December 12, 2023 (Toronto) – The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Canada’s largest mental health teaching hospital in the country is pleased to announce that it has entered into a partnership with the Tanenbaum Open Science Institute (TOSI) at McGill University’s The Neuro, joining a growing alliance Canadian institutions changing research practices in neuroscience. This important endeavour is supported by a $1M commitment from the Tanenbaum Open Science Institute and an equivalent commitment by CAMH.
As part of its commitment to Open Science, CAMH is formally adopting a set of Open Science Principles to foster collaboration and the sharing of mental health research findings with scientists in Canada and around the world. By implementing Open Science practices, CAMH aims to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment for mental illnesses and addictions such as depression, schizophrenia and Alzheimer ’s disease.
“We are in an incredibly exciting time in mental health research, where knowledge about the brain, and our understanding of causes of and treatments for mental illness continue growing exponentially,” says CAMH VP of Research Dr. Aristotle Voineskos. “Our partnership with TOSI and its partners all across the country will help researchers at CAMH and beyond make advances in science and technology to positively impact the lives of people today and in the future.”
CAMH is already undertaking a range of unique large-scale cohort studies to better understand and ultimately predict patient health trajectories. Data from thousands of research participants will be securely stored in the BrainHealth Databank in a way that protects patient privacy while making the data available for scientists elsewhere in Canada and around the world to pursue new discoveries and innovations in mental health diagnosis and treatment. The Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics is further developing tools and resources integrating Open Science principles, leveraging big data and AI to glean new patterns and insights to improve care.
“The BrainHealth Databank is on its way to becoming the single largest digital repository of mental health data in Canada. CAMH is proud to make these data widely available to researchers to drive more innovation and discovery, and benefit patients.” says David Rotenberg, CAMH Director of Data Strategy & Business Intelligence and Operations Director of the Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics.
Inspired by The Neuro’s commitment towards Open Science in 2016, CAMH now joins the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, The Douglas Research Center and the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health in this nation-wide alliance.
“A shift to Open Science is a culture change happening incrementally, but can be accelerated when thought leaders and pioneers in their field embrace it. Having a major institution such as CAMH join us sets a strong example, and will no doubt contribute to the snowball effect we have started to witness,” says Dr. Guy Rouleau, Director of The Neuro and co-founder of the Tanenbaum Open Science Institute.
These partnerships all flow from TOSI’s mission to encourage the adoption of Open Science across Canada, by providing both guidance and funding to support interested organizations.
“I am very pleased to see fellow colleagues all around the country raising the Canadian flag for more transparent and collaborative access to research” says Larry Tanenbaum, co-founder of the Tanenbaum Open Science Institute. “This was my dream when I co-founded TOSI at The Neuro in 2016. Seeing this crystallizing now is a wonderful milestone.”
-30-
About The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
CAMH is Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital and a world leading research centre in this field. CAMH combines clinical care, research, education, policy development and health promotion to help transform the lives of people affected by mental illness and addiction. CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, and is a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre. For more information, please visit camh.ca or follow @CAMHnews on Twitter.
About the Tanenbaum Open Science Institute (TOSI)
The Tanenbaum Open Science Institute was established in 2016 at The Neuro through a $20-million donation by the Larry & Judy Tanenbaum Family Foundation with a goal of leading the development of Open Science within The Neuro and encouraging other Canadian neuroscience research institutes to commit to Open Science.
Media Contacts:
CAMH Media Relations
media@camh.ca
The Neuro & the Tanenbaum Open Science Institute Media Relations
communications.neuro@mcgill.ca
