Accelerating a Global Brain Health Movement

January 27, 2025

As a partner in the Brain House, held last week at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting (WEF), the Ontario Brain Institute is proud to be part of an intensive yearlong effort by the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative (DAC) to accelerate a global brain movement.

The Brain House represented a transformative undertaking to leverage the strength and resilience of the human brain to drive innovation, workforce productivity and economic growth. At the 2025 WEF, January 20 to 24, OBI and other Brain House sponsors hosted a series of high-impact events, taking advantage of the unique opportunity that Davos presents for strategic collaborative leadership among the world’s leading thinkers and innovators.

“Sustainable progress on the disruptive global issues of our time – from climate change, to AI, to human aging, to geopolitical stress – is unattainable without ongoing innovation in brain resilience,” said DAC Founding Chairman George Vradenburg. “The Brain House is a critical step in formalizing a much-needed global brain movement that can lead us to greater workforce productivity and economic prosperity throughout the Global North and South – and to improved human well-being everywhere.”

The urgency of mobilizing global leaders in a united brain movement cannot be overstated. Case in point: according to OBI's Brain Health in Ontario report, brain disorders are a leading cause of disability worldwide. In Canada, they have a greater impact on than both heart disease and cancer on individuals, families, society, and the economy.

Moreover, the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 shows that cognitive skills top those most in demand for workers. Yet, mental and neurological conditions pose significant barriers to our ability to deliver on such pressing economic needs, representing a greater global burden than cardiovascular disease or cancer.

Dr. Christa Studzinski, Director of Business Development and Partnerships, who represented OBI at Brain House events, explained much like the 'team science' model espoused by OBI to accelerate discovery and innovation in neuroscience, the Brain House convened some of the brightest leaders and experts from across sectors worldwide to fast-track innovation in brain health.

“Participating in the Brain House is about recognizing that the health of our brains is fundamental to the health of our economies," she said. "By investing in brain health and innovation, we’re not just addressing a healthcare challenge - we’re unlocking untapped human potential and driving sustainable economic growth for generations to come.”

In addition to OBI, partners in the Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative Brain House include: The Kennedy Forum, The Milken Institute, McKinsey Health Institute, Tower, AC Immune, Roche, the Aga Khan University Brain and Mind Institute, the University of Texas Medical Branch, Rice University, West Health, Us Against Alzheimer’s, and NextMed Health.

And as far as next steps go, OBI is committed to bringing the topic of brain health and its role in economic, social and health policy to the table at this year’s Group of 7 (G7) meeting in June.

> LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BRAIN HOUSE