CHU Sainte-Justine launches the Centre IMAGINE, a pioneer infrastructure for child brain imaging that promises a giant step forward for research and therapeutic approaches in neurodevelopment and precision pediatric psychiatry. This initiative was made possible thanks to major funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, obtained with support from the Université de Montréal, and from the Gouvernement du Québec, as well as a generous and transformative $5M philanthropic donation from the Lise and Giuseppe Racanelli Foundation through the CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation.
At the inauguration held at CHU Sainte-Justine on October 30, representatives of the Lise and Giuseppe Racanelli Foundation decided to substantially increase the donation they had initially planned for the project. Deeply moved by their visit to CHU Sainte-Justine with Dr. Patricia Conrod and Dr. Gregory A. Lodygensky, co-directors of the Centre IMAGINE, the Racanelli family announced that they would be increasing their contribution from $2 million to $5 million.
The Lise and Giuseppe Racanelli Foundation is proud to support precision mental health research. We hope that our investment will inspire others to do the same, so that together, we may meet the tremendous needs in this area. Collectively, we must help CHU Sainte-Justine build a future where each child receives the healthcare they need to grow and thrive, whatever challenges they may face.
The commitment of donors is at the heart of the solutions that CHU Sainte-Justine’s teams can provide through research, and the donation from the Lise and Giuseppe Racanelli Foundation to the Centre IMAGINE is proof of this. Thanks to their support, the lives of thousands of children with neurodevelopmental disorders will be fundamentally transformed. The impact of this philanthropic gesture will be felt in a lasting and profound way by families across Quebec.
Enhancing our understanding of brain development through neuroimaging
Unique in Canada, CHU Sainte-Justine’s Centre IMAGINE relies on a critical mass of highly specialized teams to offer the scientific community new research that leverages leading-edge technology in multimodal high-definition brain imaging and powerful data analysis platforms.
Equipped to study brain structure, function, and connectivity in children, from the neonatal stage to the end of adolescence, the Centre’s tools offer unparalleled accuracy for measuring the effects of favourable and disruptive factors for pediatric brain development, such as genetics, chronic stress, prematurity, concussions, and substance abuse.
More specifically, CHU Sainte-Justine’s Centre IMAGINE aims to:
- Improve not only the quality but also the conditions for brain imaging in children.
- Expand the understanding of human brain development, from birth to adulthood.
- Take advantage of the latest technology to measure and analyze brain development in real-life situations, such as during breastfeeding or in interactions with a parent.
- Develop new diagnostic and preventive interventions for psychiatric, neurodevelopmental, or learning disorders and for factors that could hinder brain development.
“Driven by its ambition to transform the lives of generations, CHU Sainte-Justine is combining its dual strengths in care and research to predict, prevent, and take early personalized action with every mother and every child. The Centre IMAGINE is a major milestone in this commitment, drawing on the enormous potential of technology and big data to develop and offer the best possible care, taking into account the unique characteristics of every person with regards to brain health,” said Isabelle Demers, President and CEO of CHU Sainte-Justine.
“Powered by precision health, the ambition of the Centre de recherche Azrieli du CHU Sainte-Justine is to transform super-specialized care and services for the mothers and children of Québec. The Centre IMAGINE relies on the extraordinary collaboration of researchers in many complementary areas of expertise to take applied neuroscience to the next level and enter the era of precision pediatric psychiatry and brain health,” stated Dr. Jacques L. Michaud, Director of the Centre de recherche Azrieli du CHU Sainte-Justine.
Source:
CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation
Contact:
Julie Veilleux, Director, Communications
514 345-4931, ext. 7958
jveilleux@fondationstejustine.org
On the main photo: Dr. Gregory Lodygensky, Ekat Kritikou, Delphine Brodeur, Isabelle Demers, Mylène, Lise, Giuseppe and Véronique Racanelli, Patricia Conrod and Dr. Jacques L. Michaud © CHU Sainte-Justine (Véronique Lavoie)
