$9.3 million in funding awarded to support innovative microbiome research in Canada

The Weston Family Foundation, through its Weston Family Microbiome Initiative, is pleased to award $9.3 million in funding to Canadian researchers through the Proof-of-Principle, Catalyst, and Transformational Research programs.

This funding will support innovative research in the microbiome field, with a focus on improving human health. Awarded researchers are pursuing advanced research initiatives in diverse areas including prebiotics, live biotherapeutics, lifestyle approaches, and medical technologies. Funded projects are examining the role of the microbiome in various areas of disease, including immunity and infection, cancer, brain health, and metabolic diseases.

Created in 2016, the Weston Family Microbiome Initiative seeks to accelerate the understanding and application of the human microbiome in healthy aging. Including this new round of awards, more than $18 million has been committed for microbiome research through this initiative.  

The microbiome is believed to greatly influence human health and physiology throughout life. For this reason, the research supported by these targeted funds could play a key role in efforts to support healthy aging and advance the Foundation’s objective of improving the well-being of Canadians.

About the Grants

The Proof-of-Principle Program (up to $300,000 over up to 24 months) supports high-impact projects that pursue translational or interventional research.

The Catalyst Program (up to $450,000 over up to 36 months) supports early-career researchers undertaking highly innovative projects in the microbiome sciences.

The Transformational Research Program (up to $1 million over up to 36 months) supports transformative, novel, high-risk, high-reward translational research projects.

Through these programs, these new grants are supporting 34 Canadian research teams.

New Funding Available

The 2021 Proof-of-Principle Program is accepting letters of intent until August 31, 2021. This funding opportunity will provide research grants to support high-impact projects that pursue translational or interventional research regarding the microbiome’s influence on brain health, or via the interactions between diet, nutrition, and the microbiome. More details can be found here.

Nearly $10 million in grants awarded to neuroscience researchers across Canada

The Weston Family Foundation, through its Weston Brain Institute, is awarding $9.8 million in funding to researchers through the Rapid Response, Transformational Research, Early Phase Clinical Trials, and Follow-on Funding programs.

These researchers are pursuing novel, high-risk, high-reward translational research in neurodegenerative diseases of aging at research institutions across Canada. The grants cover a wide range of research projects from prevention, to detection, to treatment.

Neurodegenerative diseases of aging are among the least understood and most undertreated diseases today, making them one of the greatest healthcare challenges of the 21st century. Worldwide, over 50 million people are believed to be living with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. By 2050, rates could exceed 120 million. 

With this new funding, the Foundation has now awarded more than $95 million through the Weston Brain Institute toward the goal of catalyzing and scaling science-based approaches to significantly improve the health and well-being of Canadians as they age.

About the Grants

The Rapid Response Program (up to $300,000) provides seed funding for novel, high-risk, high-reward, translational research that will accelerate the development of therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases of aging.

The Transformational Research Program (up to $1.5 million) supports transformative, high-risk, high-reward translational research projects on neurodegenerative diseases of aging.

The Follow-on Funding Program (up to $1.5 million) kick-starts the scaling of innovations, technologies and/or lifestyle approaches identified and validated in one of WBI’s proof-of-concept grant programs.

The Early Phase Clinical Trials Program (up to $1.5 million) provides funding support for clinical trials and clinical trial sub-studies with excellent preliminary data.

With this latest round of grants, 14 principal applicants and 89 team members—including international co-applicants and collaborators in Canada, the United States, Sweden and England—are being supported.

  • Program: Early Phase Clinical Trials
    • Dr. Sandra Black (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre) – $1.5M
      • Project description: Assessing the potential of the drug levetiracetam in delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in a phase IIa clinical trial.
    • Dr. Nir Lipsman (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre) – $1.5M
      • Project description: A clinical trial examining the use of MR-guided focused ultrasound as a non-invasive and safer approach to increasing concentrations of an enzyme (glucocerebrosidase) in the brain to treat difficulties with movement and balance in Parkinson’s disease.
  • Program: Follow-On Funding
    • Dr. Evgueni Ivakine (The Hospital for Sick Children) – $1.2M
      • Project description: Developing a CRISPR-based approach to increase the levels of progranulin protein as a potential treatment for frontotemporal dementia.
  • Program: Rapid Response
    • Dr. Jean-Pierre Julien (Université Laval) – $0.3M
      • Project description: Testing the therapeutic efficacy of an antibody targeting protein aggregates that contributes to neuronal death in Alzheimer’s Disease and Fronto-Temporal Dementia.
    • Dr. Jonathan Kofman (University of Waterloo) – $0.3M
      • Project description: Testing whether a wearable device could predict and prevent freezing of gait episodes in people with Parkinson’s disease.
    • Dr. Matthew Macauley (University of Alberta) – $0.3M
      • Project description: Validating the effects of a gene therapy that modulates the function of brain cells in Alzheimer’s disease.
    • Dr. Diana Matheoud (Université de Montréal) – $0.3M
      • Project description: Developing new biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease based on immune responses differences.
    • Dr. Pedro Rosa Neto (Douglas Hospital Research Centre) – $0.3M
      • Project description: Validating the use of a blood-based biomarker (phospho-tau) as a faster, accessible and cost-effective way to diagnose and monitor progression of Alzheimer’s disease as well as select the correct Alzheimer’s disease patients for clinical trials.
  • Program: Transformational Research
    • Dr. Vladimir Hachinski (University of Western Ontario) – $1.4M
      • Project description: Developing a cost-effective model of dementia prevention by integrating population, environment, sociodemographic and patient data from across Canada to reduce the incidence of dementia at a population level.
    • Dr. Yasser Iturria Medina (Montreal Neurological Institute) – $0.4M
      • Project description: Developing a diagnostic tool using an artificial intelligence framework to integrate molecular and neuroimaging data into an accessible and personalized profile of disease subtype and progression in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
    • Dr. Andres Lozano (Toronto Western Hospital) – $1.5M
      • Project description: Testing Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Stimulation (LIFUS) as a potential non-invasive treatment for Parkinson’s disease.
    • Dr. Tiago Mestre (Ottawa Hospital Research Institute) – $0.7M
      • Project description: Establishing a deeply phenotyped cohort in Canada as part of the Parkinson Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI) to accelerate biomarker and therapeutic development for Parkinson’s disease.
    • Dr. Christopher Pearson (The Hospital for Sick Children) – $1.5M
      • Project description: Testing the efficacy of a small molecule targeting DNA repeat structures, a predominant cause of Fronto-Temporal Dementia, to slow or reverse progression of this disease.
    • Dr. Cheryl Wellington (University of British Columbia) – $1.5M
      • Project description: Identifying the acute and long-term effects of COVID-19 on neurological and cognitive outcomes in neurodegenerative diseases using behavioural, blood biomarker and neuroimaging data from a large cohort of COVID-19 patients.

*Update: Following the original announcement, additional grants were contracted, bringing the total amount awarded to approximately $12.6M. All successful grantees are listed in the list above.

Proof-of-Principle 2021

This funding opportunity will provide research grants of up to $300,000 over a maximum of 24 months to support high-impact projects that pursue translational or interventional research regarding the microbiome’s influence on brain health, or via the interactions between diet, nutrition, and the microbiome.


Please refer to the Program Details and Request for Applications (RFA) for more information and details on how to apply.

Program Overview

Goal: To provide funding to innovative projects that seek to leverage the microbiome to deliver new translational interventions or preventative strategies for improving health. This includes modifying, manipulating, or exploiting the microbiome to confer immune benefits or treat diseases, with a focus on brain health and diet & nutrition.

Funding: Up to $300,000 per project over up to 24 months. The Foundation will commit up to ~ $3,000,000 to projects selected through this program (approximately 10 projects).

Project Eligibility:

  • Develop a new microbiome intervention or preventative strategy for improving brain health; OR
  • Leverage the microbiome to maximize the benefits of diet and nutrition.
  • Full definitions can be found in the Program Details document.

Application Process

  1. Confirm intent to apply by emailing microbiome@westonfoundation.ca
  2. Submit a completed Letter of Intent (see template below) via westonfdn.smartsimple.ca

Important dates

Information Webinar: August 3, 2021 (register here) & August 5, 2021 (register here) @ 3:00pm ET
LOI deadline: August 31, 2021 @ 2:00pm ET
Proposal deadline: October 22, 2021 @ 2:00 pm ET
Anticipated award announcement: December 2021

Canadian National Organoid Network (CNON)

The Canadian National Organoid Network (CNON) is a groundbreaking platform with the aim of bringing accessibility and standardization to organoid research. Funded by the Weston Family Foundation’s Microbiome Initiative, CNON brings together the University of Calgary, the University of British Columbia, and Université de Sherbrooke to advance the development and use of well-characterized organoid lines. 

By providing shared resources, standardized protocols, and training, the network is enabling discoveries in areas such as host–microbe interactions, chronic inflammatory diseases, and cancer, and paving the way for novel approaches in precision medicine for Canadian laboratories.  

Hear from grantee Dr. Simon Hirota, Professor and Associate Dean of Research (Infrastructure) at the University of Calgary, as he shares how CNON is advancing organoid research nationwide.  

Learn more – CNON website 

Weston Family Focused Ultrasound Initiative at Sunnybrook

In March 2020, our Foundation made a landmark $16.7-million philanthropic grant to establish the Weston Family Focused Ultrasound Initiative at Sunnybrook.

With this grant, the Foundation spearheaded a $33-million initiative to develop and bring novel focused ultrasound technology to Canadians. The Weston Family Focused Ultrasound Initiative will accelerate development of a powerful new focused ultrasound device to enable the personalized treatment of brain disorders as never before. This initiative will culminate in the launch of three world-first clinical trials and bring this breakthrough technology to more patients faster.

For more information, please refer to the links below:

Press Release

Sunnybrook Foundation: Weston Family Focused Ultrasound Initiative

Proof-of-Principle Program

The Proof of Principle program supports Canadian research efforts on the human microbiome. The objective of this program is to fund Canadian scientists performing high-risk, high-reward translational research that leverages the microbiome towards improving human health.

The program is split into two funding approaches: Microbiome Mechanisms and Lifestyle Approaches, as outlined below:

Microbiome Mechanisms

This funding opportunity will provide research grants to support high-impact projects that seek to improve our understanding of the relationship between the microbiome and health towards future applications.

Eligible projects include the following:

  • Significantly expand mechanistic understanding of the microbiome in influencing physiology, health and disease.
  • Provide new insights that lead toward novel or improved applications of the microbiome to improving health.

Lifestyle Approaches

This funding opportunity will provide research grants to support high-impact projects that seek to leverage the microbiome to improve health.

Eligible projects include the following:

  • Establish an innovative line of translational or implementation research and provide proof-of-principle evidence in support of new health applications.
  • Work towards a recommendation, intervention or preventative strategy that improves health by leveraging the microbiome.
  • Focus on eligible research surrounding the application of lifestyle approaches in microbiome health.

For information about the Proof-of-Principle program, see our Grant Calls.

 

 

 

Rene Prashad, PhD

Rene Prashad joined the Weston Family Foundation as Research Programs Specialist at the Weston Brain Institute in 2014, before transitioning to his current role as Senior Program Manager in 2021. He is responsible for the Foundation’s neuroscience scaling initiatives, including the Weston Family Focused Ultrasound Initiative at Sunnybrook.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Rene worked in various industries such as life science, finance and retail.

Rene has an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience, a Master of Science in Neurophysiology, and a PhD in Neurophysiology from the University of Toronto.

Cristina Tang, PhD

Cristina Tang (she/her) joined the Weston Family Foundation as a Research Programs Specialist in 2015, before transitioning to her current role in 2021. She is responsible for the administration of the Weston Brain Institute programs.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Cristina was Program Lead of Industry Relations at the Ontario Brain Institute, and before that, she worked for two years at various biotech and pharma companies.

Cristina has a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Simon Fraser University, and a PhD in Molecular Genetics from the University of Toronto.

Weston Family Microbiome Initiative

An 3D rendering of the human skeletal system inside the figure of a man

What We Do

It is only recently that scientists have begun to uncover how and to what extent the microbiome affects our general health and well-being. Traditionally we think of bacteria as harmful organisms that cause infectious diseases, but growing evidence suggests that our microbial ecosystem plays a critical role in a healthy functioning body.

As a part of our Healthy Aging strategy, the Weston Family Microbiome Initiative provides support for innovative microbiome research in Canada. We seek to accelerate the application of the microbiome in improving healthy aging.

What We Fund

Although our work is continuously evolving, currently we have three priorities for our funding:

  1. Brain Health
    Improving brain health using novel therapies and preventative strategies that leverage the microbiome
  2. Immunity
    Improving immune function and disease resistance through improved microbiome health
  3. Diet and Nutrition
    Leveraging the microbiome to maximize the health benefits of diet and nutrition

Funded projects typically focus on preventative strategies to improve overall health, such as diet modifications, and therapeutic interventions.

For current funding opportunities, please see our Grant Calls or follow us on LinkedIn.

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Featured Programs

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Proof-of-Principle

Learn More

Canadian National Organoid Network (CNON)

Learn More

Catalyst 2020

This funding opportunity will provide research grants of up to $450,000 over a maximum of 36 months to support early-career researchers in undertaking highly innovative projects in the microbiome sciences.

Please refer to the Program Details and Request for Applications (RFA) for more information and details on how to apply.

Program Overview

Goal: To accelerate the development and application of new technologies and approaches that leverage the microbiome to improve health.

Funding: Up to $450,000 per project over up to 36 months. $1.8 million (approx. 4 projects) total.

Applicant Eligibility: Lead by an early career researcher (<5 years active) at the level of assistant professor or higher) for the tenure of the award.

Project Eligibility:

  • Conduct translational research and development focused on delivering new microbiome-based health strategies or implementation studies focused on the application and adoption of microbiome-based health strategies.
  • Strive to develop a new recommendation, intervention, technology, system or preventative strategy that improves health by leveraging the microbiome.
  • Be in any relevant discipline including biomedical, dietary, engineering, information technology, social science, etc.
  • Full definitions can be found in the Program Details document.

Application Process

  1. Confirm intent to apply by emailing microbiome@westonfoundation.ca
  2. Submit a completed Letter of Intent (see template below)

Important dates

Information Webinar: October 2nd, 13th, 2020 @ 1:00pm EST (register here)
LOI deadline: Rolling, final submission Nov 30th, 2020 @ 2:00pm EST
Proposal deadline: Rolling (5 week period for submission)
Anticipated award notification: Rolling