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Helping to repair damaged brains and restore lost memories


July 22, 2014

Dr. Jing Wang has been awarded $65,000 by the J.P. Bickell Foundation, named after prominent businessman and former part-owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, John Paris Bickell, to further her studies into neural regeneration and brain repair. Specifically, Dr. Wang will use the grant money to study how neural generation in an embryonic state can lead to the promotion of adult neural repair that enhances memory. Dr. Wang’s research aims to identify new strategies to promote neural repair and restore memory in adults. This has potential to help treat brains damaged as the result of an accident, such as a car crash, or a degenerative disease, such as Alzheimer’s. The discovery of metformin as a potential therapeutic approach for neural regeneration by affecting a specific signalling pathway represents a typical example of how the study of basic embryonic biology can lead to new treatments for neural regeneration.

About the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) is the research arm of The Ottawa Hospital and is an affiliated institute of the University of Ottawa, closely associated with the university’s Faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences. OHRI includes more than 1,700 scientists, clinical investigators, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and staff conducting research to improve the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human disease.

Media contact
Paddy Moore
Communications and Public Relations
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
613-737-8899 x73687
613-323-5680 (cell)