KITE scientist Dr. Tatyana Mollayeva has received the prestigious Canada Research Chair in Neurological Disorders and Brain Health (Tier 2) from the Government of Canada.
Canada Research Chairs were established to attract and retain the world’s most accomplished and promising minds. Chairholders are selected based on their ability to achieve research excellence in engineering and natural sciences, health sciences, humanities and social sciences.
Dr. Mollayeva is one of approximately 2000 active chairs in the nation.
"Today is a day of great happiness for me,” Dr. Mollayeva said. “I am extremely thankful to all the people that supported me along the way and who nominated me. As an immigrant, this award is not just for me. It is for all immigrants who have a passion and take the often frightening step of changing their professional identity.”
Dr. Mollayeva’s research program focuses on the role that traumatic brain injury and sleep disorders play in newly developed dementia, cognitive rehabilitation and disability.
Her research team is using analytical methods, such as data mining, to determine the risk and protective factors that can interact across an individual’s lifespan to influence health outcomes. By shedding light on how these factors interact, her findings are enabling the development of strategies to prevent and treat sleep disorders, traumatic brain injury and dementia.
Dr. Mollayeva is associate director of the Acquired Brain Injury Research Lab and an assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on Neurological disorders and equity in brain health.
All new Tier 2 Canada Research Chairs receive a $20,000 stipend to help support their research. Dr. Mollayeva plans to use this stipend to support graduate students who share her vision on prevention of neurological disorders and enhancing brain health in Canada and globally.
“Our government recognizes that investing in researchers and scientists results in breakthroughs to advance our society, and benefits all Canadians,” said François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “The Canada Research Chairs Program provides a unique opportunity for researchers to push boundaries and make cutting-edge discoveries with lasting impacts across the health, environment, natural sciences, social sciences and humanities disciplines.”
Canada Research Chairs are funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.