News Releases & Announcements

OTTAWA, July 13, 2009 — The University of Ottawa is proud to announce that Dr. Georg Northoff of the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research (IMHR), which is part of the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, has been awarded the prestigious EJLB-CIHR Michael Smith Chair in Neurosciences and Mental Health.

Dr. Northoff will receive a $1-million endowment grant from the EJLB Foundation, a one-time $300,000 CIHR set-up grant, and a yearly $50,000 grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction for the duration of the Chair (five years).

''The University of Ottawa is proud to have researchers of Dr. Northoff’s caliber,'' said Mona Nemer, Vice-President, Research, at the University of Ottawa. ''This funding will support leading edge research in health sciences and foster talent and innovation which will benefit all Canadians.''

Dr. Northoff was selected for his leading-edge research in neuroscience, particularly in the development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools. A relative newcomer to the University of Ottawa from Germany and a recent recipient of the Canada Research Chair in Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics, Dr. Northoff works to design objective diagnostic markers that could make it easier to both identify and treat schizophrenia and depression.

Combining different functional imaging techniques, Dr. Northoff investigates the relationship between prefrontal neural activity and its glutamate- and gaba-ergic adjustment by drugs in depressive and schizophrenic patients. This innovative combination of functional and biochemical measures allows him to study biochemical changes in certain brain regions that are involved in abnormal emotions in patients.

''It is important for CIHR to support and recognize clinician scientists such as Dr. Northoff, who devote their time and effort to find diagnostic tools that will help better assess neuroscience illnesses,'' says Dr. Anthony Phillips, Scientific Director of CIHR's Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction.

The EJLB-CIHR Michael Smith Chair was created by the EJLB Foundation, CIHR, and the Royal Society of Canada in honour of Dr. Michael Smith, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry for his landmark discovery in genetic engineering. This award allows a Canadian university or health research institute to recruit a leading international scientist in the field of neurosciences and mental health.

The University of Ottawa is one of Canada’s top research-intensive universities. We are committed to excellence and encourage an interdisciplinary approach to knowledge creation that attracts the best academic talent from across Canada and around the world. www.uOttawa.ca

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's agency for health research. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to catalyze its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health-care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 13,000 health researchers and trainees across Canada.