Yellowknife, Northwest Territories – January 20, 2020 – The Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI), powered by Baycrest, and the Aurora Research Institute (ARI) today announced a new partnership to accelerate aging and brain health innovations for Indigenous and rural populations in the Northwest Territories.
As Canada’s healthcare system evolves to meet the needs of a growing senior population, some Indigenous seniors in the Northwest Territories face challenges accessing healthcare solutions and services due to geography, language, or cultural differences. There is a particular need for innovations that recognize and integrate the insight and traditional knowledge of Northern peoples.
In recognition of this need, the CABHI-ARI collaboration will support innovation activities in seniors’ care that focus on Indigenous and rural populations, with an emphasis on working closely with Northern communities themselves. CABHI is a Toronto-based solution accelerator focused on driving innovation in the aging and brain health sector across Canada and globally, and ARI, the research division of Aurora College in the Northwest Territories, fosters a regional scientific community that recognizes and uses the traditional knowledge of Northern peoples.
Through a recommendation from ARI, CABHI is already funding a new innovation project that is developing a community-driven and Elder-led health and wellness program for Indigenous seniors in the Northwest Territories. The project is supported by CABHI’s Spark Program for early-stage innovations.
“CABHI strives to enhance the lives of seniors and caregivers in Canada from coast to coast to coast. We are delighted to partner with the Aurora Research Institute in improving the quality of life for families and communities in the Northwest Territories, accelerating promising new solutions in aging and brain health that meet the specific needs of Indigenous and rural communities,” said Dr. Allison Sekuler, Managing Director of CABHI, Sandra A. Rotman Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience, and Vice-President of Research at Baycrest.
The new collaboration builds on CABHI’s strong network of provincial partnerships across Canada. For more information about CABHI’s partnership network, visit https://www.cabhi.com/news.
CABHI gratefully acknowledges the support of its funders, the Government of Canada through the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, and the Baycrest Foundation.
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About the Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI)
A solution accelerator for the aging and brain health sector, CABHI provides funding and support to innovators for the development, testing, and dissemination of new ideas and technologies that address unmet brain health and seniors’ care needs. Established in 2015, it is the result of the largest investment in brain health and aging in Canadian history. CABHI is a unique collaboration of health care, science, industry, not-for-profit and government partners whose aim is to help improve quality of life for the world’s aging population, allowing older adults to age safely in the setting of their choice while maintaining their cognitive, emotional, and physical well-being.
About the Aurora Research Institute (ARI)
Aurora Research Institute is the research division of Aurora College. Its mandate is to improve the quality of life for Northwest Territory (NWT) residents by applying scientific, technological and indigenous knowledge to solve northern problems and advance regional social and economic goals.
ARI delivers on this mandate by: licensing and coordinating research in accordance with the NWT Scientists Act; promoting communication between researchers and the people of the communities in which they work; promoting public awareness of the importance of science, technology and indigenous knowledge; fostering a scientific community within the NWT which recognizes and uses the traditional knowledge of northern Aboriginal peoples; making scientific and traditional knowledge available to the people of the NWT; and supporting or conducting research which contributes to the social, cultural and economic prosperity of the people of the NWT.
ARI provides its services through three research offices: their Headquarters and the Western Arctic Research Centre in Inuvik; the South Slave Research Centre in Fort Smith, and the North Slave Research Centre in Yellowknife.
