SSC Foundation The Schizophrenia Society of Canada Foundation (SSCF) was founded in 1994 with a generous donation from the late Dr. Michael Smith. Dr. Smith's donation of half of his Nobel Prize Laureate monies was used to help form a research fund. It is a legacy that continues to inspire others to invest in research initiatives today. SSCF's main focus is to fund fellowships in the areas of molecular genetics, imaging and biochemistry of the central nervous system and psychosocial rehabilitation with special emphasis on schizophrenia and psychosis. Since 1994, SSCF has funded 16 multi-year fellowships.

A message from the Chair of the Foundation

The Schizophrenia Society of Canada Foundation (SSCF) was created by the Schizophrenia Society of Canada (SSC) with the objectives of advancing research in schizophrenia and psychosis through fund development, funding relevant research projects, promoting research and supporting SSC.

The Board of SSCF was required by the by-laws to be comprised of only of SSC Board members. However, at the SSCF annual meeting on October 6, 2008, there was a motion passed that read, “The SSCF Board of Directors will be composed of 9 directors, of which 6 will be from the SSC Board of Directors and the remaining 3 from the SSC membership at large”.

The rationale for this change was that it helped provide some “distance” from SSC while at the same time giving the SSC Board a majority and also allowing for people who were not on the Board, but had appropriate expertise, to strengthen the Board.

For this reporting period, the Board members and officers elected were: Jim Adamson, Florence Budden (secretary), Rick David (Treasurer), Pamela Forsythe, Mia Hill, John Gray (chair), Marie Knutson and Judith McKenzie,

Research funds come from the interest generated from donations, some of which are restricted in terms of the areas of research that can be funded. There are two streams, both of which must relate to schizophrenia and/or psychosis: the biomedical (e.g. molecular genetics, genetics, imaging and biochemistry) and the psychosocial stream. An example of recent awards in the biomedical stream is Dr. David Mamo, who is studying certain aspects of drug therapy for people with schizophrenia. An example of the psychosocial stream is the research work that SSC undertook on quality of life as defined by people living with schizophrenia and their families.

An objective of SSCF has always been to leverage research funds and to ensure a credible process for making decisions on which research fellows or projects to fund. Discussions with the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) are underway at the time of writing this report to double the funds available from SSCF for two projects. One would be to support a promising PhD candidate in the area of biomedical research for a three-year period, while the other is designed to provide a “top up” of the best project in an open competition that is relevant to psychosocial aspects of schizophrenia. CIHR has considerable expertise in peer review of research projects and this expertise will be used to advise SSCF on the final decisions.

It is important that SSCF keep up to date with methods of improving its performance. Tony Boeckh of the Graham Boeckh Foundation kindly invited John Gray to a meeting on schizophrenia research funding that examined ways in which funding bodies can address the effectiveness of making funding decisions that will advance research addressing the cause, cure and improvement in quality of life for those with schizophrenia and similar illnesses.

The challenges in the next year will clearly be financial as we are dependent on interest rates that are low. In addition, promoting research in this area will remain an important challenge.

I would like to thank the members of the Board and also Chris Summerville for the important work each person did this year in furthering the objectives of SSCF.

John E Gray, PhD
Chair

Board of Directors

JIM ADAMSON - (Alberta)
FLORENCE BUDDEN - Secretary (Newfoundland & Labrador)
RICK DAVID - Treasurer (Ontario)
PAM FORSYTHE (New Brunswick)
JOHN GRAY -Chair (British Columbia)
MARIE KNUTSON (Saskatchewan)
JUDITH MCKENZIE (Ontario)

The CIHR Research Project

Schizophrenia Society of Canada Research Funding Available

The Schizophrenia Society of Canada (SSC) through its research arm, the Schizophrenia Society of Canada Foundation (SSCF), is pleased to partner with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) on two research awards. The Schizophrenia Society of Canada Doctoral Research Award provides up to $22,000 per year for 3 years for a doctoral student in the bio-medical area.  The Schizophrenia Society of Canada, Schizophrenia Research Prize, provides a top-up of $25,000 to the top ranked CIHR funded research on psychosocial aspects of schizophrenia and psychosis.

Please bring these opportunities to the attention of anyone who may be interested. Thanks.

We very much appreciate the assistance of the Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addictions and the Small Health Organizations Partnership Program of CIHR.

Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions.

John E. Gray  PhD
Chair, Schizophrenia Society of Canada Foundation
jegray@shaw.ca

If you require information on how to make a contribution to the SSC Foundation please contact
Louise Hovelson @ 780-299-2520 or email: lhovelson@schizophrenia.ab.ca