Innovative research aims to improve the quality of life for those living with spinal cord injuries
November 7, 2014 – Toronto, Ontario – Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Two scientists from Université Laval have received the 2014 and 2013 Barbara Turnbull Award for Spinal Cord Research, an annual prize supported through a partnership between the Barbara Turnbull Foundation, Brain Canada, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
Drs. Yves De Koninck (2014) and Frédéric Bretzner (2013) of Université Laval are recipients of this prestigious award for their world-class work to advance research on spinal cord injury and find new treatments.
- Dr. De Koninck and his research team are studying the impact of alterations to nerve cell function in the spinal cord after injury. Understanding these changes will help prevent and alleviate chronic neuropathic pain syndromes.
- Dr. Bretzner and his research team are investigating the pathways between the brain and the spinal cord that are important to movement. This research will enable them to identify the nervous circuits that need to be repaired to improve recovery of limb function following spinal cord injury or neurotrauma.
The announcement took place during the 13th Annual Charles H. Tator-Barbara Turnbull Lectureship Series in Spinal Cord Injury.
Contacts
Media Relations
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
613-941-4563
mediarelations@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
About CIHR
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's health research investment agency. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened health care system for Canadians. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 13,200 health researchers and trainees across Canada.
About Brain Canada
Brain Canada is a national non-profit organization that enables and supports excellent, innovative, paradigm-changing brain research in Canada. For more than one decade, Brain Canada has made the case for the brain as a single, complex system with commonalities across the range of neurological disorders, mental illnesses and addictions, brain and spinal cord injuries. Looking at the brain as one system has underscored the need for increased collaboration across disciplines and institutions, and a smarter way to invest in brain research that is focused on outcomes that will benefit patients and families.
The Canada Brain Research Fund
The Canada Brain Research Fund is a public-private partnership designed to encourage Canadians to increase their support of brain research, and maximize the impact and efficiency of those investments. Brain Canada has committed to raising $100 million from private and non-governmental sources, which will be matched by government on a 1:1 basis. The Fund was announced in federal budget 2011, which proposed to "allocate up to $100 million to establish the Canada Brain Research Fund, which will support the very best Canadian neuroscience, fostering collaborative research and accelerating the pace of discovery, in order to improve the health and quality of life of Canadians who suffer from brain disorders."
