2022 Message from the Chair of the Board of Directors

"I’m proud to say that I’ve had a front-row seat watching the formation, growth, and evolution of OBI. In fact, over a decade ago when I was at GSK I was passed a proposal for an Ontario Brain Institute with a note from my boss with the question “Should we invest?” scrawled on it."

Todd Vienneau, Board Chair

When OBI was established over a decade ago in 2010, the world was just beginning to recognize the immense need for an organization uniquely dedicated to the acceleration of brain health research and the translation of that work into real-life impacts. Only now, can we reflect on how important our efforts to build an internationally recognized centre of excellence have been and look forward to what’s next.

I’m proud to say that I’ve had a front-row seat watching the formation, growth, and evolution of OBI. In fact, over a decade ago when I was at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), I was passed a proposal for an Ontario Brain Institute with a note from my boss with the question “Should we invest?” scrawled on it. We did invest, and a few months later I represented GSK and was in the founding group of individuals led by Mr. Joseph Rotman that advocated on OBI’s behalf for the initial start-up funding from the Government of Ontario. And I sat on the committee that reviewed OBI’s very first research network applications.

Staying true to the original vision and with perseverance and determination, OBI has changed the research landscape. We did it by breaking down traditional silos and built partnerships, connecting strengths between clinicians, researchers, industry, and patients. As we’ve illustrated in this report, this approach is creating real world impact. From evidence-based recommendations supporting people caring for loved ones with dementia, to amplifying the deeply personal stories about youth and mental health triumphs, OBI’s ‘team science’ approach is improving how we diagnose, treat and care for the 10 million Canadians impacted by brain disorders.

Simply put: Lab to life, together.

With almost 200 researchers, 317 institutional partners, 96 portfolio companies, 32 community organizations, and 100 patient representatives, we have built a solid foundation – one that is ready to propel us into the next decade.

In this next decade, we promise to strengthen the system, improve everyday life for patients and focus on finding the shortest pathway to results. With the collaborative efforts of the Ontario neuroscience community, the OBI team has pledged to:

• Expand its reach: To accelerate impact, OBI will support its programs and partners with companies and brain institutes to grow. Brain research is a team sport and the field we play on is global. Questions are too big to answer in small groups, and we need to connect our strengths with our international peers.
• Mature the neurotech cluster: Through funding, training, mentoring and advocacy, OBI will bridge the gap between ideation and commercialization for Ontario neurotech companies. To date, we have supported close to 90 innovative companies that have brought 20 new products to market and secured over $250M in follow-on investments.
• Create data-driven patient impact: OBI will fortify its neuroinformatics work with analytical tools for big data to test solutions and drive discovery. In total, we have released 11 significant brain research-related datasets, which are being used by over a thousand people around the world.
• Unite all aspects of brain health care: OBI will build stronger community supports to meet patients where they are while applying new discoveries to care. Since OBI’s inception, we estimate that we have reached about 1 million people through our various knowledge translation and communications initiatives, including the Growing Expertise in Evaluation and Knowledge Translation (GEEK) program and our Public Talks initiative.

From a big question scrawled on a handwritten note, to $180 million investment from the Ontario government to a $600 million impact on brain healthcare, I can say with certainty, that the full OBI network should all take pride in our work to weave collaboration into the very fabric of our institute. Who, every day, work to improve the lives of the one in three Canadians impacted by a brain disorder.