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Dr. Ryan Hoiland named a 2023 Brain Canada Future Leader in Canadian Brain Research

September 18, 2024

Dr. Ryan Hoiland is one of 21 neuroscientists in Canada who have been awarded $100,000 each in research funding, as part of Brain Canada’s 2023 Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Program .

The Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program aims to accelerate novel and transformative research that will fundamentally change our understanding of nervous system function and dysfunction and their impact on health.

Dr. Hoiland completed his PhD and MSc in Interdisciplinary Studies with UBC Okanagan’s School of Health and Exercise Sciences. His graduate training focused on the physiologic mechanisms that regulate and preserve oxygen delivery to the human brain in acute and chronic hypoxic settings. As a postdoctoral fellow, he worked at both Vancouver General Hospital, under the supervision of Drs. Mypinder Sekhon and Donald Griesdale, and the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), under the supervision of Drs. Chris West and Brian Kwon . His research investigated the pathophysiology of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury as well as traumatic spinal cord injury, with a focus on mitigating secondary hypoxic injury. Collectively, his training involved studying how the central nervous system responds to hypoxia in pre-clinical disease models, healthy humans and patients.

Currently an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences (CPS) and Investigator with the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management (CCDPM), Dr. Hoiland conducts research along the translational continuum with the aim of determining neuroprotective strategies to improve outcomes for patients suffering an acute central nervous system injury.

His new research project – A physiologic-to-tissue level approach to characterize the pathophysiology of hypoxic ischemic brain injury in humans – will couple high-frequency patient physiology data with proteomic analysis of tissue samples including blood, cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue. Through this, he hopes to determine the specific disease processes that are associated with brain injury due to low brain oxygen levels in humans.

“At present, there are no effective treatments for hypoxic ischemic brain injury following a cardiac arrest. A key knowledge gap is our currently poor understanding of how the molecular aspects of hypoxic ischemic brain injury are related to systemic patient physiology,” says Dr. Hoiland. “By better understanding the integration of tissue-level and physiologic responses to hypoxic ischemic brain injury, we hope to get closer to developing therapies that are effective within the highly complex clinical context of this devastating disease.”

The Future Leaders program is made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund, an innovative arrangement with the Government of Canada, through Health Canada, and Brain Canada, and the Azrieli Foundation, as well as numerous major donors who believe that solving the brain’s mysteries will significantly improve quality of life for people in Canada.

“Empowering the next generation of scientists is critical to improving health outcomes for people living with brain conditions and their families,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada. “We are confident that supporting these bold ideas will advance research and accelerate progress in ways that will benefit all of us. With this funding, we are building a strong pipeline of neuroscience leaders and laying the groundwork for future research excellence.”

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Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research

Brain Canada

Supported by the Canada Brain Research Fund, the purpose of the Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program is to accelerate novel and transformative research that will fundamentally change our understanding of nervous system function and dysfunction and their impact on health. The ultimate goal is to reduce the social and economic burden of neurological and mental health illnesses through prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment.

Funding available in the amount of $100,00 over two years.

The information in this directory is provided as a service to the University Community and anyone with legitimate business with the University. Use of this directory to prepare mass mailings is prohibited.

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Research & Innovation

Brain canada foundation 2023 future leaders in canadian brain research, research admin offices:, funding type:, opportunity type:.

Open to early-career investigators within five years of starting their first independent research position, the 2023 competition has an overall funding envelope of $2,000,000 to support up to 20 grants of $100,000 over two years.

Disciplines:

• Faculty of Social Sciences
• Health Sciences
• Brain Canada Foundation

Internal Deadline:

Sponsor deadline:, additional dates:.

• ROADS NOI - ASAP -
• ROADS - Draft Application - March 6, 2024
• HRS - LOI - November 15, 2023
• SPONSOR - LOI - November 29, 2023
• SPONSOR - Final Application - March 20, 2024

Description:

The purpose of the Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program is to accelerate novel and transformative research that will fundamentally change our understanding of nervous system function and dysfunction and their impact on health. The ultimate goal is to reduce the social and economic burden of neurological and mental illnesses through prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment.

Additional Details.

For more information and to apply, contact ROADS Senior Advisor,  Beatrice Fletcher.

The Douglas Research Centre

Affiliated with McGill University and the Montreal West Island IUHSSC

Drs. Corina Nagy and Mahsa Dadar named Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research

September 22, 2023.

We are pleased to announce that Drs. Corina Nagy and Mahsa Dadar have both been named as 2022 Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research. Yesterday, Brain Canada Foundation announced the 28 Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research for this year, who will each receive $100,000 grants to support their developing research careers.

Congratulations Drs. Nagy and Dadar!

The Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program is supported by the Canada Brain Research Fund and anchored by a lead gift from the Azrieli Foundation. It aims to accelerate novel and transformative research that will fundamentally change our understanding of nervous system function and dysfunction and their impact on health. In its fourth year, this flagship program is providing funding to its largest-ever cohort of researchers, with 28 recipients—almost 30% more researchers than previous years. Over the course of four years, the Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program has granted awards to a total of 88 promising early-career researchers. The program is made possible through a substantial contribution from the Azrieli Foundation, with support this year from The Erika Legacy Foundation, The Arrell Family Foundation, the Segal Foundation, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

This year, Brain Canada has awarded $100,000 grants to 28 early-career investigators with research projects that range from uncovering why individuals experience pain differently, to understanding the impact of deep-brain stimulation in mitigating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. With the support of Brain Canada and its donors and partners, these visionary researchers are making substantial contributions to brain research across the country and around the world.

Researchers who have recently completed their training and have just begun their careers are uniquely positioned to develop groundbreaking brain research initiatives. Brain Canada is thrilled to see how our signature Future Leaders program has grown, enabling us to provide increased support to a growing number of researchers during the pivotal stage of their careers. Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada

By providing early-career researchers with funding at this critical juncture, Brain Canada is building Canada’s pipeline of leaders in neuroscience and a foundation of research excellence and innovation.

Brain Canada is the leading foundation dedicated to advancing neuroscience in this country. The Future Leaders program not only empowers the next generation of leaders with mentorship, resources, and collaboration, but also fosters a vibrant community of forward-thinkers who will shape the future of neuroscience. Naomi Azrieli, Brain Canada Chair

The work of the 2022 Future Leaders has the potential to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people living in Canada who are affected every day by brain diseases, disorders, and injuries.

Learn more about the Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research

Brain Canada Foundation: Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research - Momentum Grants 2024

Brain Canada Foundation

For More Information

For additional information, please see the Request for Applications  for:

• Program guidelines
• Application forms
• Evaluation criteria

Description

Brain Canada is pleased to announce a new program to leverage the strengths of the  Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Program , which anchored by a generous gift from the Azrieli Foundation, provides funding to early-career researchers to build a foundation of research excellence and innovation in Canada.  The new  Momentum Grants  program aims to enable researchers to build upon their previously funded initial projects and explore new dimensions of their research with the potential to generate breakthroughs in our understanding of the brain.   This funding opportunity is open to previous recipients of Azrieli Foundation-Brain Canada Early-Career Capacity Building Grants or Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Grants. It has a funding envelope of $1,000,000 CAD to support up to five grants of $200,000 over two years. Through the Momentum Grants, we aim to provide researchers with funding to sustain and accelerate their ongoing research, allowing them to capitalize on the initial momentum generated through their seed funding.  Evidence clearly shows that increasing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in research environments enhances excellence, innovation, and creativity. Brain Canada is committed to excellence through equity, and we encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds to apply to our funding opportunities, which will promote the expression of diverse perspectives, approaches, and experiences, including those of underrepresented groups. 

Eligibility

• Applicants must have been previously awarded a 2018 Azrieli Foundation-Brain Canada Early-Career Capacity Building Grant or a Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Grant. Please note, to be eligible to apply to the Momentum Grants, the end date of the previous grant, including any no-cost extension period, must be before the expected funding start date of September 1, 2024, and the applicant must not have any overdue reporting to Brain Canada from their previous grant at this date.
• Applicants must demonstrate how the findings and/or outcomes of their initial grant led to the proposed research project; there must be a clear link and progression forward.
• Applicants must be conducting research at an eligible Canadian institution for the entire duration of the grant, and must be considered an independent researcher at their institution. Such an individual normally holds the rank of assistant, associate, or full professor; can initiate and direct their own independent lines of research as principal investigator; has full responsibility for running their laboratories; has full control of their research funds; and is permitted to supervise trainees (if applicable, as per their institution’s policy).
• Research applications may be related but cannot be identical to any other currently funded projects. It is the responsibility of the applicant to notify Brain Canada immediately should overlap arise from new funding awarded during the application and review process of this competition.
• Applicants must be able to initiate the project in September 2024 when funding is expected to begin.
• Each applicant is only eligible to apply to the Momentum Grants program up to two (2) times (i.e. two competition cycles).

Funding Availability

This funding opportunity has a funding envelope of $1,000,000 CAD to support up to five grants. 

Maximum Project Value

$200,000 per grant

Indirect Costs

Project duration.

If College-level review is required, your College will communicate its earlier internal deadlines.

How to Apply

Please note that this funding opportunity includes a Registration Form and a Full Application stage. Applicants must submit a Registration Form in order to be eligible for the Full Application stage.

Registration Forms must be submitted using Brain Canada’s electronic grant management system, SmartSimple .

It is the sole responsibility of the Principal Investigator to ensure their submission adheres to the requirements and is received by the deadlines outlined above.

Brain Canada at  [email protected]

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Laurie Gallinger, Awards & Agreements Officer Research Services Office [email protected]

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Satellite Meeting: Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Knowledge Exchange

Date: May 28, 2023

Location: Montreal Bonaventure Hotel

Organiser: Brain Canada Foundation

Brief description of event

The 16th Canadian Neuroscience Meeting in Montreal, Quebec, presents an ideal opportunity for Brain Canada to bring together researchers funded through one of its flagship programs – Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research . Launched in 2019, this annual grant program, which is anchored by a lead gift from the Azrieli Foundation, provides funding at the most critical point in a researcher’s career and gives budding scientists the courage to dream big and be brilliant. Through this revolutionary funding model, Brain Canada is establishing Canada’s pipeline of future leaders, and laying a foundation of research excellence and innovation.

Three cohorts, 60 recipients, have been funded to date through the Future Leaders program. Brain Canada has also invited the 10 recipients of the 2018 Early Career Researchers Program, a pre-cursor to the Future Leaders program. At this satellite event, Brain Canada will be providing a forum for an in-person, half-day workshop comprised of three panels with nine presentations, as an opportunity to connect, network, and share updates on their research.

Brain Canada will also extend an invitation to the recipients of the 2021 Rising Stars Awards ( https://braincanada.ca/news/2022-rising-stars-trainee-awards/ ), another capacity building Brain Canada-led program which aims to recognize the excellent research being conducted by graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and residents in all fields spanning neuroscience.

To learn more:

Future Leaders Recipients –

• 2019 ( https://braincanada.ca/news/major-boost-for-brain-health-in-canada/ )
• 2020 ( https://braincanada.ca/news/2020futureleaders/ )
• 2021 ( https://braincanada.ca/news/2021-future-leaders/ )

Brain Canada is committed to excellence through equity, and will promote the expression of diverse perspectives, approaches, and experiences, including those of underrepresented groups. All early-career researchers attending the event will have an opportunity to express to Brain Canada whether they would like to present their research – the final agenda will be established by Brain Canada, taking into account EDI considerations, as well as representation from institutions across Canada and different research areas.

Get in touch if you have any questions or comments:

[email protected]

Dr. Brett Hilton named a 2022 Brain Canada Future Leader in Canadian Brain Research

ICORD Principal Investigator Dr. Brett Hilton is one of 28 neuroscientists in Canada who have been awarded $100,000 each in research funding, as part of Brain Canada’s 2022 Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Program .

Brett Hilton

The Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program aims to accelerate novel and transformative research that will fundamentally change our understanding of nervous system function and dysfunction and their impact on health. Dr. Hilton’s work focuses on identifying the processes that prevent damaged neurons from regenerating following brain or spinal cord injury. He and his team are also interested in identifying the cells and circuits that are most critical for mediating functional improvements after spinal cord injury.

“My big dream is to develop an effective treatment that regenerates the injured spinal cord and restores neurological function following spinal cord injury,” said Dr. Hilton. “There are no such therapies available to people with spinal cord injuries today, so a regenerative therapy for spinal cord injury remains a critical unmet need of the Canadian healthcare system. I’m hopeful that in the next 20 years, our understanding of spinal cord regeneration progresses to such a point that a treatment that is effective at restoring neurological function has emerged.”

Dr. Hilton established his laboratory at ICORD, a spinal cord injury research centre within the UBC Faculty of Medicine and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, in January 2023, after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Bonn, Germany. He is an Assistant Professor in the UBC Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences and a member of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health .

By providing early-career researchers like Dr. Hilton with funding at this critical juncture, Brain Canada is building Canada’s pipeline of leaders in neuroscience and a foundation of research excellence and innovation. The work of the 2022 Future Leaders has the potential to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people living in Canada who are affected every day by brain diseases, disorders, and injuries.

Dr. Hilton with members of his lab

“Researchers who have recently completed their training and have just begun their careers are uniquely positioned to develop ground breaking brain research initiatives,” said Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada.

The Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Program is made possible through the Canada Brain Research Fund, a partnership between Health Canada and Brain Canada Foundation, with additional support from donors and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

“On behalf of ICORD, I’d like to express my gratitude to Brain Canada, both for recognizing Dr. Hilton’s potential as a star researcher in Canadian neuroscience, and also for supporting his work with this award. We’re honoured to have him as a colleague at our research centre,” said ICORD Interim Director Dr. John Kramer.

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Dr. Brett Hilton named a Brain Canada Future Leader in Canadian Brain Research

By Qian Chow | September 21, 2023

Dr. Brett Hilton, third from right, with members of his lab who are working to restore neurological function in patients following spinal cord injury.

UBC’s  Dr. Brett Hilton  is one of 28 neuroscientists in Canada who have been awarded $100,000 each in research funding, as part of Brain Canada’s  2022 Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Program .

The Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program aims to accelerate novel and transformative research that will fundamentally change our understanding of nervous system function and dysfunction and their impact on health. Dr. Hilton’s work focuses on identifying the processes that prevent damaged neurons from regenerating following brain or spinal cord injury. He and his team are also interested in identifying the cells and circuits that are most critical for mediating functional improvements after spinal cord injury.

“My big dream is to develop an effective treatment that regenerates the injured spinal cord and restores neurological function following spinal cord injury,” said Dr. Hilton, an assistant professor in UBC’s department of cellular & physiological sciences. “There are no such therapies available to people with spinal cord injuries today, so a regenerative therapy for spinal cord injury remains a critical unmet need of the Canadian healthcare system. I’m hopeful that in the next 20 years, our understanding of spinal cord regeneration progresses to such a point that a treatment that is effective at restoring neurological function has emerged.”

Dr. Brett Hilton

Dr. Hilton established his laboratory at ICORD , a spinal cord injury research centre within the UBC Faculty of Medicine and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, in January 2023, after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Bonn, Germany. He is a principal investigator at ICORD and member of the  Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health .

By providing early-career researchers like Dr. Hilton with funding at this critical juncture, Brain Canada is building Canada’s pipeline of leaders in neuroscience and a foundation of research excellence and innovation. The work of the 2022 Future Leaders has the potential to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people living in Canada who are affected every day by brain diseases, disorders, and injuries.

“Researchers who have recently completed their training and have just begun their careers are uniquely positioned to develop ground breaking brain research initiatives,” said Dr. Viviane Poupon, president and CEO of Brain Canada.

The Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Program is made possible through the Canada Brain Research Fund, a partnership between Health Canada and Brain Canada Foundation, with additional support from donors and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

“On behalf of ICORD, I’d like to express my gratitude to Brain Canada, both for recognizing Dr. Hilton’s potential as a star researcher in Canadian neuroscience, and also for supporting his work with this award. We’re honoured to have him as a colleague at our research centre,” said Dr. John Kramer, associate professor in UBC’s department of anesthesiology, pharmacology & therapeutics, and interim director of ICORD.

A version of this story originally appeared on the ICORD website .

Contact Information

Brain Canada Foundation funds future leaders in Canadian brain research

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Twenty early-career researchers from across Canada will receive $100,000 each in funding for innovative projects to better understand the brain, through one of Brain Canada's flagship programs Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research . In its third year, this signature program is anchored by a generous gift from the Azrieli Foundation, with support from the Alvin Segal Family Foundation, The Arrell Family Foundation, The Barry and Laurie Green Family Charitable Trust, and The Erika Legacy Foundation.

As a nation, we are among the world's five most active countries in neuroscience. By funding early-career research in conditions ranging from epilepsy to depression to multiple sclerosis, Canadian researchers will continue to contribute to major scientific advancements in brain science that will further the field both nationally and internationally." Dr. Viviane Poupon, Brain Canada President and CEO

The ultimate goal of the Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program is to reduce the social and economic burden of neurological and mental health problems through prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment. This year, the 20 grant recipients are investigating a diverse range of brain disorders and diseases. From studying gene therapy for Huntington Disease, to examining the brain structures behind eating disorders in adolescents, to fighting memory loss, these forward-thinking leaders are contributing to significant improvements in the lives of people in Canada.

I am motivated to study the brain by my day-to-day interactions. Everyone knows someone who is impacted by a brain disorder." Dr. Lindsay Cahill, Assistant Professor at Memorial University and a 2021 Future Leader in Canadian Brain Research

Dr. Cahill, much like the 19 other 2021 Future Leaders, thinks outside the box. There is a gene therapy treatment for Huntington Disease, but it suppresses both mutated and healthy genes. Dr. Cahill wants to see if a similar therapy that targets only the mutated copy would be a more effective strategy to treat patients.

2021 future leaders in Canadian brain research

For this competition, a total of 116 candidates from across the country submitted letters of intent which were evaluated by a peer review panel. Forty-seven researchers were subsequently invited to submit full, comprehensive grant applications, with the 20 grant recipients chosen after a second round of peer review.

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Grant Recipients:

• Dr. Philippe Albouy, Université Laval, Working Memory
• Dr. Lindsay Bodell, Western University, Eating Disorders
• Dr. Elie Bou Assi, Université de Montréal, Diagnosing Epilepsy
• Dr. Vincent Breton-Provencher, Université Laval, Learning & Decision-making
• Dr. Lindsay Cahill, Memorial University, Huntington Disease
• Dr. Carlos Camara Lemarroy, University of Calgary, Multiple Sclerosis
• Dr. Annie Ciernia, The University of British Columbia, Gut-Brain Interaction
• Dr. Michèle Desjardins, Université Laval, Cognitive Decline in Aging
• Dr. Catherine Duclos, Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, Safer Anesthesia
• Dr. Emma Duerden, Western University, Fetal & Neonatal Brain Development
• Dr. Alexandre Fisette, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Brain Networks & Obesity
• Dr. Federico Gaiti, University Health Network, Brain Tumour Biology
• Dr. Rishi Ganesan, Western University, Delirium in Critically Ill Children
• Dr. Jiami Guo, University of Calgary, Cellular Response to Brain Injury
• Dr. Karl Klein, University of Calgary, Gene Mutation & Epilepsy
• Dr. Julien Muffat, The Hospital for Sick Children, Genetics of Brain Disorders
• Dr. Aislin Mushquash, Lakehead University, Accessible Youth Mental Health Support
• Dr. Shaun Sanders, University of Guelph, New Treatment for Brain Cancer
• Dr. Ashlyn Swift-Gallant, Memorial University, Sex Bias in Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Dr. Christoph Zrenner, The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Brain Stimulation for Brain Disorders

To learn more about this year's cohort of Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research and to read about their projects, visit braincanada.ca/directory-funded-grants

These Canadian-based projects have been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada) and Brain Canada Foundation, and the Azrieli Foundation, the Alvin Segal Family Foundation, The Arrell Family Foundation, The Barry and Laurie Green Family Charitable Trust, and The Erika Legacy Foundation.

The CBRF increases Canadians' support for brain research and expands the philanthropic space for supporting brain research to achieve maximum impact. To date, Health Canada has invested over $130 million in brain research through the CBRF which has been matched by Brain Canada Foundation and its donors and partners.

Brain Canada Foundation

Posted in: Medical Science News | Medical Research News

Tags: Addiction , Adolescents , Aging , Autism , Brain , Brain Cancer , Brain Stimulation , Cancer , Children , Delirium , Depression , Epilepsy , Gene , Gene Therapy , Genes , Genetics , Hospital , Mental Health , Multiple Sclerosis , Mutation , Neuroscience , Obesity , Research , Sclerosis

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Brain Canada Grants $2.1 Million to Early-Career Researchers Nationwide

Introducing the fifth cohort of the Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program

MONTREAL , Sept. 17, 2024 /CNW/ - With an anchor gift from the Azrieli Foundation—and through the generous support of its visionary donors—Brain Canada is proud to announce the fifth cohort of  Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research . This year, $2.1 million in funding has been awarded to 21 promising early-career researchers, each receiving a $100,000 grant. Brain Canada's flagship program continues to drive innovative research that has the potential to transform our understanding of the central nervous system and its impact on our health. The Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program is one of several Brain Canada signature programs that focus on building capacity within the brain research ecosystem and accelerating bold science for better brain health.

"Empowering the next generation of scientists is critical to improving health outcomes for people living with brain conditions, and their families. We are confident that supporting these bold ideas will advance research and accelerate progress in ways that will benefit all of us," says Dr. Viviane Poupon , President, and CEO of Brain Canada . "With this funding, we are building a strong pipeline of neuroscience leaders and laying the groundwork for future research excellence."

This program is made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund, an innovative arrangement with the Government of Canada, through Health Canada, and Brain Canada , and the Azrieli Foundation, as well as numerous major donors who believe that solving the brain's mysteries will significantly improve quality of life for people in Canada .

Since its inception five years ago, the Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program has supported 109 emerging researchers, leading to 51 peer-reviewed publications, at least five patents, and more than $65.1 million in additional funding from other sources to amplify recipients' research.

" Brain Canada stands at the forefront of advancing neuroscience in Canada ," says Dr. Naomi Azrieli, Brain Canada Chair. "This year's Future Leaders research projects range from investigating disorders that impact social skills, to utilizing brain imaging and other methods to understand how sensory input influences brain development and behaviour, to examining physical activity as a strategy for maintaining brain health. It is very exciting to see the potential and to follow these brilliant minds as they explore important questions."

Meet the 2023 Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research

For the 2023 competition, Brain Canada received 112 Letters of Intent (LOIs) from institutions across Canada, spanning various topics in neuroscience. After an external peer review, 60 applicants were invited to submit full applications, with the final 21 grant recipients selected through a second round of rigorous, independent evaluation by an external peer review panel of Canadian and international neuroscientists.

Introducing the 2023 Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research :

Dr. Corey Baimel, Dalhousie University

Dr. Cindy Barha, University of Calgary

Dr. Robert Beattie, University of Manitoba

Dr. Gabriel Bossé, Université Laval

Dr. Justine Clery, McGill University

Dr. Aurélie De Rus Jacquet, Université Laval

Dr. Chelsea Ekstrand, University of Lethbridge

Dr. Maiya Geddes, McGill University

Dr. Orhan Selçuk Güven, Centre de Recherche Azrieli du CHU Sainte-Justine

Dr. Adil Harroud, McGill University

Dr. Ryan Hoiland, University of British Columbia

Dr. Lisa Julian , Simon Fraser University

Dr. Kaarina Kowalec, University of Manitoba

Dr. Qian Lin, University of Toronto

Dr. Paul Marcogliese, University of Manitoba

Dr. Dale Martin , University of Waterloo

Dr. Silvia Pozzi, Université Laval

Dr. Rachel Rabin , The Douglas Research Centre

Dr. Raphael Schneider , Unity Health Toronto

Dr. Yoshiaki Tanaka, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de l'Est-de-L'Île-de-Montréal

Dr. Scott Yuzwa, University of Toronto

The Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program is supported by: the Alvin Segal Family Foundation, The Arrell Family Foundation, the Hewitt Foundation, ALS Society of Canada, The Erika Legacy Foundation, the Lotte & John Hecht Memorial Foundation, the Barry and Laurie Green Family Charitable Trust, Women's Brain Health Initiative (WBHI), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR-IRSC).

About Brain Canada Brain Canada is a national non-profit organization that enables and supports excellent, innovative, paradigm-changing brain research in Canada . It plays a unique and invaluable role as the national convener of the brain research community. We join people, labs, and platforms across the country, as well as institutions, organizations, and sectors – to drive innovation and foster an interconnected brain research system. Our work enables Canada to excel and make even greater contributions to the global quest to understand the brain and identify solutions to brain disorders.

SOURCE Brain Canada

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2024/17/c8425.html

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Brain canada foundation, 2023 future leaders in canadian brain research.

The 2023 Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research from the Brain Canada Foundation supports early-career investigators in brain research in Canada. The program seeks to accelerate novel and transformative research that will fundamentally change our understanding of nervous system function and dysfunction and their impact on health.The ultimate goal is to reduce the social and economic burden of neurological and mental illnesses through prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment. Applications are open to early-career investigators within five years of starting their first independent research position. The grant provides 100,000 CAD over 2 years.

Letters of intent are due November 29, 2023 and invited full applications are due March 20, 2024.

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2022 Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research

Descriptions, opportunity link:, opportunity type:, award amount and duration:, eligibility.

This competition is open to early-career researchers within five years of starting their first independent research position by the deadline to submit Full Applications. Leaves of absence (e.g., maternity and parental leave, sick leave) will not be included in calculating the five-year window.

Applicants must be conducting research at an eligible Canadian institution for the entire duration of the grant, and must be considered an independent researcher at their institution. Such an individual normally holds the rank of assistant or associate professor; can initiate and direct their own independent lines of research as principal investigator; has full responsibility for running their laboratories; has full control of their research funds; and is permitted to supervise trainees (if applicable, as per their institution’s policy). Postdoctoral fellows or adjunct faculty are not eligible to apply.

• Academic appointments must have started by the Full Application submission deadline.
• Applicants must be able to devote a minimum of 50% of their time to research activities.
• Research applications may be related but cannot be identical to any other currently funded projects. It is the responsibility of the applicant to notify Brain Canada immediately should substantial overlap arise from new funding awarded during the application and review process of this competition.
• Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent in order to be eligible to submit a Full Application.
• Applicants who are currently holding, or previously received, an Azrieli Foundation Early-Career Capacity Building Grant or a Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Grant are not eligible to apply.
• Applicants must be able to initiate the project in September 2023 when funding is expected to begin.

Eligible Costs

These funds may be used to support any aspect of the research project, including:

• Salaries for technical personnel;
• Stipends of trainees;
• Supplies and materials;
• Maintenance of essential equipment and/or purchase of equipment that is currently unavailable but essential for the project;
• Provision of special services and user fees;
• Knowledge Mobilization, including, but not limited to, travel of the Principal Investigator and trainees for presentation of results at conferences, publication costs in peer-reviewed and open- access journals or repositories (including article processing charges), knowledge exchange activities (workshops, brochures, books), and knowledge diffusion activities via online technologies (webinars, podcasts).

Ineligible Costs

• Salaries and consulting fees of any investigator or researcher holding an independent academic appointment;
• General office and lab equipment;
• Indirect costs or overhead costs associated with managing the research project.

Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and Brain Canada must be consulted on expenses that are not listed here, so that any partners involved can determine the eligibility of other categories of expenditure.

Supported by the Canada Brain Research Fund, the purpose of the Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program is to accelerate novel and transformative research that will fundamentally change our understanding of nervous system function and dysfunction and their impact on health. The ultimate goal is to reduce the social and economic burden of neurological and mental health illnesses through prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment.

Newly trained researchers in their first independent academic position are in a strong position to formulate innovative and impactful research projects. However, at the early stages of an investigator’s career, they often lack the preliminary data and resources that are required to obtain their first large operating grant. As such, promising early-career researchers are often at a disadvantage when applying to “open” funding programs, where more established researchers tend to dominate.

The Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program has the potential to be transformative at a time when it is well recognized that there is a significant funding gap to support and retain our brightest early- career researchers, who are well positioned to make major contributions to Canadian brain research. By providing early-career researchers with funding at a critical point in their careers, we can build Canada's pipeline of future leaders and a foundation of research excellence and innovation.

This Program encourages innovative, unorthodox, and exploratory research that may be in the early and conceptual stages of project development but has potential for significant impact on our understanding of the brain. The data generated will enable early-career researchers to apply for larger grants that will lead to long-term projects and create innovative and sustainable research programs.

Projects should be distinct from other research projects conducted by the investigator. The research topic will focus on hypothesis-driven inquiries on the brain and nervous system, and may span the range of basic, translational, and clinical approaches, including:

• Basic research into fundamental properties and mechanisms, including functional studies based on the use of “-omics” data.
• Projects related to disease or dysfunction of the nervous system leading to new insights into fundamental biological mechanisms.
• Projects that experimentally test novel hypotheses addressing therapeutic or interventional approaches for brain disorders.
• Projects aimed at developing novel methods, if these methods allow new neuroscience questions to be answered.
• Projects, such as those using epidemiological, “-omics”, or other approaches, that will generate large datasets, if hypotheses are clearly stated.

This funding opportunity is meant to encourage innovative, unorthodox, and exploratory research that may be in the early and conceptual stages of project development but has potential for significant impact on our understanding of the brain. Open to early-career investigators within five years of starting their first independent research position, the 2022 competition has an overall funding envelope of $2,500,000 to support up to 25 grants of $100,000 over two years. Evidence clearly shows that increasing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in research environments enhances excellence, innovation, and creativity. Brain Canada is committed to excellence through equity, and we encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds to apply to our funding opportunities, which will promote the expression of diverse perspectives, approaches, and experiences, including those of underrepresented groups. Click  here  to view the Request for Applications. For more information, or if you have any questions regarding the application process, please contact Brain Canada at  [email protected] .

Pre-application deadlines

Rso internal deadline, pre-application program deadline, application deadlines, rso detailed review deadline, rso final internal review deadline, program application deadline.

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form , and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at [email protected] . Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process .

Contact Details

Trojan horse treatment for neurodegenerative disease

Dr. Dale Martin named a Future Leader in Canadian Brain Research

By Vanessa Parks Internal Communications and Engagement Specialist

When asked about his research, Dr. Dale Martin has a simple answer. “We study why cells in the brain die in the hopes of developing therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases,” he explains. On the other side of his office wall, his lab hums like something big is in the works. And it is.

Martin is a recipient of Brain Canada’s 2023 Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program, which supports emerging brain researchers working to develop cures for anything from depression to Alzheimer’s disease to brain injury.

Martin’s research explores genetic mutations that lead to neurodegenerative diseases. An emerging therapy for these diseases includes antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), small molecules that can target genetic changes to prevent mutant proteins from forming, thereby delaying the progression of diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophy. ASOs are also showing great potential in treating Huntington’s disease.

To get ASOs past the blood-brain barrier, standard treatments involve injections directly into the spinal cord. Martin’s team has come up with a less invasive treatment solution. They have developed small carriers, called nanoparticles, that use proteins expressed in the liver to carry ASOs across the blood-brain barrier. These nanoparticles can be injected into the bloodstream.

“What we’ve done is hijack high-density lipoprotein (HDL), a cholesterol transporter,” Martin explains. “This protein needs to get to the brain, so we’ve modified it to carry ASOs, sort of like a trojan horse.”

With the funding from this Brain Canada grant, Martin and his team will focus specifically on a rare cluster of diseases called multisystem proteinopathy (MSP), which affect the brain as well as the bone and muscle. MSP is caused by mutations in the Valosin-containing protein (VCP) gene. Patients with this mutation, even members of the same family, can develop disease in any combination of these systems, while also developing ALS.

“I’m excited to be able to do more research directly into VCP disease because it is so rare and not a lot of research has been done in this area,” Martin says. “I’m happy to use this platform to help VCP disease patients and do a deeper dive into this space and how it relates to ALS. Through the Cure VCP Disease foundation, I’ve had the opportunity to meet multiple MSP patients and listen to their stories, which has inspired me and my lab to try to find new treatments for MSP. We are grateful for their co-operation and support for this project, which includes patients’ genome sequences.”

In addition to being rare, diseases caused by mutations in the VCP gene are difficult to treat. Whereas Huntington’s disease is caused by one mutation in a single gene, MSP is caused by more than 50 different mutations in one gene. Since each mutation would require a specific ASO, multiple ASOs are required to treat MSP. Martin’s team will look for commonalities among patients with VCP disease to see if they can identify one shared genetic target for all mutations.

The 2023 Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research grant will allow Martin’s team to optimize their nanoparticles for the treatment of MSP. But this research will have a broader impact on the health of people living with other neurodegenerative diseases. Mutations in the VCP gene are also associated with Parkinsonism, hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), ataxia and ALS, among others.

“The nanoparticles we’re working with deliver to the brain, but they will deliver to the periphery as well, where they may have an additive effect in protection in ALS and MSP,” says Martin.

The Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program is made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund, an innovative arrangement with the Government of Canada, through Health Canada and Brain Canada. The program was established by an anchor gift from the Azrieli Foundation and is supported by the Alvin Segal Family Foundation, The Arrell Family Foundation, the Hewitt Foundation, ALS Society of Canada, The Erika Legacy Foundation, the Lotte & John Hecht Memorial Foundation, the Barry and Laurie Green Family Charitable Trust, Women’s Brain Health Initiative (WBHI), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR-IRSC). 

Working with organizations like Brain Canada strengthens the ability of researchers to translate the work they do in the lab to real-world outcomes. This grant will support Martin and his team as they develop treatment options for a variety of neurodegenerative disorders, directly impacting Canadians living with these diseases.

For those inspired to contribute to this crucial work, we invite you to connect with Science Advancement to learn how your generosity can make a meaningful impact. Reach out to Brain Canada , Cure VCP Disease or ALS Canada to learn more about how to directly support the goals of these organizations.

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Ontario funding new research on sports-related traumatic brain injuries

Study will help understand the scope of brain injuries among young athletes, researcher says.

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Ontario's Minister of Sport Neil Lumsden said Wednesday he intends to one day donate his brain for concussion research, while announcing new funding for a provincewide study on traumatic brain injuries.

Lumsden, the MPP for Hamilton East–Stoney Creek, played for 10 years in the Canadian Football League as a fullback and running back. He won three Grey Cups as a player with the Edmonton Elks and another as an executive with the Hamilton Tiger Cats before entering politics.

"I'm privileged to have had a long career playing a high-collision sport, and I am fortunate to have not experienced the negative long-term effects of concussions. But many of my teammates and others that I have played with and against haven't been so lucky," Lumsden said at a morning news conference in Toronto.

"It is my hope that with my donation, and many others like me, we can find out why that is. We need to find answers. We have the ability to find answers," he said.

Lumsden announced $52,500 in provincial funding for research to better understand the patterns and risk factors for sports-related traumatic brain injuries and their impacts on mental health. The project will be led by Jesse Young, a research scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and former junior hockey player.

"I've seen first hand the impact that repetitive traumatic brain injury in sports can have," Young said.

• Concussion experts encourage CFLers to wear Guardian Caps, but say athletes shouldn't feel 'immortal'
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Concussion Legacy Foundation Canada, a charity that supports athletes, veterans and children living with traumatic brain injuries, will be a partner in the year-long research project.

Young said the work will integrate multiple provincial data sources with the aim of better understanding the prevalence of concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated blows to the head, in Ontario.

"We have a lot of work to do to understand the size of the problem. We know it's large, but we don't know exactly how large it is," Young said.

"Second of all, we want to understand how we can use that information effectively to prevent these things from happening. And thirdly, we want to also then inform our response in terms of Rowan's Law, and actions around identification and treatment of people who do have repetitive traumatic brain injury from sports."

Advocate urges expansion of concussion-related laws

Rowan's Law , passed by the previous Liberal government in 2018, mandates all coaches and team trainers in Ontario review provincially-approved concussion awareness resources each year before serving in sports organizations or at schools. It also establishes removal-from-sport and return-to-sport protocols for players to ensure they are taken out of a game if they are suspected of having a concussion.

• In Depth With inconsistent support for brain injuries in Canada, peer groups are a lifeline

It was named for Rowan Stringer, an Ottawa teen who died in 2013 after suffering multiple brain injuries playing high school rugby.

Tim Fleiszer, executive director of Concussion Legacy Fund Canada and former CFL player, said he hopes the research will encourage other provinces and territories to enact concussion-related legislation to better protect young athletes.

"My hope is that we look back at the fall of 2024 as the moment we finally started to get ahead of this issue in Canada. We still have the opportunity to be the world leader, but if we don't move fast, we now risk falling behind," he said.

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Ontario minister and ex-CFL player Neil Lumsden will donate his brain for concussion research

Ontario’s Minister of Sport, Neil Lumsden, will donate his brain to research. 

The 10-year CFL veteran and four-time Grey Cup champion made the announcement at a press conference at Varsity Stadium in Toronto, on the very field where he used to compete as a star running back with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.

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“If I'm going to continue to walk the walk, to try and make things better, then the next thing for me is to try and really make things better,” he said while standing at a podium near the 50-yard line.

Lumsden is one of several former football players donating their brains through the Concussion Legacy Foundation . The organization has been working in Canada, the United States and around the world to promote safer sports and athletics through education and innovation. They’re also working to bring an end to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE – a disorder found in the brains of professional football and hockey players, as well as other contact sport athletes.

CFL champion Tim Fleiser is the executive director of the Concussion Legacy Foundation’s Canadian chapter. He says he hopes the announcement shines a light on concussion research underway, telling CTV News that “brain injuries are a much bigger part of the mental health equation than anybody realizes.”

Speaking to a group of reporters, Lumsden said he’s had multiple concussions.

• Top science and technology headlines, all in one place

“I’ve had my bell rung a number of times.” However, unlike some of his former teammates, Lumsden doesn’t believe he’s had any long-term neurological injuries from his rough and tumble playing days. And that, in part, is why he says he’s donating his brain to research.

“Why haven’t I had some of the effects that some of my teammates who are either older or younger (have had.) Why have I been immune? There’s got to be a reason. I want the research to find out, when the time comes, to make things safer for those coming behind me,” says Lumsden.

As part of his pledge, the Minister also announced $50,000 in provincial funding from Ontario to fund research that will collect data on the correlation between repeated head injuries and mental health issues in sport. While the financial investment may sound small to some, the director of the brain imaging centre at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Dr. Neil Vasdev says the money is going to fund crucial work.

“Every dollar counts, and this type of funding is really critical because what it allows us to do is the high-risk, high-gain things that we normally wouldn't have funding for,” said Vasdev, who added that the money will go towards work that traditional grants won’t cover.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is looking for current and former athletes at any level, military veterans, and victims of intimate partner violence, for head trauma research. People can also register to become a brain donor through the Concussion Legacy Foundation. 

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NASA replicates Mars 'spiders' in lab in groundbreaking experiment

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Ontario sports minister, ex-CFL player Lumsden to donate brain to concussion research

TORONTO — Neil Lumsden has signed his organ donor card for decades, so the decision to do his part for concussion research was a no-brainer.

Lumsden, Ontario's Minister of Sport, announced Wednesday he will donate his brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation Canada (CLFC) to assist with research on brain injuries. Lumsden made the declaration on the football field at Varsity Stadium, appropriate given Lumsden's long and decorated career in the sport.

"I'm privileged to have had a long career playing a high-collision sport and I'm fortunate to have not experienced the negative, long-term affects of concussions," Lumsden said. "But many of my teammates and others I've played with and against haven't been so lucky.

"Why have I been immuned? There's got to be a reason, I want to know what that reason is and more importantly I want the research to find out when the time comes to make things better and safer for those that come (after) me. Both of my kids (son Jesse, daughter Kristine) were involved in sport, contact on all fronts and I want it better for their kids and everyone's kids and grandkids."

Brain donations are important for gaining insight into the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease linked to repetitive head trauma.

Lumsden's ministry is also providing up to $52,500 in funding to CLFC, which is partnering with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health on a research project on traumatic brain injuries.

CLFC executive director Tim Fleiszer, also a former CFL player who's the only one in league history to win four Grey Cups with four different teams, applauded Lumsden for his public declaration.

"It's an enormous boost to what we're doing," Fleiszer said. "The majority of brain injuries go unrecognized, undiagnosed and untreated and we're just starting to understand now the mental-health implications of this.

"One of the fortunate things is because people pay attention to sport, we've been able to raise awareness that this isn't just a sports issue. We've got really important work to do and Minister Lumsden using his platform supporting us with funding for research but also putting this out there so people are becoming more aware of this is a great step."

Lumsden, 71, of London, Ont., won a Vanier Cup with the University of Ottawa in 1975. He went on to play 10 CFL seasons with Toronto (1976-78), Hamilton (1978-79) and Edmonton (1980-85), where he won three Grey Cups.

Lumsden added a fourth CFL title as Hamilton's general manager in 1999, a team Fleiszer was with. Lumsden was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

"Wanting to make a difference was important," Lumsden said. "When I've broken an arm or blown out an ACL, it's kind of the same for everybody.

"But repeated blows to the head and the results of those are not the same for everyone, not even close. If I can find out why and help someone else through research, why the heck wouldn't I through something that's very important to me, and that is sport, on and off the field?"

Lumsden, who spent upwards of 40 year coaching football and hockey, becomes the latest athlete to pledge their brain to research. That group includes hockey players Hayley Wickenheiser, Cassie Campbell-Pascall and Jonathan Huberdeau, former CFL star receiver Ken Evraire and former Canadian rugby player Jen Kish.

The subject of brain injuries in football took centre stage Thursday night when Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion during a running play in the second half of the club's 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

After being taken down by Buffalo's Damar Hamlin, Tagovailoa hit his head on the ground and struggled to immediately get up. He eventually was able to walk off the field, but the image of a prone Tagovailoa, his arm up in the air, prompted some NFL officials to suggest the former Alabama star should consider retirement following his third concussion since 2022.

Tagovailoa's younger brother, Taulia, is a first-year quarterback with the Ticats.

Jesse Lumsden followed in his father's footsteps into football, winning the '04 Hec Crighton Trophy as Canadian university's top player at McMaster. After a tryout with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, Lumsden, of Burlington, Ont., played in the CFL with Hamilton (2005-08), Edmonton (2009) and Calgary (2010).

Lumsden also represented Canada internationally in bobsleigh, competing in three Olympics (2010, '14, '18). He's currently the high-performance director of Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton.

Neil Lumsden said his body reminds him daily of his time as a football player. He says there were times when he suffered head trauma on the field but it was never serious enough to force him out of a game or miss significant time away.

"I remember in high school and college getting my bell rung," Lumsden said. "But never knocked out."

And he cited instances in the CFL when if trainers or medical staff members had concerns about a player's mental capacity, they simple took away his helmet so he couldn't return to the field.

"I saw that happen many times," Lumsden said. "Talk about being ahead of the curve.

"In that way I feel fortunate to have been surrounded by people who were a little ahead of the curve."

Lumsden also hopes others will follow his lead.

"I hope this announcement will inspire others in similar paths and similar backgrounds," he said. "I'd also like to urge my colleagues from across the country in the provinces and the federal government to follow Ontario's lead in establishing concussion safety legislation.

"By raising awareness and sparking change at all levels of government, we can ensure a safer future for younger athletes who want to go out and who have the right and deserve the chance to go out and compete and enjoy sport and recreation."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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Could 'Brain Training' Exercises Help Slow Alzheimer's Symptoms?

Key Takeaways

Memory training can help seniors fight thinking declines

Seniors who got memory training had less decline than those who didn’t

Protection from the training lasted at least five years

TUESDAY, Sept. 17, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Brain training aimed at improving memory can ward off symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease for years, a new study claims.

Seniors experienced a slower decline in their memory and thinking abilities after undergoing brain training, compared to others who didn’t get the training, researchers found.

This benefit persisted for five years after the seniors got the brain training, results show.

"These results are important because this kind of intervention is non-pharmacological -- there are no drugs involved -- and can have a significant impact on the lives of those affected,” said lead researcher Sylvie Belleville , research chair in cognitive neuroscience of aging and brain plasticity at the University of Montreal.

For the study, 145 seniors with mild cognitive impairment were recruited from memory clinics in Montreal and Quebec City between 2012 and 2015.

One-third of the seniors were randomly assigned to receive training in memory strategies. They worked on things like memorizing the names of people, remembering lists of items or tasks and focusing their attention to better memorize.

Another third underwent training to help their overall psychological well-being, such as techniques in anger management and problem-solving. The final third received no training at all.

The initial results “showed that early intervention can improve cognitive function in people at risk of Alzheimer's disease,” Belleville said in a university news release. “We had also observed cerebral changes showing these people had compensated mentally for their memory loss.”

In the latest paper, published Sept. 12 in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring , researchers recontacted study participants five years after that experiment, to see if the benefits held over time without repeated training.

The research team “still observed that the benefits on memory and that a measure of dementia had not changed at all in the treated group, whereas there was a decline in the untreated group,” Belleville said.

Those with memory training had less memory decline, and they also scored better on a screening test for cognitive ability, results showed.

The findings "underscore the potential of cognitive training as a preventive approach for cognitively vulnerable older adults, reducing cognitive decline and potentially delaying the onset of dementia," the study concluded.

"Furthermore, it is noteworthy that these enduring effects were achieved through a relatively brief, cost-effective intervention that can be readily implemented as a preventive measure for at-risk individuals,” researchers added.

More information

Harvard Medical School has more on training the brain .

SOURCE: University of Montreal, news release, Sept. 12, 2024

What This Means For You

Seniors should talk with their doctor about potential ways to train their brain to improve their memory and thinking abilities.

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T he science is indisputable. Decades of research confirm Earth’s climate is warming. CO2 levels are unprecedented, catastrophic weather events are becoming more frequent and severe, and human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, are the primary driver of the warming observed in the past century.

The stakes are high, and the scientific consensus is clear: Without fast and significant action to address climate change, it will get worse—more extreme weather, food and water insecurity, mass displacement and public health crises.

The need for real, demonstrable action is urgent. Across the globe, leaders are taking bold steps and driving meaningful change. The climate crisis is a dire threat, but also an opportunity.

For the first time, Forbes is spotlighting the entrepreneurs, scientists, philanthropists, investors, politicians and activists leading global efforts to combat the climate crisis. The 50 honorees recognized as Forbes inaugural Sustainability Leaders span industries and disciplines while all demonstrating exceptional ambition, innovation, and recent, tangible impact that is both scalable and sustainable. No greenwashing allowed — we looked for people making a real difference in their field, whether that’s Forbes 30 Under 30 alumnus Gaurab Chakrabart, turning sustainable ingredients into chemicals as the CEO and cofounder of Solugen , or Nemonte Nenquimo, cofounder of the non-profit organization Amazon Frontlines, which defends indigenous rights to land, life, and cultural survival.

The list, which is presented alphabetically, is vetted by a panel of distinguished climate experts. This year’s: Sylvia Earle, Laurene Powell Jobs, Bill McKibben, Nnimmo Bassey and Tom Baruch.

How We Created The Forbes Sustainability Leaders List

The innovators, game changers and free thinkers blazing a path forward., read our full methodology.

As McKibben, decorated environmentalist, author, and activist told Forbes : "The climate crisis is a test of whether the big brain was a useful adaptation—or, more precisely, whether it’s attached to a big enough heart to get the job done."

This first class of Sustainability Leaders highlights individuals driving real and lasting impact. We honor them for their vision and stewardship of our planet and to showcase the creative, inspiring solutions they are leading from the lab to the boardroom.

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Christophe Beck

Chairman and ceo, ecolab, united states.

Last year, Ecolab, a multinational water management company run by Christophe Beck, helped customers conserve more than 226 billion gallons of water. Based in Minneapolis, Ecolab employs 48,000 people worldwide and made $15 billion in revenue last year. Beck has spearheaded Ecolab’s involvement in the United Nations’ Water Resilience Coalition (WRC), which comprises 37 companies that help 100 water-stressed basins provide water for over 3 billion people. Last year he helped launch WRC’s California Water Resilience Initiative, which is helping conserve water in the Golden State through public-private partnerships. Under Beck, Ecolab has invested in WaterEquity, a fund that has raised $150 million to improve water and sanitation in the Global South.

Cofounder and CEO, Divert, United States

Ryan Begin is CEO and cofounder of Divert, a company using AI to help retailers reduce food waste. The Massachusetts-based company has raised approximately $300 million to date and counts Kroger, Target, and CVS among its over 6,600 customers. Divert’s 13 U.S. facilities processed over 384 million pounds of waste in 2023 and it is on track to build 30 more plants by 2031. Begin oversaw a $1 billion infrastructure agreement with Enbridge in 2023 for facilities to turn organic waste into renewable energy. Its collaboration with supermarket chain Safeway earlier this year boosted food donations 20% in just three months. “Sustainability is more than just a vision; it's the practical application of real, impactful solutions that transform our environment,” Begin told Forbes .

Courtesy Josefina Belmonte

Joy Belmonte

Mayor, quezon city, philippines.

In 2019, shortly after Joy Belmonte took office as mayor, Quezon City, the most populous city in the Philippines, became first in the country to declare a climate emergency. That move allowed Belmonte to allocate 13% of the city’s budget (which has since increased) to climate initiatives to reach its stated goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2050. Her initiatives run the gamut: doubling the city’s bike path network to 217 miles, electrifying its free bus service, adding solar panels to public buildings, banning plastic bags and single-use utensils, introducing a “trash-to-cashback” program and creating refilling stations for liquid detergent and other common household products. ( For more, see “ How The Mayors Of Quezon City And Freetown Are Fighting The Climate Crisis .”)

Courtesy Sam Bencheghib

Sam Bencheghib

Cofounder, sungai watch, indonesia.

Sam Bencheghib, a 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia alum, founded Sungai Watch in 2020 with his two siblings, Gary and Kelly in order to clean up rivers in Indonesia, which annually dump an estimated over 1 million metric tons of trash into the ocean. Sungai Watch has installed 300 floating barriers in those rivers that have removed 5.2 million pounds of trash, mostly plastic waste. The non-profit organization has created 10 facilities that sort the collected trash for potential recycling. Sungai Watch now employs 150 people and plans to expand to rivers in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. It is also in talks with government officials and non-profits to expand into the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Colombia and Kenya.

John Kokaska

Arlene Blum

Executive director, green science policy institute, united states.

Chemist Arlene Blum discovered a toxic chemical in children’s pajamas in the 1970s, which helped lead to its removal. After she learned the same toxic material was being used in furniture and baby products, in 2008, Blum, also a research associate in cell and molecular biology at UC Berkeley, founded the Green Science Policy Institute. Its goal is to rid the world of toxic chemicals, including PFAS, known as "forever chemicals." The EPA and state regulators have increasingly focused on harms from PFAS, and her research has helped reduce their use in food packaging, personal care products, and textiles. The Institute has raised $10 million from 10 foundations and 300 private donors. “Stopping the use of harmful chemicals in our products is like climbing a high Himalayan mountain,” Blum, a longtime mountaineer, told Forbes by email. “You find a worthy objective, select a team, pick up heavy loads, and persevere through deep snow, storms, avalanches and an occasional Yeti to reach the summit of a healthier world.”

Jason Buechel

Ceo, whole foods market, united states.

Since becoming CEO in 2022, Jason Buechel has led efforts to improve Whole Foods Market's environmental practices by sourcing more sustainably grown products and tackling food waste—a key source of the greenhouse gas methane. Whole Foods Market diverted 87,000 tons of unsold food and food scraps from landfills in 2023, and donated nearly 17,000 tons of food to redistribution programs. The company also adopted a policy requiring produce and floral suppliers to use biological pest controls instead of chemicals. Through its foundations, Whole Foods Market provided $9 million in grants and loans in 2023 to assist marginalized farmers and support projects to improve biodiversity and soil health. Last year it offered 41,000 organic products across its stores, a 9% increase from 2022.

Boston Metal

Tadeu Carneiro

Chairman and ceo, boston metal, united states.

Steel is responsible for around 8% of global CO2 emissions. Boston Metal’s electrolysis process, developed by researchers at MIT, enables steel manufacturing with no emissions of CO2 or other pollutants. Tadeu Carneiro, former CEO of Brazilian metals giant CBMM, joined the startup as CEO to commercialize the process. The company has raised more than $350 million in venture funding and developed a pilot plant for green steel at its Woburn, Massachusetts headquarters. Last year, it was selected to negotiate a $50 million grant from the Department of Energy for a plant to manufacture chromium and alloys in the former coal community of Weirton, West Virginia. In March, it opened a factory in Brazil, producing low-carbon iron alloys with similar green technology. Carneiro told Forbes earlier this year he expected the Brazilian operation to reach $400 million in revenue, with $100 million in operating profit, by 2026 – the same year the company aims to start selling its green steel. (For more, see “This Bill Gates-Backed Startup Is Trying To Fix Steel’s Horrible Environmental Impact.”)

Javier Vargas

Gaurab Chakrabarti

Cofounder and ceo, solugen, united states.

Forbes 30 Under 30 alumnus Gaurab Chakrabarti is cofounder and CEO of Solugen, which utilizes a unique biochemical process to produce industrial chemicals that are typically made with fossil fuels. Solugen uses yeast and proprietary catalysts to turn sustainable ingredients like sugar into chemicals, with less carbon emissions and waste than petrochemical companies. The company has raised over $600 million in investment and generates revenue from industrial, personal care and energy customers, as well as the Defense Department. It has a biomanufacturing facility in Houston and recently broke ground on a new 500,000 sq. ft. facility in Minnesota.

Michael Prince for Forbes

Yet-Ming Chiang

Professor of material science and engineering, mit, united states.

A professor at MIT, Yet-Ming Chiang has used his research to launch 10 startups, eight of which are focused on green technology. These include Form Energy, which has raised nearly $1 billion to build a gigafactory for its iron-air battery products, and Sublime Systems, which in April received an $87 million Department of Energy award for a commercial plant to make low-carbon cement. Chiang, who immigrated from Taiwan as a child, has said the goal of his research is to replace current carbon-based technologies with commercially-scalable green and low-carbon alternatives. He holds some 110 patents and has published over 330 peer-reviewed papers. His startups have raised over $2.5 billion and have counted companies like Black and Decker, GM and Dominion Energy as customers. ( For more, see “ Meet The MIT Professor With Eight Climate Startups And $2.5 Billion In Funding .”)

Jamel Toppin for Forbes

Catherine Coleman Flowers

Founding director, center for rural enterprise and environmental justice, united states.

Catherine Coleman Flowers is the Founding Director of the Centre for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice (CREEJ), an Alabama-based non-profit working to improve public health and economic development by providing marginalized rural communities with wastewater technologies that could also be used to recycle and reuse water. In 2021, her community organizing work led to a federal investigation that found that the Alabama Department of Public Health failed to provide basic sanitation services to Lowndes County, Georgia, exposing residents to raw sewage. To date, CREEJ has raised over $10 million through donations and grants, and has worked in communities in Michigan, California, New York, and Barbados. She has served as co-vice chair of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council since 2021.

Courtesy Tom Darrah

Cofounder and CTO, Koloma, United States

Tom Darrah is a geology professor at Ohio State University and one of the world’s leading experts on geological hydrogen, a potentially vast new clean energy source. Darrah’s research led him to cofound Koloma and serve as its chief technology officer. The startup has already raised more than $300 million from investors like Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures. The company is drilling test wells across the U.S. and is preparing to begin commercial extraction of naturally occurring hydrogen within the next few years. Initial users of its low-cost hydrogen are likely to include fertilizer producers and industrial customers. “It’s on every continent,” Darrah said. “The scale of how much there is is profound.”

Cofounder and CEO, Noveon Magnetics, United States

Motor manufacturers in the U.S. are largely dependent on China for rare earth minerals, which generate large amounts of toxic waste when extracted. That’s where Scott Dunn comes in. In 2014, he cofounded Noveon Magnetics to develop an energy-efficient way to manufacture high-performance magnets used in motors and generators, using rare earth elements from discarded devices. After raising approximately $200 million in funding, in June 2023 the company set up a factory in San Marcos, Texas to supply its automotive, renewable energy, aerospace and defense customers. “Ultimately, Noveon Magnetics hopes to create a circular economy for permanent magnets, both lessening the overall global demand for newly mined magnetic material while also accelerating the energy transition and powering the future more sustainably,” Dunn told Forbes . (For more, see “Meet The Texas Startup That Recycles Rare-Earth Magnets, Bypassing China.”)

Courtesy Cody Finke

Cofounder and CEO, Brimstone Energy, United States

Cement manufacturing accounts for 7.5% of global CO2 emissions. Cody Finke and his company, Brimstone, are looking to change that by using non-carbonate calcium silicate materials to replace the traditional limestone used in cement production, which is responsible for 60% of its CO2 emissions. The startup has raised $60 million from investors, and in March, Brimstone received a $189 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to finance its first plant, which it says will be operational later this year. Brimstone’s manufacturing decreases emissions from conventional cement production by 75% compared to traditional cement-making facilities.

Fernando Martinhoe

Marcel Gomes

Executive secretary, repórter brasil, brazil.

Marcel Gomes is the executive secretary of Repórter Brasil, a non-profit media outlet focused on human rights and environmental investigations. His work linked Brazilian beef giant JBS to illegal deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, which caused six major supermarket chains in Europe to indefinitely halt the sale of JBS products. In 2023, Hyundai pulled out of areas in the Amazon where Gomes reported that heavy machinery the company manufactured was accelerating illegal deforestation. Also in 2023, a Repórter Brasil investigation revealed that Starbucks sourced coffee beans from farms involved in slave and child labor . “My team at Repórter Brasil has shown that the due diligence mechanisms from companies in major sectors such as beef and soybean do not work and must be reviewed,” he told Forbes .

Courtesy Jennifer Granholm

Jennifer Granholm

Secretary, energy department, united states.

Jennifer Granholm, a two-term governor of Michigan, is the current U.S. Secretary of Energy. Her time in that role coincides with a major boost in funding for clean energy projects from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. That allowed Granholm to oversee the awarding of tens of billions of dollars in grants and loans for projects, including domestic battery and solar panel production and related materials, grid upgrades and creating a low-carbon, clean hydrogen energy industry. “Our motto is deploy, deploy, deploy,” Granholm said. “That has not historically been the case. When I came in we reorganized a whole new vertical inside the department and hired almost a thousand people to execute on deploying clean energy.” ( For more, see “ How Jennifer Granholm’s Energy Department Is Pumping Billions Into Clean Tech .”)

David Heifetz

Rodi Guidero

Executive director, breakthrough energy, united states.

Rodi Guidero is executive director of Breakthrough Energy, the climate tech investment fund spearheaded by Bill Gates. Since its founding in 2015, the organization has raised more than $4.5 billion and supported over 165 climate tech companies across sectors and continents. Guidero has helped steer Breakthrough Energy since the early days—he first joined as managing partner in 2016 and became executive director in 2022. Notable investments over the years include fusion power company Commonwealth Fusion Systems, carbon removal tech developer CarbonCure and geothermal installer Fervo Energy. In June, he hosted nearly 1,500 climate tech investors, innovators, policy-makers and world leaders at a global summit in London, showcasing technologies across every area of green tech.

Ashley Rogers

Katharine Hayhoe

Chief scientist the nature conservancy, united states.

Katharine Hayhoe is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy, where she leads and coordinates the nonprofit’s scientific research to tackle the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. She is also a professor at Texas Tech University, and one of the country’s foremost climate scientists, having authored over 125 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, and other publications. Her research currently focuses on using climate models to predict the future impacts of climate change at regional and local levels. The Canadian-born scientist is best known as a communicator who regularly gives talks and is quoted in leading media outlets on climate science.

Søren Hermansen

CEO, Samsø Energy Academy, Denmark

Soren Hermansen is the CEO of Samsø Energy Academy, which since 1997 has decarbonized the Danish island of Samsø, which now produces all of its electricity from community-owned renewable energy projects. “It takes a community to make change. Leadership is a shared effort,” Hermansen told Forbes . Per capita, the island produces more solar power, and has more heat pumps and more electric vehicles than anywhere else in Denmark, and is one of the only carbon-negative communities in the world. The organization is now going global: In 2023 , it partnered with the Japanese town of Ogata to build a biomass district heating plant.

Henri Garat

Anne Hidalgo

Mayor, ville de paris, france.

Since taking office in 2014, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has made the French capital more sustainable and climate resilient by building hundreds of miles of bike paths, planting over 200,000 trees and increasing parking fees for gas-guzzling SUVs, helping reduce air pollution and vehicle traffic by more than 40%. Hidalgo also rolled out a plan to make the summer Olympics more sustainable by restricting the use of single plastics, fast-tracking efforts to make the Seine clean and swimmable and slashing emissions by 50% compared to the London Olympics.

Jaime Smith

Governor, Washington State, United States

Since becoming governor of Washington in 2013, Jay Inslee has implemented numerous reforms to reduce emissions. He has rolled out policies to direct state funding to underprivileged communities to increase access to renewable energy and reduce exposure to pollution. In 2023, he introduced a “cap-and-invest” program that charges companies for greenhouse gas emissions and uses the money to build climate infrastructure. His administration enacted policies to decarbonize buildings and awarded grants to install more than 5,000 EV chargers . In 2017, Inslee cofounded the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of governors dedicated to achieving the Paris Agreement’s climate goals. “In fighting climate change, I’m fighting for my grandchildren. Their future and that of so many others hinge on what we do today,” Inslee said.

Marcus Branch

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Cofounder, urban ocean lab, united states.

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is the cofounder of Urban Ocean Lab, a think tank aiming to advance climate action for the benefit of coastal cities, and the co-author of the Blue New Deal , a roadmap for including the ocean in U.S. climate policy. The marine biologist is the author of “What If We Get It Right?,” a collection of essays and interviews with climate leaders published in 2024, and the writer and co-editor of “All We Can Save,” a climate anthology published in 2020 that includes insights from 40+ women leading on climate solutions and has sold over 100,000 copies. In past roles she helped develop U.S. federal ocean policy at the EPA and NOAA.

Amanda Kimble

Miranda Kaiser

President, rockefeller family fund, united states.

Miranda Kaiser is the president of the Rockefeller Family Fund, a non-profit organization that provides grants to sponsor climate education programs, initiatives to reduce emissions and groups seeking to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for the climate crisis. The fund is best known for divesting from fossil fuels in 2016 and supporting litigation to hold Exxon accountable for misleading the public about the effects of the climate crisis. “As a member of the Rockefeller family, I have felt a special obligation to speak out against the behavior of Exxon and other companies that have been purposefully sewing confusion around climate change,” she told Forbes.

Courtesy Peter Kalmus

Peter Kalmus

Climate scientist, nasa, united states.

Peter Kalmus is a North Carolina-based NASA climate scientist, communicator and activist. As a scientist, Kalmus develops climate models to forecast how the climate crisis will impact ecosystems such as coral reefs, as well as kelp and tree forests. His latest research aims to understand how an increase in humid heat will impact human health. To make his research more accessible, his project “Undeniable - The Climate Emergency Network” produces animation, documentaries and videos to explain the root causes of the climate crisis and highlight solutions. “We must work together to transition urgently and skillfully away from fossil fuels,” he told Forbes .

Courtesy Melissa C. Lott

Melissa Lott

Professor of professional practice, columbia climate school, united states.

As a professor at the Columbia Climate School, Melissa Lott’s work focuses on climate equity, technology and policy research. A 2013 30 Under 30 alumna and 2023 recipient of the AGU Pavel S. Molchanov Climate Communications Prize, she has authored more than 350 scientific articles, columns, op-eds, journal publications and reports, and her work has been cited by policy proposals more than 800 times. In her advisory work, she moves across aisles and borders, working with government leaders from five continents and executives for large companies. She has testified before the U.S. Congress twice in the last year and directly advised the UN Secretary General and several senators in the past 18 months.

Helena Kandjumbw

Charlot Magayi

Founder and ceo, mukuru clean stoves, kenya.

Over the past seven years, Charlot Magayi’s startup Mukuru Clean Stoves has sold over 425,000 clean cookstoves in Kenya, helping more than 2 million people by saving households $50 million in energy expenses. The stoves have avoided nearly 1 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions, and the company has nearly quadrupled its year-over-year revenue over the past several years. Mukuru repurposes locally sourced waste metal to craft its cookstoves and has developed mosquito-repellant fuel to power it, helping to combat outbreaks of malaria in areas where its cookstoves are being used.

Rose Lincoln

Gina McCarthy

Managing co-chair, america is all in, united states.

Gina McCarthy is the managing co-chair of America is All In, which seeks to spur climate action across all 50 states. As the first White House national climate advisor, McCarthy worked to help pass the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, which has so far spurred more than $361 billion in clean energy investments. At America is All In, McCarthy is helping organizations tap into tax credits and financing incentives in the IRA to accelerate the transition to a green economy. McCarthy was previously President and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council and helped strengthen clean air standards when she was the administrator of the EPA under President Obama.

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Stella McCartney

Fashion designer, stella mccartney, and special advisor on sustainability, lvmh, united kingdom.

British designer Stella McCartney is a long-time proponent of sustainable fashion. “Clothing waste is destroying our planet; every second, a truck-full of clothing ends up in landfill and less than 1% of garments are recycled,” she told Forbes earlier this year. McCartney has been seeking new materials to help address that. She created the first vegan “it” bag with the faux-leather Falabella tote and has incorporated or tested numerous sustainable new materials into her own work. She is also a founding investor in Collab SOS, a $200 million investment fund for sustainable materials, ingredients and supply chains. As special advisor to LVMH, she is promoting new sustainable materials to the company. “I hope they will continue to follow our sustainable lead,” she told Forbes earlier this year.

Courtesy Kathleen McLaughlin

Kathleen McLaughlin

Evp and chief sustainability officer, walmart, united states.

Kathleen McLaughlin is chief sustainability officer for retail giant Walmart. Among her tasks is finding ways for the company to reduce the carbon intensity of its operations and improve its overall efficiency. McLaughlin’s top accomplishment has been Walmart’s “Project Gigaton,” an initiative launched in 2017 to eliminate a total of 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions, both from its direct operations and those across its 5,900 suppliers, by 2030. In February 2024 she announced that the target was already achieved–six years ahead of schedule–thanks to guidance from researchers at several environmental organizations that helped identify ways to measure and avoid greenhouse gas emissions. Walmart’s target now is to reach zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

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Mia Mottley

Prime minister, barbados.

Mia Mottley is prime minister of Barbados, the Caribbean island nation that is one of the world’s most vulnerable to the climate crisis. In an impassioned speech before the United Nations in 2021, she decried the “faceless few” pushing the world toward climate catastrophe and imperiling the future of small island states like Barbados. “Our world knows not what it is gambling with, and if we don’t control this fire, it will burn us all down,” she said then. Over the past five years, she has developed an ambitious plan for Barbados to phase out fossil fuels by 2030, promoted solar energy and electric vehicles and explored debt-for-nature swaps. She has also pushed for countries on the front lines of climate-related disasters to have their debt forgiven so the money can be used to combat the crisis. Earlier this year, Barbados introduced an updated version of the Bridgetown Initiative, first introduced in 2022, to fill the financing gap for climate change.

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Nemonte Nenquimo

Cofounder, amazon frontlines, ecuador.

Nemonte Nenquimo is the cofounder of non-profit organization Amazon Frontlines, which defends indigenous rights to land, life and cultural survival. Its team includes community leaders, human rights lawyers and anthropologists in the western Amazon. The organization has installed solar panels and water catchment systems to provide dozens of communities with clean energy and fresh water. In recent years, Nenquimo led a campaign against the Ecuadorian government’s plan to allow more fossil fuel extraction in the Amazon, resulting in a 2019 court ruling that protected 500,000 acres of Amazonian rainforest and Waorani territory from oil drilling. In 2023, she campaigned in a successful referendum to ban oil exploration in the Yasuní national park, home to one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems.

Antora Energy

Andrew Ponec

Ceo and cofounder, antora energy, united states.

Andrew Ponec, an alumnus of the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, is the CEO and cofounder of Antora Energy, which develops thermal batteries that store renewable energy by heating carbon blocks to extreme temperatures when solar and wind power are available. The company opened its first thermal battery manufacturing facility in October 2023, and earlier this year Antora raised a $150 million Series B fundraising round, bringing its total funding to over $230 million. In June, Antora was awarded $14.5 million from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy to partner with Con Edison to help provide the greater New York area with clean energy.

Guerin Blask for Forbes

Mary Powell

Ceo, sunrun, united states.

Mary Powell is CEO of San Francisco-based Sunrun, the largest U.S. installer of residential solar energy systems. In August, the company marked an industry first by reaching 1 million homes with both solar panel and battery systems. That works out to 7 gigawatts of electricity generation capacity and 2 gigawatt-hours of storage–enough to fully power San Francisco for half a day. Powell aims to expand this network to help ease the growing strain on the power grid and improve electric service for consumers. “We've focused on building a platform that can scale and that can provide people with a more stably priced, affordable, resilient way to power their homes and their lives,” she said. “And I can scale fast.” ( For more, see “ How Sunrun Is Easing The Electric Power Crunch One Home At A Time .”)

Megan Grosspietsch

Michael Regan

Administrator, environmental protection agency, united states.

Michael Regan is the 16th Administrator of the EPA. In that job, he’s worked with state and local governments and industry to implement policies to reduce air and water pollution and, increasingly, energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions. The role has become more challenging as the EPA faces pushback from conservative members of Congress and a controversial Supreme Court ruling on the “Chevron Doctrine” that could severely limit its regulatory authority. One of his goals is to implement new rules requiring coal and natural gas power plants to reduce or capture 90% of their climate-warming emissions by 2032, in line with the aim of cutting overall U.S. greenhouse gas pollution by 75%. Regan has also directed the agency to channel funds allocated from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to communities for things like replacing lead pipes and buying electric school buses.

Courtesy Gaurav Sant

Gaurav Sant

Director institute for carbon management, united states.

Gaurav Sant is director of UCLA’s Institute for Carbon Management, which turns cutting-edge cleantech research into companies and commercial products that dramatically reduce emissions of climate-warming gasses. To date, Sant’s work has led to the creation of six startups, including CarbonBuilt, Concrete.AI and NextLi, which build low- and no-carbon industrial materials, and Equatic, which is commercializing an ocean-based system that removes carbon dioxide from seawater while simultaneously producing valuable green hydrogen. Equatic’s prototype plant opens in Singapore this year and the company is preparing a $100 million plant in Canada that will eliminate 100,000 tons of CO2 annually. "Ensuring the affordability and global accessibility of carbon management technologies is foundational to mitigating and reversing ongoing and accelerating climate change,” Sant said.

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RJ Scaringe

Founder and ceo, rivian automotive, united states.

RJ Scaringe is the founder and CEO of automotive startup Rivian, which has raised more than $11 billion from backers including Amazon and Ford Motor Co., and is one of the market’s fastest-growing EV makers. It launched U.S. production in 2021 amid the global supply chain crisis, and expects sales of about 60,000 units this year. Critically, the company is pivoting into more affordable, mass-market models priced at $45,000 or less, with new R2 and R3 SUVs arriving in 2026 to compete with rivals like Tesla (which is suing it for claims it stole trade secrets). Amazon has been the main buyer of electric delivery vans Rivian makes at its Illinois plant and Volkswagen recently announced a technical partnership and plans to invest up to $5 billion. “We started strong but our objective is to be building the highest quality vehicles in the world,” Scaringe said.

Sasha Calder

Christophe Schilling

Cofounder and ceo, geno, united states.

A bioengineer by training, Christophe Schilling founded Geno, which makes bio-based alternatives to chemicals made from petroleum, over two decades ago. Developing products using biological processes is slow, and scaling them up takes time, but Geno has lined up big-name customers and partners that include Unilever, Aquafil and Lululemon. One of its major products is a chemical that is used to produce flexible fibers for seat cushions and athletic apparel. It also makes chemicals for personal care and beauty products and a nylon for carpets, clothing, and engineered plastics. Because most of these chemicals are made from fossil fuels, their replacement is a critical piece of reaching climate goals. The company has raised $400 million from investors that include Novo Holdings, Viking Global and Unilever. In August, it received $1.5 million from the Pentagon to build a plant for bio-chemicals with applications in the aviation and automotive industries. “The materials transition isn’t just coming–it’s here and it’s accelerating,” Schilling told Forbes by email.

Ralph Alswang

President, The Rockefeller Foundation, United States

Rajiv Shah is the president of The Rockefeller Foundation, the largest private U.S. philanthropy to date to pursue a net zero endowment. In 2023, the Foundation managed 589 grants worth $1.2 billion and announced plans to invest $1 billion in climate solutions over the next five years. The Foundation is part of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, a coalition to accelerate renewable energy transition in low- and middle-income countries alongside the Ikea Foundation and Bezos Earth Fund. The Foundation says that its work has helped avert 147,000 cumulative tons of CO2 emissions and connected 1.3 million people and businesses to new or improved electricity generation.

Andrew & Liesbet Steer

Andrew Steer

President and ceo, bezos earth fund, united states.

Andrew Steer is president and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund, a philanthropic organization charged with disbursing $10 billion in grants to fight the climate crisis and protect nature. The Fund has already committed $3 billion in grants and helped launch the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet in 2021, a $1.5 billion grant facility focused on transitioning to green energy. The Fund supports initiatives to transform the Port of Houston and the Port of L.A. into clean energy hubs, as well as the Bezos Centers for Sustainable Protein to develop affordable alternative proteins. In April 2024, the Fund announced a program to provide $100 million in funding to climate-focused AI projects.

Courtesy Simon Stiell

Simon Stiell

Executive secretary, united nations framework convention on climate change, germany.

Simon Stiell is the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, tasked with coordinating global efforts to address the climate crisis. Before being appointed in 2022, the trained engineer spent five years as minister for climate and the environment in his home country of Grenada. Stiell helped negotiate a breakthrough accord to provide “loss and damage” funding for vulnerable countries affected by climate disasters at the 2022 United Nations COP27 summit, and a deal to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels at COP28.

Leah Stokes

Anton vonk associate professor, university of california - santa barbara, united states.

Leah Stokes is the Anton Vonk Associate Professor of Environmental Politics at UC Santa Barbara, where her research is focused on reforms to decarbonize the economy. She helped build two coalitions that designed portions of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act related to clean energy. She is building the 2035 Initiative at UC Santa Barbara, a think tank that makes decarbonization policy roadmaps and is a policy advisor at Rewiring America, part of a nonprofit coalition that in April received a $2 billion federal award to accelerate residential electrification. She also runs the popular podcast “A Matter of Degrees” and wrote the award-winning book “Short Circuiting Policy,” which examines the role of utilities in undermining regulation and promoting climate denial.

Courtesy Kat Taylor

Cofounder and Board Chair, Beneficial State Bank, United States

Kat Taylor is the cofounder and board chair of Beneficial State Bank, a B Corporation owned by a nonprofit that distributes its profits to the under-resourced communities in which it works. Beneficial State Bank has a lending program for renewable energy, sustainability entrepreneurs, net-zero building construction and climate crisis mitigation projects. By the end of 2023, the bank had a cumulative total of $26.4 million in outstanding loans to environmentally-focused commercial projects and $109.7 million in residential solar loans. Taylor is also a Founding Director of TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation (TKREF), which runs ranching, training, research and school programs that seek to make the food system more sustainable.

Chuck Templeton

Managing partner, s2g ventures, united states.

OpenTable founder Chuck Templeton is a managing partner and co-head of S2G Ventures, a climate-focused investment firm founded by billionaire Walmart heir Lukas Walton that invests across food and agriculture, clean energy and oceans, including aquaculture. The Chicago-based firm has $2.5 billion in assets, and in May took in outside capital for the first time, raising $600 million. Its 100-plus company portfolio includes green cement maker Brimstone; Apeel Sciences, which is boosting food shelf life; and Moleaer, which cleans water with nanobubbles 2,500 times smaller than a grain of salt. Templeton, a former U.S. Army ranger and alumnus of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and Northwestern, said he first started to think about how to mitigate the impacts of climate change after his daughter was born.

Camille Collin

Laurence Tubiana

Ceo, european climate foundation, france.

Laurence Tubiana is a professor at the Paris Institute of Political Studies and the CEO of the European Climate Foundation, which in 2023 provided grants worth $181 million—nearly twice as much as in 2021—to 703 partner organizations and launched the European Climate Neutrality Observatory, an independent watchdog ensuring that EU institutions meet their climate commitments. The Algerian-born Tubiana received the Royal Scottish Geographical Society Shackleton Medal last year and was made an Officier de la Legion d’Honneur—France’s highest civilian honor—in 2008. She is best known as a climate diplomat working at the international level—she co-chairs the EU-U.S. Dialogue on Climate Change and the Friends of Paris Agreement High Level Dialogue.

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Wang Chuanfu

Founder and ceo, byd, china.

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$2M to support brain science

(From left to right) Philippe Albouy, Lindsay Bodell, Elie Bou Assi, Vincent Breton-Provencher, Lindsay Cahill, Carlos Camara-Lemarroy, Annie Ciernia, Michèle Desjardins, Catherine Duclos, Emma Duerden, Alexandre Fisette, Federico Gaiti, Rishi Ganesan, Jiami Guo, Karl Klein, Julien Muffat, Aislin Mushquash, Shaun Sanders, Ashlyn Swift-Gallant, Christoph Zrenner

Brain Canada’s Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Program to fund new cohort of early-career researchers

Twenty early-career researchers from across Canada will receive $100,000 each in funding for innovative projects to better understand the brain, through one of Brain Canada’s flagship programs Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research. In its third year, this signature program is anchored by a generous gift from the Azrieli Foundation , with support from the Alvin Segal Family Foundation, The Arrell Family Foundation , The Barry and Laurie Green Family Charitable Trust, and The Erika Legacy Foundation .

“As a nation, we are among the world’s five most active countries in neuroscience,” says Brain Canada President and CEO, Dr. Viviane Poupon. “By funding early-career research in conditions ranging from epilepsy to depression to multiple sclerosis, Canadian researchers will continue to contribute to major scientific advancements in brain science that will further the field both nationally and internationally.”

The ultimate goal of the Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program is to reduce the social and economic burden of neurological and mental health problems through prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment. This year, the 20 grant recipients are investigating a diverse range of brain disorders and diseases. From studying gene therapy for Huntington Disease, to examining the brain structures behind eating disorders in adolescents, to fighting memory loss, these forward-thinking leaders are contributing to significant improvements in the lives of people in Canada.

“I am motivated to study the brain by my day-to-day interactions,” says Dr. Lindsay Cahill, Assistant Professor at Memorial University and a 2021 Future Leader in Canadian Brain Research. “Everyone knows someone who is impacted by a brain disorder.”

Dr. Cahill, much like the 19 other 2021 Future Leaders, thinks outside the box. There is a gene therapy treatment for Huntington Disease, but it suppresses both mutated and healthy genes. Dr. Cahill wants to see if a similar therapy that targets only the mutated copy would be a more effective strategy to treat patients.

2021 Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research

For this competition, a total of 116 candidates from across the country submitted letters of intent which were evaluated by a peer review panel. Forty-seven researchers were subsequently invited to submit full, comprehensive grant applications, with the 20 grant recipients chosen after a second round of peer review.

Grant Recipients:

• Dr. Philippe Albouy, Université Laval, Working Memory
• Dr. Lindsay Bodell, Western University, Eating Disorders
• Dr. Elie Bou Assi, Université de Montréal, Diagnosing Epilepsy
• Dr. Vincent Breton-Provencher, Université Laval, Learning & Decision-making
• Dr. Lindsay Cahill, Memorial University, Huntington Disease
• Dr. Carlos Camara Lemarroy, University of Calgary, Multiple Sclerosis
• Dr. Annie Ciernia, The University of British Columbia, Gut-Brain Interaction
• Dr. Michèle Desjardins, Université Laval, Cognitive Decline in Aging
• Dr. Catherine Duclos, Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, Safer Anesthesia
• Dr. Emma Duerden, Western University, Fetal & Neonatal Brain Development
• Dr. Alexandre Fisette, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Brain Networks & Obesity
• Dr. Federico Gaiti, University Health Network, Brain Tumour Biology
• Dr. Rishi Ganesan, Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University, Delirium in Critically Ill Children
• Dr. Jiami Guo, University of Calgary, Cellular Response to Brain Injury
• Dr. Karl Klein, University of Calgary, Gene Mutation & Epilepsy
• Dr. Julien Muffat, The Hospital for Sick Children, Genetics of Brain Disorders
• Dr. Aislin Mushquash, Lakehead University, Accessible Youth Mental Health Support
• Dr. Shaun Sanders, University of Guelph, New Treatment for Brain Cancer
• Dr. Ashlyn Swift-Gallant, Memorial University, Sex Bias in Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Dr. Christoph Zrenner, The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Brain Stimulation for Brain Disorders

To learn more about this year’s cohort of Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research and to read about their projects, visit our directory of funded research.

These Canadian-based projects have been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada) and Brain Canada Foundation, and the Azrieli Foundation, the Alvin Segal Family Foundation, The Arrell Family Foundation, The Barry and Laurie Green Family Charitable Trust, and The Erika Legacy Foundation.

The CBRF increases Canadians’ support for brain research and expands the philanthropic space for supporting brain research to achieve maximum impact. To date, Health Canada has invested over $145 million in brain research through the CBRF which has been matched by Brain Canada Foundation and its donors and partners.