As Chair of the Ontario Brain Institute (OBI), I am proud to reflect on a year of impact and progress. In a time of global economic uncertainty, Ontario is strengthening sectors where it holds strategic advantage, like investments in brain health research, neurotechnology, and artificial intelligence. Each area is important on its own, but OBI is a unique and critical catalyst, integrating people and projects across these sectors to address urgent health challenges while driving economic growth and competitiveness in Ontario. Since its inception, OBI has also helped bring more than $1 billion into the province’s brain health ecosystem, providing the resources needed to grow and sustain research, companies, and community supports that are shaping Ontario’s knowledge economy and future prosperity.
This year’s achievements showcased in the year in review highlight the power of Ontario’s collaborative brain health ecosystem. Our Integrated Discovery Programs are pioneering a new approach to translational research that accelerate the journey from discovery to patient impact, powered by data sharing through Brain-CODE and the Centre for Analytics. At the same time, our commercialization initiatives are nurturing the next generation of Ontario-based companies and showcase how Ontario neurotech firms are attracting capital, creating jobs, and keeping intellectual property in the province. Together, these efforts strengthen Ontario’s healthcare system and advance its knowledge economy.
OBI’s influence now extends beyond our borders, with Ontario’s leadership shaping global priorities in brain health. From co-authoring the G7 Brain Capital concept note to co-sponsoring the Davos Brain House alongside global partners, OBI has secured Ontario a seat at the international table where health, economics, and innovation intersect.
At home, we are equally focused on engaging the public with knowledge and tools to maintain brain health, because healthier citizens mean a more productive, resilient Ontario. This year alone OBI reached over 220,000 people in-person and online.
Technology, data, and collaboration are reshaping care. Forward looking activities like advanced data sharing through federated learning and building the infrastructure for neuro-focused clinical trials position Ontario as a world leader in research, commercialization, and care. And patients remain at the centre of OBI’s priorities. This year over 3,000 patients benefitted from OBI’s clinical trials, community programs or services, and early access to neurotechnology that improves lives.
As we hit the midpoint of our mandate, OBI’s leadership has laid the foundation for sustained growth and impact in the brain health a sector- an essential part of Ontario’s future prosperity.
Heather Chalmers, Chair, Ontario Brain Institute Board of Directors
