Hopewell M.I.N.D. Prize
Maximizing Innovation in Neuroscience Discovery
What is the Hopewell M.I.N.D. Prize?
The Hopewell M.I.N.D. Prize (Maximizing Innovation in Neuroscience Discovery) was created through a generous $10M philanthropic commitment from Mr. Sanders Lee to the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI). Mr. Lee, the Founder and Executive Chairman of the Hopewell® Group of Companies is a visionary leader who embraces the idea of technology and science for the betterment of society.
This prize will serve as a catalyst to launch innovative, bold, high-impact research projects in brain and mental health at the University of Calgary. The Hopewell M.I.N.D. Prize – unique in Canada – offers up to $1 million per year for the next ten years to fund research projects that are “ahead of the curve." These projects would be at a critical crossroads where an injection of funding has the potential to transform the project into significant community impact.
$1 Million Dollars/per award
2024- 2025 COMPETITION NOW OPEN!
Total Prize: Up to $1 million
Duration of funding: Distributed up to five years
Expression of Interest Form Deadline: March 14, 2025 at 4 pm MT
Full Application Deadline: June 20, 2025 at 4 pm MT
Selection of finalists: Early September 2025
Decision Date: December 2, 2025
Hopewell M.I.N.D. Prize 2025 Finalists
Drs. Aravind Ganesh and Jianhai Zhang
PENTOS-AI: Personalized neuroimaging-guided treatment decision support
Ischemic stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks a vessel in the brain, making it one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Current prediction tools don’t provide reliable long-term outlooks for patients after stroke. PENTOS-AI aims to close this gap by using CT and MRI scans along with clinical data to predict recovery, risk of bleeding, chances of another stroke, and dementia after stroke.
Drs. Wilten Nicola and Jafar Shamsi
NeuroMorpheus: An Embodied Neuromorphic AI Agent for Personalized Monitoring
Many Canadians, including seniors and those with persistent health needs, want to live safely and independently in their own homes. However, they face daily risks like falls or persistent health issues, which can reduce independence and increase hospital visits. We propose to develop NeuroMorpheus: a private, personalized intelligent agent that operates entirely on edge devices locally in your own home to provide continuous safety monitoring and support.
Drs. Jiami Guo and Lizheng Wang
Targeted Primary Cilia Protein Degradation for Neuroinflammation Modulation
There are more than 600 known diseases of the central nervous system, many linked to harmful brain inflammation. We found that tiny cilia—antenna-like structures on brain cells called astrocytes—influence recovery after stroke and memory with aging. By targeting these cilia, our work may lead to new treatments for conditions such as stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.
2025 Innovation Prize Jury
Dr Fernando Cendes
Professor of Neurology at University of Campinas – UNICAMP, and Director of The Brazilian Research Institute for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology (BRAINN)
Professor Tarja Malm
Professor in Molecular Neurobiology and the head of the Neuroinflammation research group at the A.I.Virtanen Institute, University of Eastern Finland
Dr. Harold Pincus
Dr Harold Pincus, MD, Professor
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University
Professor Mriganka Sur
Newton Professor of Neuroscience,
Director, Simons Center for the Social Brain, MIT
Dr Julie A. Schneider
The Deborah R. And Edgar D. Jannotta Presidential Professor, Department of Pathology & Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center
Director, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and Associate Director, Rush Alzheimer’s Disease
$10 million to create Hopewell M.I.N.D. Prize
Calgarians are known for making big, bold things happen. Sanders Lee is one of them. A record-breaking new prize in brain and mental health research will bring new ideas to the fore – sparking innovation through cutting edge research at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI).
“I've always been a supporter of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, and Dr. David Park approached me with what he called a bold idea,” says Lee. “I think at the end of the day, I’m a risk taker, and I loved the idea.”