Ms. Élisabeth Brière, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, visited the Douglas last Friday, Aug 19, 2022, to meet with some of our recently-funded researchers, and to learn more about the mental health research being carried out at the Douglas. MP Brière formally announced $4.7 million for five new projects to be led by researchers at the Douglas Research Centre, Drs. Mark Brandon, Martin Lepage, Corina Nagy, Gustavo Turecki, and Tak Pan Wong.
“Our government is committed to supporting research that will lead to better mental health for Canadians. I want to congratulate all the researchers receiving this new funding. Their work will be instrumental in advancing our understanding of mental illnesses and leading the way to more effective treatments for all.” — Élisabeth Brière, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health and Member of Parliament for Sherbrooke
MP Brière was accompanied by Ms. Stephanie Priest, Executive Director, Mental Health and Wellbeing Division, Centre for Health Promotion at Public Health Agency of Canada. During this visit, MP Brière and Ms. Priest met four of the researchers who received CIHR Project grants as a part of the Spring 2022 Competition, visited several research infrastructures available at the Douglas, including a virtual reality studio, led by Dr. Lepage, the Cerebral Imaging Centre, led by Dr. Mallar Chakravarty, and the Douglas Bell Canada Brain Bank, led by Dr. Turecki and Dr. Naguib Mechawar.
“I am thrilled that five researchers from the Douglas Institute obtained Project Grants this session, with projects in depression, schizophrenia, and memory formation. This support from CIHR is what allows scientists to work toward breakthroughs in mental health research. Ultimately, understanding how the brain works is the key to improving prevention and treatment of mental illnesses.” — Gustavo Turecki, MD, PhD, FRSC, Scientific Director, Douglas Research Centre & Chair, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University
See the CIHR News release here.
MP Brière and Ms. Priest also met with the Research team at ACCESS Open Minds to learn about how they are making an impact in Youth Mental Health care. They were able to sit down with 9 key members of the ACCESS Open Minds team:
Dr. Srividya Iyer, OM Scientific-Clinical Director / Nominated Principal Investigator- Yvonne Pelling, Family/Carer Partner
- Feo Poukhovski-Sheremetyev, Youth Partner
- Ina Winkelmann, Montreal West Site Lead, Associate Director, Mental Health and Addictions Program Directorate
- Dr. Amal Abdel-Baki, Co-Investigator – Montreal Site Lead RIPAJ (Homeless Youth Network)
- Dr. Jai Shah, Principal Investigator – Health Economics Evaluation Lead
- Dr. Valérie Noel, ACCESS Open Minds Staff – Research Associate
- Cat Lau, ACCESS Open Minds Staff – Knowledge Translation & Communications Lead
- Gregory Brass, ACCESS Open Minds Indigenous council member and representative of the Cree Nation of Mistissini site
Dr. Srividya Iyer, OM Scientific-Clinical Director / Nominated Principal Investigator(photo credit: Cat Lau)
The visit was also an opportunity for our guests to meet with key figures at the CIUSSS Ouest-de-l’Île de Montréal:
Richard Legault, President of the Board of Directors- Najia Hachimi-Idrissi, Acting President and CEO, CIUSSS
- Marie-France Brizard, Associate Executive Director—Integration of services, Management by care trajectories and Academic Affairs
- Monique Guay, Director of Communications
Richard Legault, President of the Board of Directors
View more pictures of the visit
