Brain Canada-funded researcher is using his 2019 Azrieli Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research grant to deepen our knowledge of ASD using powerful computational models

Approximately one in 66 children in Canada has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, ASD remains poorly understood from a neuroscientific perspective.

Boris Bernhardt, Associate Professor at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) and Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroinformatics, focuses his research on the large-scale organization of cortical brain regions and how they communicate with one another. His lab’s research is centred on the architecture of the brain and neurodevelopment, especially as it pertains to epilepsy, ASD, and  finding optimal ways to manage these disorders.

“Dr. Bernhardt has built models that show the crosstalk between different brain regions to locate the source of certain neurological symptoms.”

Bernhardt is a 2019 Azrieli Future Leader in Canadian Brain Research. He was one of 20 recipients awarded funding in the first cohort of Future Leaders, Brain Canada’s flagship program, which enables the brightest early-career investigators to explore their boldest ideas. With the Brain Canada grant, Bernhardt is using advanced computational neuroimaging techniques to investigate the connections between different brain areas and study functional signals in individuals with ASD.  Bernhardt has built models that show the crosstalk between different brain regions to locate the source of certain neurological symptoms. His work has also helped produce vast amounts of highly accurate data. With his help, behavioural and genetic data from hundreds of neurotypical children is compared to data from those with ASD.

“The brain is one of the most complex systems that we know about,” says Bernhardt. “We have a lot of technological advances that relate to the data that we are acquiring about the brain, so we can increase field strength and have access to the analytics that enable us to combine these different data sources to understand the relations between brain regions.”

Through his research, Bernhardt aims to make significant and valuable contributions to the study and treatment of ASD in children.

“Brain Canada envisions a future where scientists across disciplines collaborate to drive innovation… where early-career researchers have the resources to explore their boldest ideas.”

Funding for this project has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada) and Brain Canada Foundation, and the Azrieli Foundation.

The CBRF increases Canadians’ support for brain research and expands the philanthropic space for supporting brain research to achieve maximum impact. To date, Health Canada has invested over $145 million in brain research through the CBRF, which has been matched by Brain Canada Foundation and its donors and partners.

As a national convenor and enabler of innovative and bold neuroscience, Brain Canada is accelerating research across diseases, disorders, and conditions. Every discovery or breakthrough has the potential to deepen our understanding of the brain and inform further research across the neurosciences.

Brain Canada envisions a future where scientists across disciplines collaborate to drive innovation. A future where early-career researchers have the resources to explore their boldest ideas. And where people across the country have access to solutions that may hold the answers to the many mysteries of the brain.

The organization sees the brain as a single interconnected system rather than a collection of siloed diseases. This means that breakthroughs in one disease area can lead to major advances in another. We still have so many questions to answer.

By fueling researchers like Boris Bernhardt, who are thinking outside the box and deepening our understanding of the brain, Brain Canada is working together with its donors, partners and supporters to move the needle forward.

Brain Canada