Andrew Manitowabi (Mamaateshiins), BA, BBA, leads our Indigenous Initiatives, where he seeks to incorporate the duality of Indigeneity and Western being into advocating with underrepresented, vulnerable, and disadvantaged Indigenous peoples. Guiding and learning from the Indigenous Knowledges Holders Group is key to ensuring meaningful, authentic, and transformative evolution occurs to achieve the vision set out by the CBRS. Affirming the utility of Indigenous Knowledge, while coveting ongoing Indigenous collaborations, will allow CBRS (and Canada as a whole) to truly shift the landscape of brain knowledge. Mr. Manitowabi has a lifelong affinity for gracing the voiceless, and the ability to shift paradigms and discourse. Mr. Manitowabi has worked at Indigenous organizations at the community and the provincial-territorial level. Concurrent to this position, he is the Anishinaabemowin Program Manager for Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, where he bridges Anishinaabe traditions and beliefs with current ways of living, regarding language revitalization. Mr. Manitowabi holds a BA in Criminology and First Nations Studies from Western University and a BBA from Laurentian University.
Calaina Brooke, BSc, PhDc, is our Science Policy and Communications Intern, where she engages people with lived experiences, manages outreach efforts, and enhances the organization’s social media presence. Currently in the final stages of her PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Toronto, Ms. Brooke’s research focuses on multisensory integration in balance during walking and standing after concussion. Her passion for scientific communication and outreach developed during her PhD, especially through her involvement in STEM youth outreach. There, she engaged with stakeholders and delivered hands-on workshops and interactive tours to inspire local Toronto youth about the cutting-edge science and research taking place at the various University Health Network institutes. Ms. Brooke aims to apply the skills she has honed throughout these experiences to her work at CBRS.
Humayra Tasnim, BPharm, MSc, is the CBRS-OBI Brain Research Strategy Intern, supported by the Ontario Brain Institute (OBI). In her role, she is responsible for managing and executing key data initiatives to support our organization’s research strategy. Ms. Tasnim holds a MSc in Pharmacy from the University of Waterloo, School of Pharmacy, and a BPharm from North South University, Bangladesh. With over three years of experience in innovative healthcare research, her expertise includes analyzing complex data, project management, and communicating data-driven stories to both scientific and public audiences. Driven by a commitment to advancing collaborative and transdisciplinary brain research, Ms. Tasnim is dedicated to contributing to the vision of Canada leading a global shift in open brain research.
Jennie Z. Young, PhD, is the Executive Director, where she leads a pan-Canadian effort to develop a national research strategy for brain and mental health. Dr. Young holds a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Alberta and spent 14 years abroad at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she served as scientific chief-of-staff to Nobel Laureate Susumu Tonegawa and to Picower Institute Director Li-Huei Tsai. Her work has spanned the fields of learning and memory and Alzheimer’s disease, with resulting publications in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, Science, Cell, Nature Neuroscience, Nature Biomedical Engineering, and Neuron. Dr. Young’s return to Canada was spurred by her deep passion for the exceptional calibre and collaborative nature of neuroscience and mental health research in Canada. Prior to joining CBRS, Dr. Young led Research and Programs at the Brain Canada Foundation where she oversaw their largest funded programs and engaged in partnerships with non-profits, health charities, and government agencies.
Lindsay Borthwick, BSc, MSc, BAA, is the strategic Science Communications Lead, where she brings over two decades of experience as a journalist specializing in science and technology. As the principal and founder of LABmedia, a science communication consultancy based in Toronto, Mrs. Borthwick has produced content for national magazines, philanthropic organizations, and tech clients across the U.S. and Canada. Her work has covered a wide range of topics, from Alzheimer’s disease to artificial intelligence, and synthetic biology to science policy. Mrs. Borthwick holds an MSc in neuroscience from McGill University and BAA in journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University, equipping her with a unique blend of scientific expertise and communication skills that she leverages to drive forward CBRS’s mission.
