Ontario Brain Institute

24/09/2026

🚀 Big news incoming — OBI is announcing our 2026 NERVE cohort!

Through OBI’s Neurotech Entrepreneurship to Validate Emerging Innovations (NERVE) program, we’re funding five Canadian neurotechnology entrepreneurs and providing them with a year of of mentorship, training and commercialization support to move their projects from early stages to real-world impact.

NERVE is designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs validate their technologies, strengthen their companies, and build pathways for promising solutions to reach the people and communities who can benefit from them.

Over the next week, we’ll introduce each of the 2026 NERVE recipients, sharing more about the entrepreneurs and the technologies they’re developing.

📣 Read the full announcement: https://braininstitute.ca/news-events/2026/obi-invests-500k-to-accelerate-canadas-next-generation-of-neurotechnology-innovators

23/09/2026

What drives our progress in mental health care? It's advocates encouraging us to talk about mental health and researchers uncovering the many factors that influence it. Their work has led to treatments, tools, and lifestyle changes that not only support our mental well-being but ensure it from the start.

Join us for our next OBI Public Talk to explore how prevention is shaping the future of mental health care. OBI Public Talks are free, moderated discussions featuring experts, researchers and patient partners.

⏰ Wednesday, November 25 at 6:00 PM EDT
🗓️ In-Person and Online

RSVP 👉 https://braininstitute.ca/news-events/2026/mental-health-prevention

23/09/2026

⏰ There’s only one week left for community organizations to access funding and evaluation support through OBI!

Is your organization working in brain health? Through GEEK, you can access two years of funding and support to build your evaluation skills, use evidence to inform your work and strengthen your program delivery.

Sustain, spread and scale your community programming with GEEK.

🔗 Apply by September 30: https://braininstitute.ca/programs-opportunities/geek

21/09/2026

On World Alzheimer’s Day, we recognize the people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, as well as the researchers, community organizations and advocates raising awareness around the condition.

At our Public Talk "Supporting the Elder Brain", Ngozi Iroanyah, Director, Health Equity and Access at the Alzheimer Society of Ontario shared her expertise and life experience. She highlighted the importance of respect, patience and attentiveness in building meaningful relationships with loved ones living with dementia.

At the Ontario Brain Institute, we partner with organizations like the Alzheimer Society of Ontario to bring dementia research into community care.

▶️ Watch Supporting the Elder Brain on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYCkmORfF8g

21/09/2026

“We feel like our inputs are valued. So even in the partnership itself, that growing learning is there.”

LOFT Community Services joined OBI’s Growing Expertise in Evaluation and Knowledge Translation (GEEK) program in 2025 to build on Culture & Calm, a 10-week virtual program supporting BIPOC youth in Toronto. Hear Anne Wilson, Program Manager of LOFT’s Transitional Age Youth (TAY) program, share how the knowledge and skills her team gained through GEEK continue to shape their work today.

▶️ Watch the full interview on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/PYsl4OCrdNc?si=U1Z9JtAhIW_TtsmO

🔗 Learn more about how GEEK can support your organization: https://braininstitute.ca/programs-opportunities/geek

17/09/2026

: Last Saturday was our first talk of 2026–2027, Beyond the Diagnosis: The Future of Neurodiversity!

Pediatric neurologist Dr. Evdokia Anagnostou of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and doctoral researcher and parent advocate Allison Chang shared their perspectives and expertise in an informational panel discussion followed by an audience Q&A.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Marg Spoelstra, CEO of Autism Ontario, for the warm and inviting opening remarks, and to our booth partners Possibility Neurotechnologies, Kids Brain Health Network, Surrey Place and Pearl Interactives.

Stay tuned for the next two talks in our Evolution of Brain Health series!

▶️ Watch the full talk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHuxtz-dNxE

💡 Learn more about OBI Public Talks: https://braininstitute.ca/resources/obi-public-talks

This is the first of three talks in OBI's 2026-2027 Evolution of Br...

15/09/2026

⏳ Community organizations in Ontario, there are only two weeks left to apply to OBI’s GEEK program!

GEEK (Growing Expertise in Evaluation and Knowledge Translation) provides community organizations working in brain health with funding and support to evaluate their services. Evaluation helps organizations understand what’s working, identify opportunities for improvement and demonstrate their impact.

⏰ Apply for GEEK by September 30: https://braininstitute.ca/programs-opportunities/geek

15/09/2026

Registration is now open for CP-NET Science and Family Day 2026! 🌟

Founded in 2011, CPNET (Cerebral Palsy Neuroscience Discovery Network) is an Integrated Discovery Program with OBI dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with or at risk for cerebral palsy.

Join the CP-NET team for a day of learning, connection, and knowledge-sharing centred around this year's theme of Independence & Interdependence. The full-day virtual event will feature engaging presentations, discussions, and opportunities from researchers and people with lived experience.

🗓️ Monday, October 5th | Online via Zoom

🔗 Register today: https://canchild.mcmaster.ca/surveys/?s=X44TCREWLYHT8JW8

14/09/2026

Bettering your brain health starts with lifestyle changes that build resilience — the mental ability to cope with stress and persistent challenges. 🧠

Check out this new resource from the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative. Whether you are a community organization, educator, service provider, or someone interested in the science of resilience, AdverCity provides a fun and accessible way to start conversations about how we build resilience through supportive relationships, environments, and the skills and abilities we develop and use throughout our lives.

11/09/2026

What do we want for our loved ones? The best brain health interventions and supports as possible. 🧠❤️

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is shaping up to be one of these interventions, particularly for treatment-resistant depression. Listen to this clip of Dr. Jonathan Downar, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto and co-founder of Ampa, discussing its many applications at our last OBI Public Talk.

▶️ Watch the full : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYDzX904FX8