DMCBH members Drs. Annie Ciernia and Mark Cembrowski are among the five recipients of Brain Canada’s Momentum Grants, a new program that aims to enable researchers to build upon their previously funded Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research projects and explore new dimensions of their work with the potential to generate breakthroughs in our understanding of the brain.
“Neuroscience research continues to uncover new insights into the complexities of the brain, opening up avenues for improved diagnostics, therapies and interventions for brain disorders,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada. “Our commitment to this funding is crucial in helping researchers maintain and accelerate their work, ensuring they can build on the momentum created by their initial seed funding.”
Recognizing the crucial role of sustained support, Brain Canada’s $1 million investment through this program is intended to support bold ideas that will contribute to the overall advancement of neuroscience research in Canada and around the world.
“I am very grateful to Brain Canada for their continued support,” says Dr. Ciernia. “This Momentum Grant allows us to build on our earlier research and delve deeper into understanding how the microbiome, brain and hormones interact in the context of childhood inflammatory bowel disease.”
“This grant is a huge boost to our research on epilepsy. Using advanced techniques like single-cell optophysiology will allow us to understand how seizures start and how they can be better treated,” says Dr. Cembrowski. “I am thrilled that Brain Canada is supporting this important work.”
Learn more about our DMCBH members’ research projects below:
Dr. Annie Ciernia (2021 Arrell Family Foundation Future Leader in Canadian Brain Research)
Project Title: Sexual Development and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: The Microbiome-Hormone-Brain Axis
Recent research has found that the microbes living in our gut can influence important developmental processes like brain development and hormone regulation during puberty. These microbes produce chemicals that affect the brain and hormone levels, both of which are key during childhood development. However, there remains a wide knowledge gap in understanding how inflammation of the gut, such as in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), impacts brain function and puberty.
This is particularly concerning because IBD, which causes chronic gut inflammation and microbial changes, is often diagnosed in children (approximately 25% of patients are diagnosed in childhood). It is also linked to mental health issues like anxiety, depression and cognitive problems, and is associated with delayed puberty. Dr. Ciernia and her team propose to study how gut problems in IBD can disrupt communication between the gut, brain and hormones, potentially affecting children’s mental health and growth.
To investigate this, Dr. Ciernia’s team has created a unique mouse model where they transplant gut microbes from human IBD patients into mice. This allows them to study how specific gut microbes may contribute to brain development and puberty changes. The goal is to better understand how gut health affects children’s brains and growth, which could lead to better treatments for improving mental health and developmental outcomes for children with IBD.
Dr. Mark Cembrowski (2019 Azrieli Future Leader in Canadian Brain Research)
Project Title: High-throughput single-cell optophysiology and RNA sequencing to understand seizure initiation and intervention
Epilepsy, a brain disorder marked by repeated seizures, becomes especially difficult to manage in cases of “drug-resistant epilepsy,” where standard medications are ineffective. This form of epilepsy urgently requires new treatments, which can only emerge from a better understanding of the brain cells and molecules involved in causing seizures.
Recently, Dr. Cembrowski’s lab has established a new collaboration with brain surgeons and pathologists to help address this need. This involves using living human brain tissue obtained from epilepsy surgeries from informed, consenting research participants. In prior research, the lab has developed methodologies that allow brain tissue to live for weeks, so it is now possible to combine this living tissue with designer viruses that allow specific cells and molecules to be measured and controlled.
Dr. Cembrowski’s team will examine these rare living brain samples with state-of-the-art high-throughput and single-cell-resolved neuroscience technology. By using a technique called “mesoscopic imaging,” they can study the activity of thousands of brain cells at once to identify which ones trigger seizures. After pinpointing these cells, molecular sequencing helps to identify key targets for potential drug therapies. The team will then test these next-generation drugs on living brain tissue to see if they can reduce seizure-like activity. The goal is to not only generate new understanding of drug-resistant epilepsy but also identify innovative treatments that offer hope to patients who have not responded to conventional medications.
