20th anniversary of the Mach-Gaensslen Foundation’s Student Grant Program

2025 marks the 20th year that the Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada has provided grants to medical undergraduates to help them with their earliest forays into research.

“The grants  support medical students to help  introduce them into the world of scientific research,” said Dr. Chris Carruthers, chair of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. The grants were designed to foster research skills among future physicians, sparking the next generation of physician-researchers.

They help the universities involved as well. “The grants also tie in with medical schools to support their research initiatives,” Dr. Carruthers said.

The program started in 2005 with seven of Canada’s medical schools signing on. Today, all 17 medical faculties benefit from the program.

By the numbers

To date, the Student Grant Program has helped 1,466 students with their summer research projects, with total grant funding totalling just under $6 million — a level it will surpass this year.

The projects funded were in psychiatry, cardiology and oncology — the areas of research that the foundation’s founders, Vaclav Mach and Dr. Hanni Gaensslen, targeted in establishing the foundation. Of the total projects funded, 625 were in oncology, 466 were in cardiology and 368 were in psychiatry (the specific area for seven early projects was not recorded).

Understanding the grants’ impact

“Once the program was up and running, the Board of Directors decided to capture the program’s relevance to its grantees. Karen Petticrew joined the foundation as a research coordinator to administer the program and launch this feedback effort,” said Dr. Ian Arnold, vice-chair of the foundation. “From the beginning of the research support program, we used questionnaires that would assist us to understand the value of this approach over time. Students agreed to participate every 5 years in this longitudinal prospective study, and we will soon be looking at 20 years of follow-up data.”

Arnold developed forms and questionnaires for the participating students to gauge the program’s impact on students’ understanding of and involvement with research, as well as to track their satisfaction with the grants.

Students complete questionnaires before and after their research project, as well as a survey to evaluate their satisfaction with the grant. The students’ progress is followed with questionnaires at five-year intervals after their experience to learn the long-term effects of the program.

Petticrew captures is information, analyzes it and reports it to the foundation’s Board of Directors regularly.

In 2017, the foundation, with several members of the Clinicial-Investigator Trainee Association of Canada, conducted an analysis of the students’ surveys, published in the Journal of Investigative Medicine in 2017 (https://doi.org/10.1136/jim-2016-000348). The data showed that the vast majority of students participating went on to publish at least one paper, and most were very satisfied with the experience.

A minority of participants went on to consider a full-time research career, but most recognized the importance of research in their medical education and of incorporating research into their future medical practice.

Lead author Dr. Branavan Manoranjan, who later joined the Mach-Gaensslen Foundation’s Board of Directors, says, “The Mach-Gaensslen Foundation’s Student Research Program is a unique funding opportunity for medical students engaged in clinical or basic science research. It provides essential funds to support and nurture the curiosity and development of Canada’s next generation of clinician-scientists. Financial resources to support trainee-led research remains a major obstacle for students to pursue additional research training in an already prolonged training path as a clinician-scientist. The ability for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the Mach-Gaensslen Foundation to step up and support the academic pursuits of medical trainees is not only deeply valued but also a call for federal funding agencies and NGOs to support the training of clinician-scientists.”

Appreciation for the foundation’s support

“The program has been a success over the years we have supported it,” said Dr. Carruthers.

Petticrew said she is heartened by the positive feedback she hears. “Over the 17 years that I have been coordinating the Student Grant Program, I have regularly received expressions of gratitude for the funding from the student grant recipients and thank you’s from the medical schools for supporting medical research at their universities.”

In 2014 and 2021, the foundation surveyed the deans of the 17 medical schools about their satisfaction with the program. “Responses showed a high regard for the program and appreciation for support to their students,” said Petticrew.

Following the first 20 years of success with the program, the Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada looks forward to continuing to instill an appreciation for research among tomorrow’s physicians.

10th anniversary symposium for the Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize

Canadian researchers are making a major contribution to understanding the causes and contributors to mental illness and finding innovative approaches to prevent and treat these illnesses, showed presentations at a symposium held online January 29, 2025.

The symposium was held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize and was organized by the prize’s joint sponsors, the University of Ottawa Institute for Mental Health at the Royal and the Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada.

All 10 winners gave presentations on their current research. The symposium was open to anyone interested, and 68 attendees learned about research using techniques as varied as molecular biology, neurosurgery, data analysis, and evaluation of new programs to help populations in Canada and around the world.

The symposium was recorded and is available to view:

Preventing mental health problems

Several common themes emerged during the symposium. Many presenters stressed the value of proactive support to Canadians to prevent poor mental health.

A longitudinal study of post-traumatic stress disorder in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has shown the value of an evidence-based Emotional Resilience Skills Training program and ongoing self-monitoring in helping police officers avoid or better cope with operational stress injuries — mental health effects of the difficult situations they encounter as part of their work. The study is being conducted by Nicholas Carleton, a professor of psychology at the University of Regina, whose research focuses on the mental health of professional safety personnel.

The mental health of young adults 18 to 23 who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and other alternative sexual identities is the subject of a study by Tracie Afifi, a professor of psychology at the University of Manitoba. Her research looks at the relationship between childhood maltreatment and later mental health problems. In a longitudinal study of 1000 youth in Manitoba, she found that young adults with those sexual identities were more likely to have suffered maltreatment as children and to have poor mental health or use substances than those who identified as heterosexual or “straight.” In fact, the combination of an alternative sexual identity and child maltreatment led to worse mental health and substance use in some cases.

She said this finding emphasizes the need for safe environments for all children, and the need to prevent maltreatment among children and youth who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual and other alternative sexuality, as a priority for public health.

Intervening early

Other researchers are looking at early intervention to help people recover from mental health problems and to prevent their continuation or recurrence.

Simone Vigod, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto and Women’s College Hospital, studies poor mental health before, during and after pregnancy. She has developed an online platform for those experiencing pregnancy, where they can get various levels of mental health care depending on their needs, called MOVIN, the Pregnancy and Postpartum Mental health Optimization Virtual Intervention Network. On a computer or mobile phone, pregnant people can read evidence-based information, take a screening survey to learn their symptoms, schedule a call to plan their mental health care with a coordinator, and even talk to a psychiatrist if needed.

Sheri Madigan, a psychology professor at the University of Calgary and Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, has helped developed a program called Cope, that helps families with children who have suffered trauma. Because wait times for child therapy can be four months to a year, the program offers parents and other caregivers online advice and information in the meantime. They learn ways to talk to children about trauma and coping skills for themselves. The program is also a single door to many other resources.

Youth is a period when many mental illnesses first appear, and Srividya Iyer, a researcher with McGill University and the Douglas Research Centre in the Montreal area, is currently studying programs to intervene early in psychosis. With her colleagues, she is looking at the effects of such programs. She has been involved in establishing such programs across Canada. They are also starting in a growing number of low- and middle-income countries — 16 at last count. Recent research looks at the value of these programs in India and Latin American and Caribbean countries. Iyer, who served on an international Commission on Youth Mental Health launched by the journal Lancet Psychiatry, says that the current crisis in youth mental health was documented in many countries even before the pandemic began in 2020. She says that Canada should make the mental health of our youth a top health priority.

From his research showing symptoms and behaviour that are warning signs of future depression, Rudolf Uher, professor of psychiatry at Dalhousie University, is investigating ways to pre-empt depression in youth who show those signs. A study underway will look at the results of a program called Skills for Wellness, which is meant to help youth 9 to 17 years of age with cognitive-behavioural therapy. Another current study called Treatment Interrupts Depression Early (TIDE) will look at which treatment — drug therapy or psychotherapy — works best for whom, in young people facing depression, as no single treatment works for everyone.

Delving into the brain… and body

Researchers are looking at what happens in the brain and body in mental illness, which may help lead to preventive approaches and new therapies.

Jean Martin Beaulieu, a researcher at the University of Toronto, studies how mood may be affected by changes at the molecular level. He was trying to understand how lithium — a common element used to treat bipolar disorder — acts to stabilize patients’ mood, when he discovered that a known protein (Fxr1) is important in emotional stability. By editing genes in mice, he found that certain mutations affect Fxr1. Continuing research has shown that Fxr1 affects emotional stability in humans as well as mice, affects neurons involved in anxiety, and regulates sleep. Levels of Fxr1 can be changed by certain chemicals, which may lead to new drugs for mood disorders in future.

From the lab to the operating room, Nir Lipsman, a neurosurgeon at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto and the University of Toronto, studies new, non-invasive types of surgery to treat mental illness that has not responded to other therapies. To date, he has tried deep brain stimulation, involving electrodes implanted within the brain, to bring about lasting improvement in depression, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and alcohol use disorder. But deep brain stimulation means a permanent, lifelong treatment with a battery pack and wires on the patient’s body. Another approach he is now trying involves focussed ultrasound. Ultrasound waves can be used to create a very precise and accurate lesion in the region of the brain that is involved in the mental illness. Current research with a small number of patients with obsessive compulsive disorder shows that most show improvement within a year after focussed ultrasound surgery.

In another innovative way of looking at mental disorders, James McKillop at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, measures how much people with addictions value the substance they use by how much they are willing to pay for it — an area called neuroeconomics. Determining how much a patient is willing to pay for a substance can be used to show the price at which it’s too expensive and they won’t use it. It can also show the change in their behaviour after addiction treatment, when they will buy less, even at a low price. He uses this approach in concert with imaging, cognitive and behavioural science, and genetics.

An intriguing connection between bipolar disorder and cardiovascular disease is the subject of Benjamin Goldstein’s research at the University of Toronto. Although it has been noticed by researchers since the 1920s, the connection is not yet fully understood. Goldstein’s team has found that worse cardiovascular health is associated with psychiatric symptoms and problems with brain structure and function in youth with bipolar disorder. This link may eventually help researchers to understand what causes bipolar disorder, Goldstein believes. It also opens the possibility that improving cardiovascular measures in these youth might improve not only their heart health but also their mental health.

Symposium Jan. 29 marks 10 years of the Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize for Mental Health Research

A virtual symposium highlighting the latest research from the 10 winners of the Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize will be held Jan. 29, 2025, and everyone is welcome to attend.

Each winner will make a brief presentation about their current research. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about research trends as well as the latest research in specific areas of mental health such as depression, bipolar disorder, child abuse, addiction, perinatal and youth mental health, mental health in public safety personnel, neuromodulation, and more.

When: Wednesday, Jan. 29, 1 to 5 p.m. Eastern time

Where: Online on Zoom REGISTER TO ATTEND FREE OF CHARGE

Program:

Dr. Jean Martin Beaulieu (2015 recipient), University of Toronto
Topic: Following Intersections Between Drugs and Genetic Risk

Dr. Rudolf Uher (2016 recipient), Dalhousie University
Topic: Depression Prevention and Personalized Treatment

Dr. Benjamin Goldstein (2017 recipient), University of Toronto
Topic: Heart-Brain Connections in Bipolar Disorder: Time for Clinical Action?

Dr. Tracie Afifi (2018 recipient), University of Manitoba
Topic: Child Abuse, Mental Health, and Substance Use in Canada with a Focus on Sexual Identity

Dr. James MacKillop (2019 recipient), McMaster University
Topic: The Behavioural Economics and Neuroeconomics of Addiction: A Translational Approach

Dr. Nicholas Carleton (2020 recipient), University of Regina
Topic: Evidence-Based Innovations for Supporting Public Safety Personnel Mental Health

Dr. Simone Vigod (2021 recipient), University of Toronto
Topic: Tackling Gaps in Perinatal Mental Health Care with the MOVIN Program

Dr. Sheri Madigan (2022 recipient), University of Calgary
Topic: Transforming Research into Action: Collaborative and Socially Innovative Solutions for Child Maltreatment and Mental Health

Dr. Srividya Iyer (2023 recipient), McGill University
Topic: The Global Youth Mental Health “Crisis”: Origins and Ways Forward

Dr. Nir Lipsman (2024 recipient), University of Toronto
Topic: Brain Circuits and Human Behaviour: What Can Go Wrong and What Can We Do About It?

Non-invasive brain surgery helps heal mental illness

As an aspiring young psychiatrist, Nir Lipsman learned about the possibilities of new treatments called “neuromodulation” for mental illnesses. He switched to neurosurgery and has never looked back.

Today, Dr. Lipsman is director of the Harquail Centre for Neuromodulation at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. Neuromodulation involves stimulating nerves using drugs, electrical signals or other forms of energy. For example, Lipsman has used deep brain stimulation to treat alcohol use disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. MRI-guided focused ultrasound is being used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. Lipsman’s centre is also a leader in repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation.

This work has garnered Dr. Lipsman the 10th annual Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize, jointly sponsored by the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research at The Royal and the Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada.

“Dr. Lipsman, a clinician-scientist, is the first winner in the 10 years of the Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize who is a neurosurgeon,” says Dr. Chris Carruthers, chair of the board of the Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada. “His area of research is novel and represents the value that the prize can bring to new approaches to mental health and illness.”

Neuromodulation approaches are less invasive or entirely non-invasive, avoiding traditional surgery. Lipsman and his team are trying them in patients who still have significant mental illness despite previous treatments with other, more conventional therapies, such as drugs and psychotherapy.

At the prize ceremony December 2 in Ottawa, Dr. Lipsman told the story of a young adult patient with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder that had a devastating effect on her life. Non-invasive neurosurgery resulted in a dramatic improvement that has allowed her to reach some of her life goals. The patient is now part of a patient team helping the hospital design new research studies.

Lipsman says many serious mental illnesses have their origin in brain circuits that don’t function as they should. In a video about his work, Lipsman says, “To me, it’s a reflection of where we are as a field, of recognizing that these are hard-and-fast organic conditions that require surgical intervention, whether non-invasive or invasive or across that spectrum.”

Media host and fundraiser Sam Laprade, who served as emcee of the ceremony, asked Lipsman about making sure that all members of society have access to such cutting-edge treatments.

“These are conditions that touch people from all socio-economic backgrounds,” said Lipsman. Reaching people who could benefit from neuromodulation is one of Sunnybrook’s aims. “It’s not enough to just have the fancy tools.” He described Sunnybrook’s outreach program to clinicians, especially throughout Ontario, to let them know that treatments are available. He says the hospital also receives referrals from across the country.

But there can be long waitlists for neurosurgery. He says the wait for neurosurgery for epilepsy — an effective and well-known treatment — is currently 18 years. “There is an access problem, and we need to address that.”

He would like to see neuromodulation for mental illness move from research studies to first-line treatment. Currently, he says the risks associated with neuromodulation are low and approaching zero. And treatment times are shrinking from weeks to minutes. These developments would make neuromodulation safer and more accessible.

Learn about Dr. Nir Lipsman’s research in this short video. Video production: SandBay Entertainment.

If you missed the prize ceremony, you can view it here.