Year In Review 2023 - 2024

Who we are

The Ontario Brain Institute (OBI) is a provincially funded, not-for-profit organization that accelerates discovery and innovation, benefiting both patients and the economy.

The difference a year makes: Inspired by the Government of Ontario’s re-investment in the Ontario Brain Institute, we asked some of our patient and community partners about their hope for the future of brain health. Here is what they had to say about OBI.

Stories

OBI works to accelerate solutions that improve brain health. Read on to see real-life examples of how we realize this through our ‘team science’ approach, where researchers, clinicians, industry, patients, and their advocates are brought together to amplify treatments and services already in use in the province, or to create new pathways to care.

Featured Story OBI’s neuroanalytics leadership culminates with launch of Centre for Analytics

OBI’s neuroanalytics leadership culminates with launch of Centre for Analytics.

Advancing Knowledge

At OBI, advancing our understanding of the brain is just the beginning.

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Investing in Brain Health

OBI is driving innovation in brain health by bridging the gap between ideas and impact.

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Supporting Community Care

Community care is at the heart of brain health.

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Impact

Here is a snapshot of who we were, what we did, and the impact that we made during our 2023-24 fiscal year.

†2023-2024

*Cumulative

Who we are

OBI-Wide

Partners

287

Highly Qualified Personnel

183

Interns *

Community Partners

Researchers

163

Researchers

Data

956

Brain-CODE users

Commercialization

Entrepreneurs *

108

Portfolio Companies *

What we do

OBI-Wide

Events
Supported

Clinical Trials

Intellectual Property Granted *

Data

26,693

Participants with Data on Brain-CODE *

Care

Patient Partnership Activities

Knowledge Products

2814

Patients supported

Commercialization

Products to Market *

Our Impact

OBI-Wide

263,211

Audience Reached

$118.5M

Leverage

167

Jobs Supported

Research

130

Publications

Data

582

Data Requests *

Commercialization

80%

Intern Follow on Employment *

$393.6M

Follow-on Investment Into Portfolio Companies *

26.7X

ROI of Portfolio Companies *

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Culture at OBI

In her remarks at the 'Eat and Play for Brain Health' talk in March, Dr. Susan Fitzpatrick – a long-serving member of the Ontario Brain Institute’s Board of Directors – reminded attendees that nourishment for the brain extends beyond mere sustenance; it encompasses a holistic approach that includes emotional and social elements. As she put it, “Feeding our bodies and feeding our psyches is not a luxury, it is a basic and essential need.” 

With these words of wisdom in mind, the OBI team built and strengthened connections through food and fun on several occasions.

Cardiac Smash Event

At Cardiac Smash in October, several staff members – Yasmeen Shah, Jordan Antflick, Christa Studzinski and Garth Smith - played in Canada’s largest corporate charity ping pong tournament in support of the Ontario Brain Institute Foundation as well as the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Step Competition

Also in October, we held a friendly step competition and, collectively, OBI staff walked 1,813,618 steps. That is nearly 1,300 kilometres and approximately the same as walking from the old downtown Toronto office to Moncton, New Brunswick!

OBI Holiday Party

At our annual Holiday Party, hosted at the picturesque Telus Harbour Hosting Centre, our team enjoyed a delicious buffet and, in our inimitable OBI way, celebrated the holidays with several rousing rounds of trivia as well as a spirited blind gift swap.

Bike for Brain Health

At the Bike for Brain Health in June, with our partners at Baycrest, OBI put forward a team of weekend warriors – Tom Mikkelson, Lucas Ng, Garth Smith, Jordan Antflick and Francis Jeanson - in support of research, innovation, care and education for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

Minutes of Meditation

Persian poet Rumi once wrote “the quieter you become, the more you are able to hear.” For the second year in a row, OBI staff came together twice a week to participate in the Minutes of Meditation sessions, graciously led by Rasha Abdo, OBI’s Events Lead.

Social Committee

OBI’s social committee organized monthly get-togethers, including the annual potluck, Speak & Learn Socials (where certain staff taught colleagues the basics of the languages they spoke), board game and trivia tournaments, Guess the Lyrics games, and a small-but-mighty winter skating party at Nathan Phillips Square.

While tasty food and fun times can happen organically, expert social convening always takes gathering the extra mile. Thank you to the 2023-24 members of the OBI Social Committee - Yasmeen Shah (chair), Rasha Abdo, Lucas Ng, Keith Misquitta, Jared Den Otter, Farah Memarpour, Caroline Bennett-AbuAyyash, Stephanie Holbik, Naomi Opia-Evans, Isdora Msigwa, Fawziyah Ibrahim and Michelle Zheng - for their dedicated work.

Reflections on the past year

Message from the Board of Directors Chair

Message from the President and Scientific Director

Board of Directors

Motivated by a goal of improving the lives of the one in three Canadians living with a brain disorder, OBI’s Board of Directors and advisory committees supported an integrated and collaborative approach to scientific discovery that harnesses Ontario’s expertise in neuroscience research. We are grateful for their leadership.