Spearheading Transformative Brain Health, Research and Discovery

Researchers and experts regularly cite the Tanz Centre’s body of research, which has been recorded widely in over 430 papers in peer-reviewed journals and over 1,055 peer-reviewed manuscripts. Tanz discoveries have been published in frontline scientific and medical journals such as Nature, Science, Nature Genetics, Nature Cell Biology, Journal of Cell Biology, Nature Medicine, the New England Journal of Medicine and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Tanz researchers have given over 1,300 invited lectures around the world and their findings have been communicated to the society at large via more than 50 lay lectures and interviews, as well as through numerous television, radio, magazine and newspaper articles.

The Centre has also been an important contributor to Continuing Medical Education for physicians from a variety of disciplines in Canada and around the world. Noteworthy is the internationally renowned Canadian Conference on Dementia, which began in 1992 as a Tanz Centre initiative to educate family physicians and community specialists in Ontario about these diseases.

Discovered the five genes associated with Alzheimer's Disease.

Developed the first antibody that labels a misfolded protein implicated in ALS. The antibody could be used as a biomarker for ALS or to develop drugs or immunixation therapies.

Developed new insights into the protein involved in the development of human Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Mad Cow disease, and discovered an antibody that may assist in diagnosis and treatment. 

Demonstrated that Alzheimer's Disease is a complex disorder with multiple causes.

Advanced the understanding of the dyfunction of two key proteins in the development of some forms of Parkenson's disease.

Proven that vaccination of mice with Alzheimer's Disease can prevent or reverse cognitive and memory impairments. This discovery spurred the subsequent testing of the vaccine in humans.