​Ontario at the forefront: The Centre for Analytics is powering the future of brain health​

• OBI's Centre for Analytics establishes Ontario as Canada's leader in neuroanalytics, investing $640,000 in eight AI-driven projects tackling urgent clinical needs from mental health diagnosis to dementia detection
• The CfA collaborated with a number of national programs supporting the training of 190 next generation of neuro data scientists via scholarship programs, summer school training opportunities, analytics initiatives, as well as data challenges.
• The CfA's three-pillar approach drives global competitiveness, translating neuroscience discoveries into real-world solutions while building the skilled workforce needed to maintain leadership in brain health innovation.

In just two years, the Ontario Brain Institute's Centre for Analytics (CfA) has transformed from a provincial vision into a catalyst for national innovation, establishing Ontario as Canada's leader in neuroanalytics and a global exemplar of how AI can transform brain health research and care.

Through its three strategic pillars – upskilling the next generation of neuro data scientists, accelerating access to high-quality data and cloud computing, and translating neuroscience discoveries into real-world solutions – the CfA is driving innovation in brain health research, commercialization, and care.

Translating research data into real-world impact

This spring, OBI invested $640,000 into eight new projects through the CfA, providing researchers and startup companies access to high-quality data and cloud computing infrastructure while tackling urgent clinical needs:

• Bringing precision to early mental health diagnosis: AI-powered speech analysis to detect signs of depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety, led by Dr. Frank Rudzicz (Dalhousie University).
• Improving outcomes after concussion: Predicting autonomic dysfunction to guide more precise treatment and recovery plans, through the work of Dr. Roger Zemek (CHEO Research Institute, University of Ottawa).
• Enhancing accuracy in diagnosing dementia and depression: Technology measuring psychomotor speed from speech and movement data to advance early diagnosis, developed by Dr. Rudolf Uher (Dalhousie University).
• Bringing faster, more efficient diagnoses to eye care: AI streamlining detection of eye diseases, an initiative of Dr. Ehsan Amjadian (Ophthalmo Corp., University of Waterloo).
• Expanding access to high-quality brain imaging: AI-powered algorithms enhancing image resolution from portable, cost-effective devices, developed by Dr. Atefeh Zarabadi (AiimSense, Kitchener).
• Improving therapy precision for depression: Using brain imaging and clinical data to match patients with the most effective treatments, led by Dr. Faranak Farzan (Simon Fraser University).
• Optimizing clinical trial design for precision psychiatry: Leveraging data from OBI's Brain-CODE platform to determine optimal participant numbers and improve study success rates, an initiative by Dr. Clement Ma (CAMH, University of Toronto).
• Driving better outcomes in depression trials: Identifying depression treatment subtypes and predicting outcomes from Brain-CODE datasets, driven by Dr. Joseph Geraci (NetraMark, Toronto).

“In supporting these initiatives, OBI is demonstrating its commitment to bridging scientific discovery and innovation, and these groundbreaking AI-driven projects represent the next frontier in brain health research,” said Dr. Tom Mikkelsen, OBI’s President and Scientific Director. “By integrating advanced computing with neuroscience, we can accelerate early diagnosis, improve treatment precision, and develop more effective tools for managing neurological conditions.”

Upskilling the next generation of neuro data scientists

The Centre for Analytics also played a key role in launching the inaugural Canadian Neuroanalytics Scholars (CNS) Program, bringing together nine postdoctoral scholars from across Canada in its first cohort. Funded by The Hilary & Galen Weston Foundation in partnership with Campus Alberta Neuroscience, the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, and The Neuro's Tanenbaum Open Science Institute, the program will support up to 20 scholars over four years on projects ranging from predicting Alzheimer's disease progression to developing brain connectivity biomarkers.

Additional upskilling efforts include partnerships with Compute Ontario’s 2025 Summer School, where CfA-affiliated faculty delivered specialized courses: Dr. Lyle Muller (Western University) taught neurophysiological data analysis, and Dr. Irene Harmsen (Cove Neurosciences) led time-series data analysis and machine learning applications in neuroscience.

Since inception, the CfA has trained 190 neuroanalytics personnel and supported the development of 10 new methods and tools through funding, technical support, and collaborative opportunities.

Ontario researchers are making groundbreaking discoveries to improve brain health so that residents of our province live longer, healthier lives. Our government is proud to invest in the Ontario Brain Institute and commend their brilliant new cohort of researchers as they drive innovation in our health care sector and grow our economic advantage on the global research stage.

Honourable Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security