University of Calgary to launch neurodevelopment research hub with $25M in funding from Azrieli Foundation

Open this photo in gallery:

The University of Calgary is establishing a neurodevelopment research hub where scholars from a variety of fields will team up to better the lives of people with conditions such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

In its first major gift to western Canada, the Azrieli Foundation provided the Alberta institution with $25-million to study neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDDs), from both scientific and social perspectives.

NDDs stem from differences in how brains form and function and affect up to 17 per cent of Canadian children, according to the U of C. The conditions are most commonly diagnosed in children. The Azrieli Accelerator will explore beyond the childhood phase.

“Neurodevelopmental disabilities just don’t disappear when people turn 18,” said Susan Graham, a professor at the U of C’s psychology department who researches language and cognitive development. She will serve as the Azrieli Accelerator’s inaugural scientific director. “Different life stages and different transitions bring different challenges for people with NDDs. Now we’re going to broaden our perspective.”

The school and the Azrieli Foundation announced the project Wednesday morning.

The new hub will focus on three themes: how brain circuitry relates to NDDs; how the microbiome, or bacteria in the gut, affects brain development and contributes to NDDs; and transforming care and treatment. It will also provide funding for related grants and transdisciplinary training.

Ms. Graham will, in part, serve as the organization’s chief networker, connecting U of C researchers who may not otherwise cross paths. Ms. Graham, who also leads the Owerko Centre, a program in which researchers focus on NDDs and mental health in children, said two scholars reached out to her after the announcement, including one who otherwise would not have been on her radar. The accelerator will depend on this type of collaboration.

U of C, which this month placed fifth on the RE$EARCH Infosource Inc.’s list of top Canadian research universities, hopes the $25-million gift will serve as seed money and give the school the ability to attract more funding.

Ed McCauley, the university’s president, said school already has established expertise in areas related to NDDs, but the cash injection will allow them to come together and speed up their work.

“This is major, major funding,” he said. The program will be long-term and will incorporate people who have NDDs, as well as their communities.

“By listening to neurodiverse individuals and their families who contribute to policy and care transformation, we can [improve] care and improve quality of life for individuals and for families,” he said.

Naomi Azrieli, the chief executive of the Azrieli Foundation, applauded the U of C’s ability to tear down walls separating researchers and departments.

“They have a proven track record of producing successful interdisciplinary initiatives and rewarding collaboration,” Ms. Azrieli said in a statement, noting some of her family members have NDDs.

The Azrieli Foundation, which says it is the largest non-corporate foundation in the country, funds projects in Canada and Israel.

David J. Azrieli established the foundation that bears his surname in 1989. The philanthropist was born in Poland, survived the Holocaust and launched his real estate business in Montreal. In 1997, at the age of 75, Mr. Azrieli earned a master’s degree in Architecture at Carleton University. He died in his country home in Quebec in 2014, at the age of 92.

Today, the foundation has eight areas of focus: education; fellowships; community; Holocaust education; science, research and health care; neurodevelopment; architecture, design and engineering; and music and arts.

We have a weekly Western Canada newsletter written by our B.C. and Alberta bureau chiefs, providing a comprehensive package of the news you need to know about the region and its place in the issues facing Canada. Sign up today.