Halifax’s neuroscience community is at the cutting-edge of its field and according to Dr. Victor Rafuse, a professor of medical neuroscience at Dalhousie University, its concentration of great minds and areas of study benefit from a collaborative structure. That structure is embodied in the Brain Repair Centre (BRC). Home to more than 50 principal investigators leading research teams involving 250 trainees and staff, the BRC is a research institute that fosters the best and brightest neuroscientists in Halifax.
BRC researchers investigate complex and challenging neuroscience diseases and disorders. Their research focuses on neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer`s diseases, epilepsy, neurodevelopment, vision, aging, and stroke. Playing an integral role in this research is the continued support from donors, the QEII Foundation and the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation.
Contribution to the global research initiative is a key goal of the BRC.
“The mandate is to provide the resources and the environment to foster research, and to get the research out of the labs and into the community,” says Dr. Rafuse. This can be an onerous, lengthy and costly pathway.
There’s ground-breaking work happening at the BRC. For example, Dr. George Robertson is exploring the applications of flavonoids - naturally-occurring compounds found in apples and berries - towards preventing chemotherapy-induced hearing loss.
The BRC is working with partners, like the QEII Foundation, to help fund their research and introduce the community to the incredible innovation happening right here in our own backyard.
“The public needs to know that by having a very active, strong research environment, you’re going to have very active and strong patient care at the same time,” says Dr. Rafuse.
To find out more about the Brain Repair Centre and its research, visit brainrepair.ca.
