Knowledge mobilization projects

Funded projects by date

Funded events summaries

2018

HBHL Policy Working Group: Toward a Canadian Framework for Brain Health

This project brings together a policy working group to map what needs to be done to realize HBHL's goal of contributing to a Canadian Framework for Brain Health. The HBHL Policy Workgroup (PW) includes investigators from McGill, HBHL partner institutions, government and NGOs.

Principal investigator: Laurence Kirmayer

Project start date: May 1, 2018

Funding received: $19,500

Promoting Healthy Smartphone Use to Improve Cognition and Well-being

This project is investigating how smartphone use affects attention, spatial memory and well-being among young adults. The knowledge generated by this project will inform the Canadian Framework for Brain Health by developing evidence-based guidelines for healthy smartphone use. These guidelines will be distributed to three main audiences: healthcare providers, smartphone industry leaders and the interested public.

Principal investigator: Samuel Veissiere

Project start date: July 1, 2018

Funding received: $75,017

The Structure of Neuroscientific Explanation: Towards a Canadian Framework for Brain Health

This project is developing an approach to unifying models of brain function that can serve as a conceptual foundation for the Canadian Framework for Brain Health. In particular, the project is investigating how different “levels” of neuroscientific theory can be linked to one another through a coherent structure.

Principal investigator: Ian Gold

Project start date: August 1, 2018

Funding received: $19,878

Open Science Policy Knowledge Mobilization

This project focuses on addressing two roadblocks to the successful implementation of the HBHL NeuroHub and Open Science: the legal, ethical and practical issues relating to patient consent and the assessment of HBHL’s success in delivering its promised outputs.

Principal investigator: Ian Gold

Project start date: September 1, 2018

Funding received: $99,494

“Inside Out”: Film as a Medium for the Exploration of Experiences of Mental Disorder

The purpose of this project is to disseminate a film project that shares the results and methodology of the project team's qualitative research on the process and effects of short film production by artists who experience psychological distress.This film can bridge the gap of understanding between those who suffer from severe psychological distress and those who do not.

Principal investigator: Lawrence Joseph

Project start date: December 1, 2018

Funding received: $19,964

2019

Legalization of Cannabis in Canada: Implications for Adolescent Brain Development, Mental Health & Public Policy

This project will establish a multidisciplinary international think tank to inform the Canadian Framework for Brain Health and provide public outreach on the topic of cannabis and adolescent brain health. Initially, it will consider how best to interpret and mobilize existing brain research to inform policy and the public concerning young people and cannabis use. It will analyze open datasets and review health and social policy literatures to develop new directions for the adolescent brain research agenda. Knowledge exchange activities with policy, community and media partners will inform project analysis and recommendations.

Principal investigator: Suparna Choudhury

Project start date: January 1, 2019

Funding received: $19,850

The hearing-care platform: A dedicated ecosystem for personalized assessment of noise-exposure & the promotion of hearing health

The hearing-care platform aims at raising awareness of and promoting hearing health in youths. This collaborative partnership between the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology, the Schulich School of Music and l’École de technologie supérieure and l’École d’orthophonie et d’audiologie de l’Université de Montréal translates cutting-edge research into accessible noise exposure self-assessment tools.

Principal investigator: Isabelle Zossette

Project start date: January 1, 2019

Funding received: $20,000

Development and Delivery of Workshop on Children's Brain Health at the Annual Sandbox Summit

This project aims to develop a knowledge translation module on leading edge science around the experience and accumulation of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), children's brain health and development and adolescent mental health and well-being. The outcome will be delivered at the Annual Sandbox Summit in Toronto and develop future knowledge translation opportunities and new avenues for ongoing collaboration with NGOs and corporate Canada.

Principal investigator: Michael MacKenzie

Project start date: January 3, 2021

Funding received: $16,641

Promoting brain health and resilience in social work students: Implementation and evaluation of a smartphone application

The JoyPop iOS phone application is designed to increase youth resilience to stress and adverse life events. The JoyPop app contains activities to promote healthy management of current stressors and mitigate adverse short- and long-term effects of maladaptive coping strategies. This pilot study will test the JoyPop intervention with undergraduate and graduate social work trainees who experience many stressors, for eventual use with vulnerable youth to increase their resilience.

Principal investigator: Katherine Maurer

Project start date: April 1, 2019

Funding received: $19,992

10 Years of Critical Neuroscience: New Directions in the Social, Ethical and Methodological Contexts of Brain Research

This project supports a multipronged initiative commemorating the 10th year of the Critical Neuroscience movement. It will include an interdisciplinary workshop to discuss current issues in neuroscience and society and to serve as an interface between research and policy. Bringing together international experts across the fields of cognitive neuroscience, artificial intelligence, psychiatry, social policy and journalism, participants will debate implications of cognitive neuroscience research for psychiatry, education, bioethics and health policy.

Principal investigator: Suparna Choudhury

Project start date: June 9, 2019

Funding received: $19,805

Healthy smartphone use to reduce stress and improve cognition: A randomized controlled trial

This project will validate the team's previous study on behavioural intervention in smartphone overuse. It will also supplement their findings on smartphone addiction rates by conducting a meta-analysis and survey of the prevalence of smartphone overuse in different countries across the world.

Principal investigator: Samuel Veissiere

Project start date: July 1, 2019

Funding received: $76,616

Reducing shift work fatigue: A web-based intervention for nurses

This experiment will compare an experimental intervention (light exposure) versus a control intervention (sleep improvement suggestions) over a period of one month to reduce fatigue in nurses in order to promote fewer errors at work, better sleep and greater well-being.

Principal investigator: Virginia Lee

Project start date: September 1, 2019

Funding received: $70,000

Psychiatric Illness in Canadian Youth: Mobilizing Measurement to Improve Clinical Care

This project will mobilize recent developments in psychometric theory and the theory of measurement, consolidating them into clear and accessible best-practice guidelines and training modules for clinicians who treat 12-24 year-olds affected by mental illness. This training will be piloted at seven one-stop centres for youth mental health across British Columbia and will be made available to wider audiences through a dedicated online platform.

Principal investigator: Eran Tal

Project start date: September 1, 2019

Funding received: $99,733

Cannabis, brain development & youth mental health: a school intervention program

The purpose of this project is to integrate psychiatry and neuroscience research into the design of an intervention program trial to reduce cannabis use in adolescents.

Principal investigator: Suparna Choudhury

Project start date: July 1, 2019

Funding received: $98,263

Gene Therapy Family Education Initiative

Together with a multi-disciplinary team of expert collaborators, this team will develop content on gene therapy and enzyme replacement therapy topics which will be made accessible for lay understanding. These tools will be developed as open access digital content using seamless online distribution methods in addition to traditional ones using patient organizations and relevant worldwide clinical centers of excellence.

Principal investigator: Genevieve Bernard

Project start date: July 1, 2019

Funding received: $20,000

2021

Research and operation support for the Canadian Framework for Brain Health (CFBH)

The project will coordinate and work with 12 thematic groups and Stakeholder Advisory Group, create a lived and living experience group and organize workshops. The project also includes working with stakeholder advisory group(s) for knowledge mobilization of policy and practice domains.

Principal investigator: Laurence Kirmayer

Event start date: March 1, 2021

Funding received: $85,000

2023

Intersectional Approaches in Neuroimaging (Inter-Neuro)

Quantifying intersectionality across open access neuroimaging datasets. We will study, based on currently available and widely large-scale neuroimaging datasets (e.g., UKBB, NSPN, ABCD, HCP, ABIDE, NKI, ADNI), the feasibility of quantifying intersectionality-related metrics with existing secondary data. We will then assess whether these datasets adequately represent equity-seeking groups based on these metrics, and make recommendations for future large-scale open-access data-sharing efforts and outline new statistical approaches to quantifying intersectionality based on Bayesian statistical approaches.

Principal investigator: Boris Bernhardt

Event start date: June 1, 2023

Funding received: $25,000

Social Determinants of Health, Diversity and Representativeness in Current Neuroscience

This project aims to better understand how different social factors influence brain health research. By creating clear definitions, checking data quality, and analyzing various databases, the researchers hope to identify ways to improve the representation of diverse populations in neuroscience research. This is important for making sure that our understanding of brain health is relevant and accurate for everyone.

Principal investigator: Laurence Kirmayer

Event start date: July 3, 2023

Funding received: $17,280