The Douglas Mental Health University Institute is proud to announce that the Wellcome Trust has awarded $9.8 million to psychiatry professor Dr. Lena Palaniyappan in support of the DIALOG project. This funding will support research into why some individuals with psychiatric conditions experience disorganized language, which can hinder their social interactions and increase stigmatization.
The DIALOG initiative is led by Dr. Palaniyappan, a researcher at the Douglas Research Centre and a professor of psychiatry at McGill University, involves several international researchers, two individuals with lived experience of mental health issues, and an artist. The DIALOG project focuses on the patients’ everyday language use rather than traditional clinical assessments. By combining advanced analytical tools with neuroimaging data from more than 3000 patients, DIALOG aims to identify the brain dysfunctions underlying communication difficulties in mental illness.
“The goal is to better target future treatments to improve the daily lives of those affected. One key aspect of this study is that it represents one of the first attempts in psychiatry to design clinical trials focused on a specific symptom—disorganized thinking—rather than a diagnosis,” says Dr. Palaniyappan, a researcher at the Douglas Research Centre.
“This major initiative, funded by the Wellcome Trust, highlights the unique collaboration between patients, clinicians, and researchers that has helped the Douglas Institute earn global recognition in mental health research,” says Dr. Gustavo Turecki, Scientific Director of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute.
The DIALOG project is a multidisciplinary effort that brings together experts in neuroscience, neuroimaging, linguistics, and information technology to develop innovative predictive models. This unique collaboration will not only enable the development of individualized treatments, but also create advanced diagnostic tools to improve the management of psychotic disorders worldwide.
The DIALOG initiative represents a collaboration among eight researchers:
Lena Palaniyappan (Douglas Mental Health University Institute took, Canada), Valentina Bambini (Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori di Pavia, Italy), Neil Harrison (Cardiff University, United Kingdom), Tilo Kircher (Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany), Gina Kuperberg (Tufts University, United States), Susan Rossell (Swinburne University of Technology, Australia), Krish Singh (Cardiff University, United Kingdom) and Iris Sommer (University Medical Center Groningen, Netherlands).
Regarding the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal
The CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal comprises the former West Island Health and Social Services Centre, the Dorval-Lachine-LaSalle Health and Social Services Centre, St. Mary’s Hospital Centre, the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, the West Island Rehabilitation Centre, the Grace Dart Extended Care Centre, Batshaw Youth and Family Centres and Ste. Anne’s Hospital.
Source:
Media Relations Department
CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal
relations.medias.comtl@ssss.gouv.qc.ca.