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 1, 2025 at 4 pm MT
Full Application Deadline: June 20, 2025 at 4 pm MT
Selection of finalists: Early September 2025
Decision Date: October/November 2025
Hopewell M.I.N.D. Prize 2024 Finalists
Drs. Adam Kirton and Alicia Hilderley
Brain Computer interface solutions to enable youth living with severe disability
Children trapped in their bodies by complete paralysis are limited in their ability participate in life. BCI research has shown that these children can use the power of their own minds to control simple brain computer interfaces (BCI) to achieve goals that were previously considered impossible. The BCI@home trial will implement this life changing solution for southern Alberta families, carving a pathway for affected children everywhere.
Drs. Grant Gordon and Tim Ziebarth
Gut-Brain axis communication to nourish and cleanse the CNS
Little is known about if or how the gut helps control nutrient delivery to various tissue beds via the blood supply, especially to metabolically sensitive organs such as the brain. The project proposes to explore a previously unrecognized form of gut-to-brain communication whereby the gut microbiome acts on brain vascular endothelium and astrocytes to control cerebral blood flow based on ingested nutrient availability.
Drs. Derya Sargin and Shaista Jabeen
Psychedelics as an early stage intervention for Alzheimer’s Disease
The impact of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in mitigating brain damage, and observed loss of serotonin neurons in patients, suggests a role for serotonin in Alzheimer's Disease. Disrupted connectivity of the serotonin network in the brain could play a role in the progression of Alzheimer's. The project explores early indicators of Alzheimer’s and the use of serotonergic psychedelic drugs to prevent disease progression.
2024 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 Else Charlotte Sandset
ESO Secretary General and Consultant Neurologist at the Stroke Unit, Department of Neurology, Oslo University Hospital
Dr Nelson Spruston
Executive Director and Vice President
Janelia Research Campus
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Professor Mriganka Sur
Newton Professor of Neuroscience,
Director, Simons Center for the Social Brain, MIT
$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.”
