CAMH Engage Breakthrough Challenge 2019 awarded to Dr. Thomas Prevot

 Pictured above: Dr. Thomas Prevot, Dr. Jeff Wardell and Dr. Isabelle Boileau

On Friday, October 18, a sold-out crowd of nearly 300 young professionals gathered at Ricarda’s Toronto to award $10,000 as part of the 6^th Annual Breakthrough Challenge, a signature event by CAMH Engage in support of mental health research.

CAMH Engage is a group of young professionals in Toronto dedicated to reducing the stigma surrounding mental illness, increasing access to care, and supporting research at CAMH. The CAMH Engage team raises funds that are in turn awarded by popular vote to one of three CAMH research projects.

This year’s grant was awarded to Dr. Thomas Prevot for his research into the development of new molecules to treat cognitive deficits in depression. The molecules would work to treat symptoms like impairment in memory, attention, and impulsivity. As part of Dr. Etienne Sibille’s team conducting ongoing research exploring the cellular and molecular bases of depression, Dr. Prevot’s work would not only help patients with depression, it also has the potential to improve memory in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The $10,000 grant was generously donated by Cam Fowler, Director of the CAMH Foundation Board.

“Current depression treatments focus on only treating a person’s mood symptoms, so all the cognitive symptoms—such as memory problems—remain,” said Dr. Prevot. “Receiving this award helps our team move towards improving the quality of life for people around the world with depression, Alzheimer’s and other related conditions. I’m very grateful for the support for this research!”

Two other CAMH researchers, Dr. Isabelle Boileau and Dr. Jeff Wardell, were also competing for the $10,000 grant for their work tackling the effects of cannabis on the brain and understanding the development of addictive behaviours in adolescents and young adults. Thanks to a generous donation by Dan O’Shaughnessy, both researchers also received grants of $3,750 each to continue their important work.

As part of the event, a series of short videos were created to describe each researcher’s work. View them here.

“Events like the Breakthrough Challenge are so important. It’s inspiring to see the next generation of mental health advocates come together to support CAMH research and break down stigma. It gives us reason to feel hopeful about the future,” said Deborah Gills, President and CEO, CAMH Foundation. “I’d like to thank all event participants, including our researchers, staff organizers, presenters, guests and supporters. Special thanks go to our organizing committee, including this year’s co-chairs, Nick Xiang and Maria Wells. This event would not have been possible without their vision and hard work.”

To date, CAMH Engage initiatives have raised more than $800,000 in support of CAMH. The group also offers free educational workshops on mental health topics throughout the year.

For more information on CAMH Engage or other ways to get involved at CAMH, visit http://www.camh.ca/en/get-involved.