Grant: Canada First Research Excellence Fund

McGill University aims to transform many brain disorders from terminal or life-long afflictions to treatable, even curable, conditions. The Healthy Brains for Healthy Lives (HBHL) initiative is an interdisciplinary program built on McGill’s scientific excellence and global leadership in areas of neuroscience that hold the greatest promise for delivering implementable, clinically effective outcomes in brain and mental health. Through HBHL, we will shift the paradigm in our understanding and treatment of brain disorders, using world-leading neuroinformatics to elucidate how the individual brain functions in health, in disease, and throughout our lives. Our approach is interdisciplinary and translational, integrating complex data from biomedical, environmental, and social domains to create knowledge for delivering novel precision clinical and social interventions. Our impact will include new therapeutic drugs, tools, devices, and policy, which will improve health and result in widespread economic benefit for Canada. The new Canadian Framework for Brain Health will position Canada as a leader in understanding and reducing the social impact of brain and mental health. Our distinct Innovation Chain will boost Canada’s ability to translate knowledge into innovation and commercialization. Through original training programs with industrial and international components, we will produce the next generation of neuroscience and interdisciplinary leaders in computational neuroscience, clinical, and social disciplines. HBHL’s unique, integrated program and the new, pan- Canadian neuroscience research consortium we envision will place McGill and Canada as global leaders in clinical, social, and innovative solutions in brain and mental health – one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century.