Dr. Samuel Weiss

Faculty of Medicine

Director, Hotchkiss Brain Institute
Professor, Departments of Cell Biology and Anatomy and Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Hope for Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and multiple sclerosis patients

Research in Dr. Samuel Weiss’ lab at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine is showing hope for a cure for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease and for demyelinating disorders such as multiple sclerosis.

Dr. Weiss and a team of U of C medical researchers gained international recognition in 1992 when they discovered that mammalian neural stem cells can be induced to generate all the major cell types in the central nervous system—neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.

Research in the lab today builds on this landmark discovery, as U of C scientists strive to understand the basic biology of neural stem cells and explore the vast therapeutic landscape of brain stem cell transplantation.

Dr. Weiss’ research has generated two groundbreaking perspectives in the field of developmental neurobiology. First, research clearly demonstrates that neural development continues throughout the lifetime of adult mammals. Second, insights into ongoing adult cell production will allow researchers to use stem cells to repair neural tissue and facilitate functional recovery in patients suffering from brain and spinal cord injury and disease.

The implications of these discoveries are staggering. Millions of people in North America suffer from brain and spinal cord injuries and neurodegenerative and demyelinating diseases. The ability to generate, transplant and replace neural stem cells in people suffering from cell loss as a result of trauma or disease offers hope for cure in an arena where traditionally a patient’s only hope has been drug therapy treatments to help manage disease symptoms. Research advances from Weiss’ lab may one day enable scientists to actually transplant new fetal cells into the afflicted area of the brain and replace dying or damaged cells in patients suffering from brain and spinal cord trauma and disease.

As director of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Dr. Sam Weiss heads up a leading edge research enterprise that brings together the best research minds and clinicians from several research fronts—from neural stem cell biology to stroke research and patient care to brain tumour and brain imaging—with an eye to advancing research and healthcare in neuroscience and mental health.

Sam Weiss’ research receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Multiple Sclerosis Foundation of Canada, Neuroscience Canada Foundation, Canadian Stroke Network NCE, and the Stem Cell Network NCE.

For further information, please contact Dr. Samuel Weiss using the Email contact form or by phone at 403 220-3994