Founded in 1881, The Douglas Mental Health University Institute Research Centre (the Douglas) was Montreal’s first and largest psychiatric hospital. As a McGill University teaching hospital, the Douglas is recognized as a flagship centre in mental health research by the Quebec government (Fonds de la recherche du Québec-Santé). The Douglas sets itself apart through innovative neuroscience, clinical and psychosocial research across five major themes:
- Sleep and Biological Rhythms;
- Youth Mental Health and Early Intervention;
- Environmental Adversity, Neurodevelopment, and Mental Health;
- Stress, Anxiety, Depression, and Suicide;
- Aging, Cognition, and Alzheimer’s Disease;
There are over 60 principal investigators at the Douglas, including two of the Ludmer Centre's scientific directors: Patricia Pelufo-Silveira, MD, PhD, and Gustavo Turecki, MD, PhD. Dr. Silveira epigenetic approach examines the effect of early life and pre-natal environment on developmental outcomes. Dr. Turecki studies how different patients with depression will have different responses and treatment outcomes at a molecular and single-cell level.
The Douglas also hosts the unique Bell-Douglas Brain Bank containing over 3000 brains from patients with neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, as well as the Douglas Brain Imaging Centre dedicated to mental health research on humans and small animals.
