News
ALS Association Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship
Posted on: October 2026
I am honoured to have been awarded the ALS Association Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship ($150,000 USD, October 2026 – September 2028). This fellowship will support my project “Improving Power of ALS sMRI Biomarkers: Laminar Imaging in Action”, aimed at developing higher-sensitivity structural MRI biomarkers for ALS clinical trials.
The Safenowitz Fellowship is one of the most prestigious postdoctoral awards in ALS research. I am deeply grateful to the ALS Association for this support and to my supervisor Dr. Erik P. Pioro and my colleagues at UBC for their mentorship and collaboration.
Poster at ISMRM 2026 – Cape Town
Posted on: May 12, 2026
Our poster “Trial-Ready Power Estimates for Longitudinal Resting-state fMRI Biomarkers in ALS” (Digital Poster #906) was presented at the ISMRM Annual Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa (May 12, 2026) by my postdoctoral supervisor, Dr. Erik P. Pioro.
The poster presents our ScreenScore framework – a composite metric for ranking neuroimaging biomarker candidates in clinical trials – and demonstrates that rs-fMRI functional connectivity (FC) outperforms other rs-fMRI measures (ALFF, ReHo) and compares favourably to DTI and MRS biomarkers in terms of sensitivity, reliability, and required sample size. FC requires as few as 11 participants per group in a one-year trial.
Presentation at ALS EnCouRAge Canada 2026
Posted on: April 25, 2026
I presented at the ALS EnCouRAge Canada meeting (April 2026, Toronto) a talk titled “Enhancing ALS Clinical Trial Efficiency Using Longitudinal Measures of Brain Function.”
The presentation introduced our work showing that resting-state fMRI functional connectivity can detect longitudinal brain changes with as few as 11 participants per group in a one-year trial – far fewer than any existing MRI measure. This work has direct implications for making ALS clinical trials smaller, faster, and more affordable, ultimately getting life-changing therapies to patients sooner. This work was funded by the ALS Society of Canada.
Research Highlighted by ALS Canada
Posted on: April 28, 2025
Our research was featured in the April 2025 Research Update by ALS Canada.
This work focuses on using MRI-based texture analysis on 1.5 Tesla MRI along with the D50 model to better understand disease progression in ALS. We remain committed to advancing research that can ultimately lead to better diagnosis, stratification, and treatment strategies for ALS.
Read the full update here.
Tri’ing to End ALS
Posted on: May 11, 2025
This summer, Donna Bartel and Mike Pearson are taking on a massive challenge: 17 triathlons across Canada in just four months to try and raise $600,000 to end ALS.
Half of the funds will support local ALS societies, while the other half will go towards PROJECT HOPE at UBC, where Dr. Erik P Pioro leads groundbreaking research and care for patients with ALS and related disorders.
Learn more and support Donna and Mike’s journey: here.
