Research and Educational Excellence Fund (REEF) 2023-24

Thanks to generous donors like you, Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) members and trainees have access to the latest technological advances, research and education.

The HBI's Research and Educational Excellence Fund (REEF) was established at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) in 2017 to support groundbreaking work in brain and mental health. REEF is designed to fund high-impact research projects and provide valuable support to graduate studentships and post-doctoral fellowships. REEF powers and extends the extraordinary work previously supported through another program called REACH, which was wrapping up in early 2025 as its funds are fully spent. Since 2006, the REACH fund, held at the Calgary Health Foundation, has provided vital support to researchers and educators at HBI. 

Expanding core facilities 

In 2023 and 2024, REACH funded multiple key priorities, including the operation of three core facilities: the HBI Molecular Core, the NeuroImaging Research Unit (NIRU) and the Real-World Evidence (RWE) Core. The Molecular Core facility has expanded significantly, growing from eight research groups to more than 40 in the last four years. The NIRU has facilitated more than 50 brain-imaging projects, helping investigators secure peer-reviewed funding, including an $8.2-million Innovation Fund award from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. NIRU also offers neuroimaging education and professional skills workshops in collaboration with HBI’s Research, Education And Leadership In NeuroSciencE (REALISE) program. RWE, the newest core, is a virtual data resource integrating health data, clinical registries and external sources. It aims to catalyze health system-based, and population-based research in brain and mental health, optimizing patient care and improving health outcomes. 

images of spinal cord sections from mice
images of spinal cord sections from mice

The Molecular Core at HBI helped produce these images of spinal cord sections from mice in a study of Fibulin-2, a protein that is elevated in several neurological conditions, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and traumatic brain injury. The imaging supported research by Dr. Wee Yong, PhD.

Dr. Elizabeth Condliffe

Dr. Elizabeth Condliffe, PhD, MD

Supporting research startups

Over the past year, REACH funding was instrumental in the recruitment and startup support for several new HBI researchers. Dr. Nathalie Jetté, MD, is focused on enhancing care quality and health outcomes for epilepsy and other neurological conditions using prediction tools and decision models for clinicians. Dr. Elizabeth Condliffe, PhD, MD, is dedicated to improving care for individuals with cerebral palsy and other neurodisabilities, with an emphasis on motor impairments and neuroplastic recovery. 

Additionally, Dr. Sarah Morrow, MD, who founded Canada’s first multiple sclerosis (MS) cognitive clinic in London, Ont., also received funding and plans to establish an MS cognitive clinic in Calgary. 

Advancing innovative research 

HBI runs multiple competitions throughout the year to fund preliminary trials—known as pilot funds (PFUNs)—to advance innovative research and establish data needed for larger grants. In the 2023 competition, REACH supported three PFUNs:

  • Dr. Alexander McGirr, MD, PhD: advanced imaging to better diagnose and treat social anxiety
  • Dr. Camila Aquino, MD, PhD: personalized neuromodulation strategies for deep brain stimulation
  • Dr. Gerald Pfeffer, PhD, MD: new diagnostic and biomarker tools for individuals with genetic myopathy

 

Awards and grants

Thanks to REACH, HBI allocated two Hopewell Maximizing Innovation in Neuroscience Discovery (M.I.N.D.) Prize runner-up awards to Drs. V. Wee Yong and Deborah Kurrasch, both PhD. Dr. Yong aims to overcome central nervous system fibrosis in MS patients to facilitate neuroregeneration and evaluate novel therapeutics. Dr. Kurrasch’s research on cognitive-enhancing psychedelics explores the neurobiology of psychedelics and their impact on mental health.

REACH funding also enabled HBI to offer Strategic Research and Innovation Committee Booster Grants, ensuring Institute laboratories thrive and secure major grants. For example, Dr. Andrea Protzner, PhD, received a booster grant to continue her research on depression treatment effectiveness and adaptive plasticity in aging, leading to a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant for a precision-medicine approach to treatment-resistant depression.

Dr. Deborah Kurrasch

Dr. Deborah Kurrasch, PhD

Thank you!

Thanks to your support HBI is advancing world-leading research and recruiting and training the best and brightest in the field. REEF will continue the momentum started by REACH and make a real difference for people living with neurological and mental health disorders both here in Calgary and beyond. Together we can inspire new discoveries and treatments for brain health.