Garry Hurvitz Centre for Brain & Mental Health

• Identify and develop collaborative educational and knowledge translational initiatives across SickKids
• Develop strategies integrating children and families in brain and mental health initiatives 
• Review and implement innovative educational strategies
• Implement Knowledge Translation (KT) strategies to facilitate new knowledge uptake globally
• Act as a liaison between the Garry Hurvitz Centre for Brain and Mental Health Executive Committee, and internal and external partners for educational and knowledge exchange initiatives 

• Develop and encourage novel research opportunities through strategic Centre initiatives 
• Manage and promote the Centre’s grant competitions 
• Work with internal and external stakeholders to leverage all opportunities for collaborative research and funding 
• Review and adjudicate research related funding requests that are submitted to the Centre

The GH-CBMH, in collaboration with clinical experts and under the leadership of the Executive Director, Brain & Mental Health Services, has launched a Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC). Doing so will help to ensure that patients and families are included and engaged as partners with the hospital.

The PFAC will discuss treatments, therapeutics, and develop recommendations to improve mental health services and supports for patients and their families. Patient and Family Advisors (PFAs) on the PFAC will act as general consultants and advisors who provide insight and recommendations to help ensure that the patient’s and family’s perspectives are integrated into service and quality improvement projects throughout the Brain & Mental Health program. The PFAs will provide a diverse range of perspectives to further improve patient care as well as the patient and family experience.

Purpose: Established in 2005 by the Department of Psychiatry at SickKids to honour the lifetime commitment and dedication, to children’s mental health services and education that “Liz” has passionately demonstrated.

Description: Supported financially by an endowment readily built by multiple donors, this award acknowledges the outstanding clinical and/or programmatic contributions of non-physician health professionals and/or leaders in the area of child and youth mental health within the province of Ontario.

Value of award: The selected recipient will receive an award of $1,000 for their clinical or administrative/programmatic excellence in the area of child and youth mental health.

Timeline: Nominations closed for 2026

Past recipients: 

• Flora Ennis and Angela Kirk (2025)
• Claudine Burke and Jo Henderson (2024)
• Trish Williams and Gord Bains (2023)

This funding strives to improve the brain and mental health outcomes of children and youth by supporting the development of new ideas and interventions that would not qualify for funding through typical granting agencies.

A focus on health outcomes is key! You must implement unique concepts, approaches or methodologies that will catalyze improved paediatric brain and mental health outcomes. Grants of up to $100,000 ($50,000/year for two years) will be awarded for novel project proposals focused on improving brain and mental health outcomes in children and youth. The project must be collaborative, innovative and based on sound clinical and/or scientific rationale. Preliminary data is not required.  

Eligibility: 
Principal applicants should be SickKids staff members including researchers, clinical staff, fellows, research associates and directors/managers/coordinators.

Timeline:
The competition runs annually in the spring.

2026 winners: Eyal Cohen, Danielle Ruskin, and Kathryn Manning 

For any questions or further inquiries, please email piyanka.sivarajah@sickkids.ca 

This funding supports the discovery of new and potentially ground-breaking ideas that would not receive funding through typical granting agencies.

Innovation is key! You must truly be chasing an out-of-the-box, provocative and high-risk idea that can move the field of brain and mental health forward. A suite of catalyst grants of up to $65,000 each are awarded for one year research projects that are novel and innovative yet based on sound rationale and evidence for feasibility in: 

• Basic or clinical neuroscience or behavioral research and/or   
• Knowledge translation in clinical neuroscience or behavioral care 

Submissions to this grant competition should only be made for new projects. The continuation of existing projects will not be supported. Applications should be written for a broad audience (clinicians and researchers) and not specifically for experts in their field.   

Eligibility:
Principal applicants should be SickKids staff members including researchers, clinical staff, fellows, research associates and directors/managers/coordinators.

Timeline:
The competition runs annually in the fall.

2025 winners: Jiannis Taxidis, Julien Muffat, Amra Saric, Michael Salter, Jida Jaffan/Margot Taylor 

For any questions or further inquiries, please email piyanka.sivarajah@sickkids.ca.

This funding supports Centre members who are applying to external granting agencies that require matching funds. 

The Brain & Mental Health Innovation Fund is a key initiative of the Garry Hurvitz Centre for Brain & Mental Health (GH-CBMH). This fund supports Centre members applying to external grant agencies that require matching funds. Eligible projects may receive up to $50,000 per year for a maximum of two years (totaling $100,000 CAD). A limited number of awards are available each year, with priority given to awarding at least one grant in the Spring and one in the Fall.  

Eligibility:  

• Lead applicant – must be employed by SickKids and hold a Research Institute (RI) appointment that permits managing external grants (including project investigators) 
• Membership – both Lead Applicants and Co-Applicants must be registered Centre members 
• Granting Agency and Competition – funding agency must be external to SickKids and proposals must undergo a formal peer-review process and adhere to the SickKids Matched Funding Policy.   
• Research Focus – project must address brain or mental health research relevant to children or youth, or fundamental aspects of brain development, and align with the GH-CBMH strategic priorities   

Please contact the GH‑CBMH team to request the full guidelines and application form. 

Timeline: 
Applications to the Brain & Mental Health Innovation Fund are accepted on a rolling basis. Decisions typically take up to four weeks, though additional time may be required. Early submission is encouraged, as review cannot be guaranteed with limited lead time. Once the annual funding cap is reached, the portal will close and reopen at the start of the next fiscal year (March).  

Past recipients: Anne Wheeler

This sponsorship supports Centre members in delivering high-impact educational activities that advance knowledge exchange, collaboration, and capacity-building in brain and mental health. 

This program provides funding for educational initiatives led by GH-CBMH members, including conferences, symposia, workshops, seminars, and trainee-focused activities. The program supports knowledge translation and community engagement, while advancing initiatives aligned with the Centre’s strategic priorities in brain and mental health. Funding of up to $5,000 per initiative is available through a streamlined application process.  

Eligibility: 
Open to GH-CBMH Centre members who are SickKids staff and are leading or coordinating educational initiatives in brain and mental health. Initiatives must demonstrate value to trainees, clinicians, researchers, or the broader community, and align with Centre priorities. Applicants may be required to provide a budget, initiative overview, and disclosure of other funding sources. 

Please contact the GH‑CBMH team to request the full guidelines and application form. 

Timeline: 

• Applications are accepted on a rolling basis 
• Submissions must be received at least 2 months prior to the initiative start date 

This competition will no longer be taking place. For more information please email brain.mentalhealth@sickkids.ca

Purpose: Support programs in carrying out innovative brain and mental health-related work.

Description: In 2023, GH-CBMH awarded funding to program proposals with the intent of making an impactful contribution in the brain and/or mental health sphere. 

Past fund recipients

• Dr. Carolina Gorodetsky: Establishing A National Canadian Paediatric Deep Brain Stimulation (pDBS) program
  • Dr Gorodetsky's project aims to scale SickKids' renowned pDBS clinic into a national pDBS strategy, building infrastructure to enhance collaboration with other Canadian paediatric centers, providing hybrid virtual and in-person multidisciplinary education sessions, and scaling a multi-center registry for children undergoing DBS to facilitate further understanding of paediatric-specific outcomes.

• Dr. Prakash Muthusami: Establishing a Research-Educational “Paediatric Neurovascular Program” at SickKids for Improving Disease Outcomes
• Dr. Muthusami's project aims to develop and optimize research, neuroimaging and data registry infrastructure, increase international neurovascular research collaboration, and create educational opportunities to expand expertise across neurosurgery and neurointervention.
• Dr. Tricia Williams: Optimizing mental health outcomes for SickKids children and their families: Building a clinical pathway for I-InTERACT-North
• Dr. Williams' project aims to create a novel early intervention pathway at SickKids that identifies and responds to child mental health before significant symptoms manifest, with potential provincial and national adoption across leading Canadian centres. The pathway aims to provide personalized, precision mental health care by identifying, preventing, and optimizing mental health in children and their families, based on close attention to initial assessments and tailoring of interventions to optimize treatment success. 

Read more about the fund recipients and their projects.

Please note: This competition is open exclusively to internal SickKids Research Fellows. Fellowship supervisors must hold a Scientist appointment.

Before You Apply: 

• Please review the application guidelines carefully. Applicants should review the Clinician Scientist Training Program's (CSTP) policies and procedures and apply through Restracomp.

Purpose: 

• The Integrative Research Training Fellowship Program is designed to offer advanced Fellows a comprehensive research training opportunity in a new discipline, building on and complementing their existing expertise. The Fellowship must demonstrate a clear synergy between the applicant’s research goals and the skills and knowledge to be gained. 

• In addition, the program supports the broader objective of expanding interdisciplinary and interprofessional capacity within the GH-CBMH by fostering specialized skill development for highly trained professionals. Ultimately, this Fellowship seeks to advance scientific innovation by pairing supervisors and trainees from complementary disciplines to tackle novel research questions. 

Eligibility Criteria: 

• Applicants must engage in research that crosses brain and/or mental health-related disciplines to qualify for the Integrative Research Training Fellowship. 

Examples of Eligible Cross-Disciplinary Training: 

• A Neurologist or Neurosurgeon training in a psychology lab 

• A PhD Social Worker training in psychiatry 

• A Neuroscientist training in a brain imaging lab or psychiatry 

Timeline:The competition runs annually in the fall. 

Questions? Contact the Research Training Centre.

Apply through RestracompCSTP policies and procedures