The Toronto Dementia Research Alliance (TDRA)—a University of Toronto-led collaboration that includes four Toronto hospitals working together to better understand, prevent and treat dementia—has welcomed Dr. Tarek Rajji as its new Executive Director, and moved its headquarters to CAMH.
“We are proud and excited to host TDRA at CAMH,” said Dr. Rajji. “This closer relationship will advance research on the standardization of dementia assessments and care. We will also strengthen the ties with basic science, translational research, neuroinformatics, and drug development and brain stimulation innovations that are happening at CAMH and in the city.”Established in 2012, the TDRA is a collaboration between the University of Toronto, Baycrest, CAMH, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and the University Health Network. Its mission is to embed research into care to improve the quality of life for people with dementia, promote prevention and early diagnosis, and advance the discovery of treatments for dementia across different ages and stages.
Dr. Rajji notes that through the TDRA, the neuroscience community continues to be a powerful partner towards dementia prevention, identification, and care.
“An alliance like the TDRA is critical to bring diverse lines of research together for unexpected discoveries to tackle one of the biggest challenges of today’s society.”
Currently one of Canada’s preeminent dementia researchers, Dr. Rajji joined CAMH and the University of Toronto as a Research Fellow in Geriatric Psychiatry in 2006. He stayed at CAMH as a Clinician Scientist and has held several leadership roles, including Chief of Adult Neurodevelopment and Geriatric Psychiatry, and formerly Deputy Physician-in-Chief for Research. Dr. Rajji is also actively involved in clinical dementia research, and is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.
Having started his tenure as Executive Director in early September during World Alzheimer’s Month, Dr. Rajji is looking forward to building on TDRA’s previous work.
“Building on some great accomplishments over the past eight years, I am very excited to work closely with world-class dementia researchers in the city. Working together will unlock the power of collaboration among researchers, clinicians, patients, families, and other partners,” said Dr. Rajji.
His appointment as Executive Director also means that the TDRA is now housed within CAMH Geriatric Psychiatry, a move that will strengthen dementia research and clinical care across Toronto.