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Brain Canada Invests in Six Montreal-Area Platforms to Drive Open Science Innovation

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MONTRÉAL, May 16, 2025 /CNW/ – Six exceptional research platforms located in Montreal have been awarded funding through Brain Canada’s Platform Support Grants program. With this support, these platforms will foster partnerships across research disciplines and power solutions for people living with brain conditions. From biobanks to databases and standardized protocols, these unique platforms highlight the significant role infrastructure plays in Canada’s research ecosystem.

The Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform
Dr. Alan Evans, The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital), McGill UniversityThe Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank: Supporting human brain research in Canada and beyond
Dr. Gustavo Turecki and Dr. Naguib Mechawar, Douglas Institute, McGill UniversityAdvancing Brain Research Through Spatial Histology
Dr. Marie-Christine Guiot, Goodman Cancer Institute and The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital), McGill UniversityThe SLEEP HUB: An open science ecosystem for transforming sleep research
Dr. Nadia Gosselin, CIUSSS du Nord de l’Île-de-Montréal and Université de MontréalEthoLab: A platform for neurophysiological studies of natural behavior
Dr. Paul Cisek, Centre for Biomedical Innovation, Université de MontréalThe NECTAr platform: A pan-Canadian platform dedicated to Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic Encephalopathy — For patient Care optimization, Training, and education
Dr. Pia Wintermark, The Montreal Children’s Hospital and The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (Child Health and Human Development Program)   

Brain Canada’s flagship Platform Support Grants (PSG) program aims to support interdisciplinary collaboration and enhance Canada’s technical and research capabilities through shared tools and databases, to transform research into real world impact.

“Unlocking the brain’s complexities depends on reliable infrastructure and open access to scientific tools,” said Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada. “This investment will strengthen a culture of Open Science so that specialized knowledge can benefit everyone.”

Brain Canada is contributing over $18 million in this year’s PSG program through the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), funded by Health Canada, as well as matching donations from sponsors for a total investment of $36.8 million.

By enabling access to cutting-edge tools and specialized skills beyond the reach of individual researchers, the PSG program plays a vital role in strengthening the research landscape. These Montreal based platforms serve as hubs for researchers to work together towards the common mission of advancing our understanding of neuroscience and mental health.

Over the coming weeks, Brain Canada will unveil the full list of 14 research platforms selected to receive PSG funding. The total investment of $36.8 million represents a major step forward in Canada’s ability to support cutting-edge brain research and improve outcomes for people living with brain-disorders.

Brain Canada is proud to highlight these six platforms that are driving progress not only in Montreal but across Canada, and around the world.

ABOUT THE PROJECTS

The Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform (CONP)

Dr. Alan Evans, The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital), McGill University

Total grant amount: $2,850,000.00

Many of the challenges faced by both basic and clinical neuroscientists can be tackled with open science approaches. To achieve these goals, Dr. Evans and his team have built the Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform (CONP), which aims to make neuroscience research, data, and tools accessible to everyone, with the ultimate objective of accelerating scientific discovery and its eventual translation to disease treatments. Through CONP’s online portal that provides open access to datasets and analysis tools, its “Evidence” open publication platform, and its development of data governance frameworks and toolkits to facilitate open data sharing, the platform takes a truly multifaceted approach to enabling Open Science practices in the field of neuroscience.

The Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank: Supporting human brain research in Canada and beyond

Dr. Gustavo Turecki and Dr. Naguib Mechawar, Douglas Institute, McGill University

Total grant amount: $2,850,000.00

The Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank (DBCBB; douglasbrainbank.ca), one of the most important brain banks in the world, currently houses and manages over 3,600 brains, as well as a large relational database containing demographic, clinical and developmental histories from brain donors with different neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease) and mental disorders (e.g., schizophrenia and substance use disorders). Through international recognition, the DBCBB receives tissue requests from a large number of neuroscientists from Canada and abroad. These continued efforts ensure that the platform will keep fuelling ground-breaking neuroscience research that will have immense potential for impact in the future, including identifying, screening and treatment for brain disorders.

Advancing Brain Research Through Spatial Histology

Dr. Marie-Christine Guiot, Goodman Cancer Institute and The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital), McGill University

Total grant amount: $570,000.00

The Histology Innovation Platform is a specialized facility that helps scientists study the brain at a cellular level to better understand neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s, brain cancer, and epilepsy. Through offering services such as tissue preparation, staining, and advanced imaging, as well as supporting research using technologies that map gene and protein activity within intact tissues, the platform acts as a key resource for projects that aim to find new treatments, diagnostic tools, and ways to improve patient outcomes by exploring how different brain cells interact and change in disease. By supporting this platform, Brain Canada is helping to advance research that could lead to better treatments for neurological diseases, ultimately improving the health and well-being of Canadians.

The SLEEP HUB: An open science ecosystem for transforming sleep research

Dr. Nadia Gosselin, CIUSSS du Nord de l’Île-de-Montréal and Université de Montréal

Total grant amount: $2,137,500.00

The SLEEP HUB is an innovative platform aimed at advancing sleep research and fostering collaborations at the local, national, and international level. Integrating three key resources, the Nights Bank, the Canadian Sleep Research Biobank, and the Snooz Toolbox, SLEEP HUB provides a vast collection of samples and data, including over 50,000 biological samples and sleep recordings from 15,000 participants. With the aim of developing a more integrated platform that will facilitate access to biological samples, sleep recordings and sleep analysis tools, SLEEP HUB will facilitate analyses on large samples and rare sleep disorders by providing researchers with access to polysomnographic recordings and biological samples. This robust platform infrastructure will transform our understanding and treatment of sleep disorders, which will benefit cognitive, physical and mental health.

EthoLab: A platform for neurophysiological studies of natural behavior

Dr. Paul Cisek, Centre for Biomedical Innovation, Université de Montréal

Total grant amount: $855,000.00

Technological advances such as wireless recording and AI-based automated quantification of behavior allow neuroscience to address the complexity of real behavior under naturalistic conditions. This allows scientists to better understand how different systems (e.g., perceptual, motor, cognitive, emotional, etc.) are seamlessly integrated during real-time interactions with the environment. The EthoLab will make use of these advances to establish a cutting-edge, shared experimental platform that will enable a wide range of neurophysiological experiments with freely moving animals. This platform will make it possible to study situations that capture the complexity of natural behavior and yield insights into the human brain that will translate to clinical applications with impacts in the real-world.

The NECTAr platform: A pan-Canadian platform dedicated to Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic Encephalopathy — For patient Care optimization, Training, and educAtion

Dr. Pia Wintermark, The Montreal Children’s Hospital and The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (Child Health and Human Development Program)   

Total grant amount: $1,710,000.00

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) can be caused at birth when babies do not receive enough oxygen to their brain and organs. While this life-threatening condition is responsible for 23% of babies’ deaths worldwide and often results in difficulties with learning and everyday functioning, there is currently no treatment to repair brain damage caused by HIE. The NECTAr platform will address this gap by creating a national, collaborative, and multidisciplinary platform focused on improving the care and long-term outcomes of babies with HIE. More specifically, the platform’s priorities include improving early treatments by collecting extensive data and comparing practices across hospitals, developing and testing new therapies to repair brain damage, empowering parents through their journey, and training the next generation of doctors and scientists to care for these vulnerable babies.

SOURCE Brain Canada

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Global AI Leader and Enterprise Transformation Visionary Zeya Ottomone Appointed Chief Executive Officer of Integrow

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Author of Empowered to Execute in the Agentic Era to Lead Next Generation of AI-Powered Enterprise Innovation

ATLANTA, July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Integrow announced the appointment of Zeya Ottomone as Chief Executive Officer, marking a significant milestone in the company’s evolution as it accelerates its vision to become a global leader in Agentic AI-powered enterprise software and business transformation.

Integrow announced the appointment of Zeya Ottomone as Chief Executive Officer, marking a significant milestone in the company’s evolution as it accelerates its vision to become a global leader in Agentic AI-powered enterprise software and business transformation.

With more than three decades of executive leadership spanning Fortune 500 enterprises, global technology organizations, and enterprise software innovation, Ottomone joins Integrow at a defining moment in the evolution of artificial intelligence.

Widely recognized for helping organizations modernize operations, simplify complex business ecosystems, and deliver measurable transformation outcomes, Ottomone has led some of the industry’s largest enterprise modernization initiatives across ERP, CRM, workforce management, cloud computing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and intelligent automation. His appointment signals Integrow’s commitment to redefining how enterprises execute strategy in the era of autonomous AI.

“Artificial Intelligence is no longer about automation alone, it’s about empowering organizations to execute faster, make smarter decisions, and fundamentally rethink how work gets done,” said Zeya Ottomone, Chief Executive Officer of Integrow. “We’re entering the Agentic Era, where intelligent AI agents become trusted digital teammates capable of planning, reasoning, collaborating and executing alongside people. At Integrow, we’re building the enterprise platform that makes that future practical, secure and measurable for every organization.”

Ottomone is internationally recognized as a leader in enterprise technology, SaaS transformation, digital modernization and AI-enabled business strategy. Throughout his career he has held executive leadership and C-level positions with ABB, Honeywell, AmerisourceBergen, Cable & Wireless, Chicago Tribune and Rimini Street, leading global organizations through large-scale transformation initiatives across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. His expertise spans enterprise applications, Salesforce ecosystems, ServiceNow, ERP modernization, customer experience, intelligent operations, data strategy, and the emerging field of Agentic AI.

Before joining Integrow, Ottomone led global SaaS Centers of Excellence focused on enterprise transformation, helping organizations modernize critical business operations while reducing technology complexity and accelerating innovation. A certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and recognized executive advisor, Ottomone has consistently delivered operational excellence by combining strategic leadership with emerging technologies to create sustainable business value.

His appointment also coincides with the upcoming publication of his new book, Empowered to Execute in the Agentic Era, which explores how organizations can bridge the gap between strategy and execution by leveraging AI, empowering people, and building intelligent enterprises capable of continuous innovation. The book reflects many of the same principles that will guide Integrow’s next phase of growth: human-centered AI, intelligent automation, operational excellence, and measurable business outcomes.

Under Ottomone’s leadership, Integrow will accelerate investment across:

Agentic AIEnterprise AI PlatformsIntelligent ERPAI-powered CRMHuman Capital ManagementIT Service ManagementPredictive AnalyticsAutonomous WorkflowsEnterprise CopilotsIndustry-specific AI Solutions

The company’s vision is to deliver a unified enterprise platform where AI is embedded into every business process, enabling organizations to eliminate operational silos, automate decision-making, increase productivity, and create competitive advantage through intelligent execution. “Zeya represents exactly the type of visionary leader required for the next generation of enterprise software,” said Harvey Nicholson, Chair of Corporate Governance and Member of Integrow’s Board of Directors. “His global experience, deep understanding of enterprise technology, and forward-looking vision for Agentic AI position Integrow to become one of the industry’s most innovative AI-powered enterprise software companies.”

Wayne Gadson, Chair of Growth Strategy, added: “The future belongs to organizations that can execute strategy with intelligence, speed and confidence. Zeya has spent his career helping enterprises achieve exactly that. His appointment marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Integrow, our customers and our partners worldwide.” As enterprises face mounting pressure to modernize operations, reduce costs, improve workforce productivity and harness the power of artificial intelligence, Integrow is uniquely positioned to help organizations transform through a single AI-powered enterprise platform that unifies finance, operations, customer engagement, workforce management, projects and service delivery.

“Our mission is simple,” Ottomone concluded. “We don’t believe AI should replace people. We believe AI should elevate people. The organizations that will define the next decade won’t simply adopt AI—they’ll empower every employee to execute better decisions every day. That’s the future Integrow is building.”

About Integrow

Integrow is a global enterprise software company delivering next-generation AI-powered business applications built on Salesforce. The platform unifies ERP, CRM, Human Capital Management, IT Service Management, Project Management, Field Service, Finance and Operations into a single intelligent ecosystem enhanced by Agentic AI.

By embedding artificial intelligence into every workflow, Integrow enables organizations to modernize operations, accelerate innovation, improve decision-making and execute strategy with confidence.

For more information, visit www.integrow.com.

Media Contact

Media Team, Integrow, Inc., 1 855-333-4769, info@integrow.com, www.integrow.com 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prweb.com/releases/global-ai-leader-and-enterprise-transformation-visionary-zeya-ottomone-appointed-chief-executive-officer-of-integrow-302833033.html

SOURCE Integrow, Inc.

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Lufax Announces Board and Management Changes

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SHANGHAI, July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Lufax Holding Ltd (“Lufax” or the “Company”) (NYSE: LU and HKEX: 6623), a leading financial services enabler for small business owners in China, today announced changes to its board of directors and senior management, effective July 25, 2026.

Ms. Fangfang Cai (“Ms. Cai”), Mr. Shibang Guo (“Mr. Guo”) and Mr. Peifeng Li (“Mr. Li”) have resigned as non-executive directors of the Company and from their respective positions on the Board’s committees. Mr. Tongzhuan Xi (“Mr. Xi”) has resigned as an executive director, the chief financial officer and the authorised representative of the Company (“Authorised Representative”) under Rule 3.05 of the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (“Hong Kong Listing Rules”), with effect from July 25, 2026. Each of the four directors cited personal work arrangements as the reason for their resignation and confirmed there is no disagreement with the Board and no matter relating to their departure that needs to be brought to shareholders’ attention.

The Company has begun a search for a new chief financial officer. During the transition, the CFO’s duties will be temporarily assumed by the Company’s internal team to ensure continuity of the Company’s financial functions. Mr. Xiang Ji, an executive director and the Company’s chief executive officer, has been appointed as the Authorised Representative, the Company’s designated liaison with the Stock Exchange under the Hong Kong Listing Rules, in place of Mr. Xi, with effect from July 25, 2026.

The Board has appointed Mr. Wai Kin Chim (“Mr. Chim”) as an independent non-executive director for an initial three-year term commencing July 25, 2026.

Mr. Chim, aged 65, has over 40 years of experience in international banking and extensive board experience in Asia Pacific, having worked in Hong Kong, Singapore and Beijing. He specializes in risk management and internal control, with a strong emphasis on corporate governance, credit risk, market risk and capital management.

Mr. Chim served as a loan officer at Standard Chartered Bank, Hong Kong Branch, from October 1985 to August 1988. He was then employed by Bankers Trust Company, Hong Kong Branch, as a vice president of the Asia Credit Department from September 1988 to October 1996. He subsequently served as the managing director and the chief credit officer for Deutsche Bank AG, a company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under ticker symbol DBK, for Asia Pacific (non-Japan Asia), from October 1996 to November 2006. He joined Bank of China Limited, a company listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange under stock code 3988, as the chief credit officer from March 2007 to March 2015.

Mr. Chim was an independent non-executive director of Standard Chartered Bank (China) Limited from October 2015 to October 2017. He served as an independent non-executive director of HDR Global Trading Limited, owner and operator of the BitMEX digital asset trading platform, from February 2021 to February 2022. Mr. Chim served as a non-executive director of China Chengtong Hong Kong Company Limited from July 2022 to June 2025. Mr. Chim is currently an independent non-executive director of OCBC Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, since November 2017; an independent non-executive director of Banco OCBC (Macau), S.A., since August 2023; an independent non-executive director of China Intellogis Technology Co., Ltd., since June 2024; and a director of Hong Kong Dance Company Limited since June 2026.

Mr. Chim obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1983 and an MBA degree from Indiana State University, USA, in 1985. He also graduated from the Senior Executive Program at Columbia University in 2000.

In connection with these changes, with effect from July 25, 2026, Ms. Cai will step down from the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, and Mr. Koon Wing Ernest Ip has been appointed as a member to that committee. The Company’s Special Committee will comprise Mr. Dicky Peter Yip, Mr. Koon Wing Ernest Ip and Mr. Siu Hong Cheng, continuing under the chairmanship of Mr. Dicky Peter Yip, with effect from July 25, 2026.

The Board would like to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Cai, Mr. Guo, Mr. Li and Mr. Xi for their service during the tenure of their office and warmly welcome Mr. Chim to the Board.

About Lufax

Lufax is a leading financial services enabler for small business owners in China. The Company offers financing products designed principally to address the needs of small business owners. In doing so, the Company has established relationships with 85 financial institutions in China as funding partners, many of which have worked with the Company for over three years.

Investor Relations Contact

Lufax Holding Ltd
Email: Investor_Relations@lu.com

ICR, LLC
Robin Yang
Tel: +1 (646) 308-0546
Email: lufax.ir@icrinc.com

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lufax-announces-board-and-management-changes-302834065.html

SOURCE Lufax Holding Ltd

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UMD Smith School Researchers Warn AI Security Lapses Highlight Urgent Need for Independent Oversight

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COLLEGE PARK, Md., July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A series of recent AI security lapses—including the OpenAI–Hugging Face breach—raises a fundamental question, say a pair of researchers at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business: Can tech companies safely govern the powerful AI systems they build, or is stronger outside oversight now essential?

In its incident report, OpenAI confirmed that one of its experimental AI agents exploited a weakness in its testing environment while working on a routine benchmark task. The system wasn’t instructed to behave maliciously; instead, its persistence turned a small design flaw into a real escape. Earlier tests showed similar behavior, including agents that learned to bypass security checks by manipulating authentication tokens.

This pattern echoes findings from Dean’s Professor of Information Systems Siva Viswanathan at the Smith School, who studies how large technology platforms enforce rules. His research on mobile app privacy—published in Management Science—examined Google’s rollout of Android 6.0, which gave users more control over what data apps could collect. Developers were granted a flexible window to update their apps. Many used that flexibility to delay compliance for months, continuing to gather user data until Google imposed consequences such as lower search rankings and reduced visibility in its app store.

Viswanathan’s takeaway: when companies rely on voluntary compliance, self‑interested actors often exploit the slack. Real accountability requires pairing flexibility with firm, enforceable penalties.

That lesson now reverberates across the AI sector. As companies race to build increasingly capable systems, Viswanathan says oversight must treat these AI systems as strategic actors and must include strong safeguards that can pause or reverse a system before harm occurs.

He notes that a separate study from Anthropic underscores the stakes. In controlled tests, even an AI system designed to monitor another AI inherited the same flaws it was supposed to catch. In some cases, the “judge” model failed to flag clear sabotage because it agreed with the agent’s goals, allowing dangerous behavior to pass without human review.

Balaji Padmanabhan, Dean’s Professor of Decisions, Operations and Information Technologies and director of the Smith School’s Center for Artificial Intelligence in Business, extends Viswanathan’s governance argument into the realm of autonomous AI agents, warning that the same structural weaknesses now carry far higher stakes.

“The fact that this breach occurred organically without the AI agent being asked to be malicious is itself notable. Imagine what someone who actually intends to do harm can do. It’s also not terribly reassuring that the same firms we depend on for AI infrastructure, who are facing these issues, are the ones assuring enterprises that their systems with guardrails are perfectly safe,” says Padmanabhan. “We have to wake up to the fact that we’ve created capabilities that let software become as powerful as we want it to be—and then some. It’s time we seriously ask what’s needed to create an infrastructure to play defense well.”

Across the independent studies, the pattern is consistent, says Viswanathan: Voluntary compliance fails when the governed actor is more capable than the regulator. And AI systems cannot be governed by trust or good intentions alone. Oversight must be preventive, independent and capable of stopping harmful behavior before it spreads.

About the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master’s, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.

Contact: Greg Muraski, gmuraski@umd.edu

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/umd-smith-school-researchers-warn-ai-security-lapses-highlight-urgent-need-for-independent-oversight-302834112.html

SOURCE University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business

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