS
$500,000 over 3 years
Team St George-Hyslop
Discovery of therapeutic targets
for FUS-dependent forms of ALS
$1.4 million over 5 years
Team Vande Velde
Regulation of the stress granule proteome and transcriptome by TDP-43 in ALS: biomarkers and therapeutic targets
$1.7 million over 5 years
ALS CANADA – BRAIN CANADA DISCOVERY GRANTS
Dr. François Berthod
Université Laval
Study of the impact of glycation on ALS using an in vitro tissue-engineered model of spinal cord
$100,000 over 2 years
Dr. Martin Duennwald
Western University
RGNEF modulates protein misfolding in ALS
$100,000 over 2 years
Dr. Heather Durham
McGill University
Epigenetic mechanisms underlying dendritic atrophy in ALS
$100,000 over 2 years
Dr. Charles Krieger
Simon Fraser University
Use of bone marrow cells to deliver
single chain antibodies in ALS
$100,000 for 1 year
Dr. Blair Leavitt
University of British Columbia
Muscle-targeted therapy for ALS
$100,000 for 1 year
Dr. Peter McPherson
McGill University
Regulation of endosomal membrane trafficking by C9ORF72 in ALS
$100,000 for 1 year
Dr. Pier Jr Morin
Université de Moncton
Identification of circulating non-coding RNAs with diagnostic relevance to ALS patients using a unique extracellular vesicle capture method
$100,000 over 2 years
Dr. Alex Parker
Université de Montréal
Investigation of the innate immune
system and motor neuron degeneration
in genetic models of ALS
$100,000 over 2 years
Dr. Janice Robertson
University of Toronto
Characterizing the C9ORF72 protein interactome for identifying novel pathogenic pathways in ALS
$100,000 over 2 years
Dr. Fabio Rossi
University of British Columbia
The role of peripheral inflammation
in ALS: an exploratory study
$100,000 over 2 years
Dr. Amir Sanati Nezhad
University of Calgary
Novel microfluidic platform for investigating axonal sprouting
in motor neurons
$100,000 over 2 years
Dr. Christine Vande Velde
Université de Montréal
Misfolded SOD1 species in ALS pathogenesis
$100,000 over 2 years
Dr. Melanie Woodin
University of Toronto
Synaptic inhibition in the motor cortex
of an ALS mouse model
$100,000 over 2 years
ALS CANADA BRIDGE GRANTS – 2 YEARS
Dr. Neil Cashman
University of British Columbia
Molecular interactions between TDP-43 and misfolded wild-type SOD1: implications for sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
$200,000 over 2 years
Dr. Avi Chakrabartty
University of Toronto
Role of TDP-43 in regulation of stress granules in ALS: biomarkers and therapeutic agents
$200,000 over 2 years
Dr. Jasna Kriz
Université Laval
Glia-neuron crosstalk in early amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
$200,000 over 2 years
Dr. Victor Rafuse
Dalhousie University
Characterization of the mechanisms underlying exercise induced strengthening of the neuromuscular junction
$200,000 over 2 years
ALS CANADA – BRAIN CANADA CAREER TRANSITION AWARDS
Dr. Gary Armstrong
(supervisor: Dr. Pierre Drapeau)
Université de Montréal
Mechanisms of glutamatergic neuronal dysfunction in genetic models of ALS
$425,000 over 5 years
Dr. Chantelle Sephton
(mentor: Dr. Jean-Pierre Julien)
Univeristé Laval
Mechanisms of synaptic dysfunction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
$315,000 over 3 years
FELLOWSHIPS 1-3 YEARS
Dr. Marvin Chum
(supervisors: Dr. Teneille Gofton, Dr. Christen Shoesmith)
Western University/London Health Sciences Centre
Palliative care and respiratory support
of patients with ALS
$200,000 over 2 years (clinical research)
Dr. Jacquelyn Cragg
(supervisors: Dr. Neil Cashman, Dr. Marc Weisskopf)
University of British Columbia
Etiology and progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: the role of military service, trauma, and prescription drug use
$165,000 over 3 years
Dr. Matteo Da Ros
(supervisor: Dr. Derrick Gibbings)
University of Ottawa
Unbiased determination of pathways affected by ALS-linked stress granules
and their elimination by autophagy
$165,000 over 3 years
ALS CANADA BRIDGE GRANTS – 1 YEAR
Dr. Heather Durham
McGill University
Dendritic attrition in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
$100,000 for 1 year
Dr. Peter McPherson
McGill University
Endosomal membrane trafficking
in neurodegenerative disease
$100,000 for 1 year
Dr. Christopher Pearson
University of Toronto
Unusual nucleic acid structures in C9ORF72-related ALS/FTD repeat instability
$100,000 for 1 year
Dr. Chantelle Sephton
Université Laval
Effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-linked FUS mutations on synaptic function
$100,000 for 1 year
DOCTORAL RESEARCH AWARD – 3 YEAR
Éric Martineau
(supervisor: Dr. Richard Robitaille)
Université de Montréal
Targeting the regenerative function of glial cells at the neuromuscular junction
in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
$75,000 over 3 years
Maneka Chitiprolu
(supervisor: Dr. Derrick Gibbings)
University of Ottawa
Mechanisms eliminating stress granules by autophagy
$75,000 over 3 years
