Brain and heart conditions are leading causes of disease and death in Canada, with a devastating impact on patients and their families. They are also deeply interconnected, in ways that are now beginning to be understood. The Brain-Heart Interconnectome (BHI) is a ground-breaking interdisciplinary research program aimed at accelerating prevention, detection, treatment and care of brain-heart disorders, supported by a $109 million grant from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF).  

We seek to improve the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of concurrent brain-heart-mind conditions through integrated collaboration among brain, heart and psychiatric researchers; patients, physicians and partners across academia, industry and government; and community organizations. 

Our objectives are to: 

• Understand the fundamental pathogenesis of connected brain and heart conditions 
• Identify risk prediction tools for chronic brain and heart conditions, incorporating wide-ranging social determinants of health 
• Develop novel biomarkers and imaging approaches to predict, diagnose, gauge severity and monitor interventions 
• Develop novel therapeutics and interventions 
• Mobilize knowledge and evaluate real world implementation and effectiveness of new integrated prediction, diagnosis, intervention and care models for brain-heart conditions 

BHI researchers will also look at lifestyle — including non-pharmaceutical and cultural interventions to treat, prevent and build resilience — and develop targeted prevention and treatment strategies for marginalized, Indigenous and high-risk ethnic communities.  

This initiative will help train the first generation of research leaders in interconnected brain-heart research, paving the way with novel integrated knowledge translation- and equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)-embedded approaches to research.  

BHI brings togethers long-standing areas of priority and excellence at uOttawa and its affiliated research institutes, McGill University and the University of Saskatchewan. BHI will engage more than 45 government, NGO, private sector and academic partners to lead a global paradigm shift in brain-heart diseases, improving the health and quality of life of Canadians while benefiting Canada’s economy and global standing. 

In addition to our core partners, BHI will work with multiple interdisciplinary research networks across Canada to maximize impact and uptake of ground-breaking discoveries.