The Azrieli Foundation is deeply committed to building capacity in Canadian neuroscience, and its anchor gift made the Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program possible. Host Fiona sits down with strategic and visionary leader Naomi Azrieli to discuss what underpins the Foundation’s commitment to advancing science in such a profound way, the role does philanthropy play in powering breakthroughs, and ultimately how this philanthropic gift helps to improve the health of Canadians across the country.
In this special bonus episode of Bold Minds, we’re zooming out from the labs of brain science researchers to take a look at the bigger picture: the philanthropic ecosystem that sustains and supports brain research in Canada.
Central to that ecosystem is the Azrieli Foundation. It is the leading non-governmental funder of brain research in Canada, and a longtime donor and partner to Brain Canada. The Azrieli Foundation is deeply committed to building capacity in Canadian neuroscience, and its anchor gift made the Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program possible. But what underpins the Foundation’s commitment to advancing science in such a profound way? And what role does philanthropy play in powering breakthroughs and ultimately improving the health of Canadians?
Host Fiona sits down to answer these questions with Dr. Naomi Azrieli, a strategic and visionary leader whose work is reshaping philanthropy, research, and community impact across Canada and Israel. Naomi has championed transformative initiatives in scientific research, as well as in education, caregiving, Holocaust education, community resilience, and social impact for more than two decades. She is an influential thought leader and convenor, a committed social entrepreneur and a passionate advocate for caregivers, Holocaust survivors, and neurodiverse people - as well as for the field of neuroscience itself. Naomi is also a proud recipient of France’s Legion of Honor, and an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Featured guest:
Naomi Azrieli, O.C., Dhil, Chair of the Azrieli Foundation
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Fiona 00:05
This is Bold Minds: Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research. I’m your host Fiona Sanderson. I work at Brain Canada, where our mission is to bring together funders and researchers to enable health innovations for Canadians. The Future Leaders program is made possible thanks to an anchor gift from the Azrieli Foundation and matched by Brain Canada through the Canada Brain Research Fund. Come along with me as we journey into the bold minds and labs of researchers who are redefining our understanding of the brain. [music ends]
[rousing music] In today’s episode of Bold Minds we’re doing something a little different. Instead of going deep inside a lab to examine the science, we’re zooming out to take a look at the bigger picture, the ecosystem that sustains and supports brain research in Canada. Central to that ecosystem is the Azrieli Foundation. It is the leading non-governmental funder of brain research in Canada and a longtime donor and partner to Brain Canada. The Azrieli Foundation is deeply committed to building capacity in Canadian neuroscience, and its anchor gift made the Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program possible. But what underpins the foundation’s commitment to advancing science in such a profound way, and what role does philanthropy play in powering breakthroughs and ultimately improving the health of Canadians? Well, today I have the pleasure and privilege of asking these questions and more. [music ends]
My guest is Dr. Naomi Azrieli, a strategic and visionary leader whose work is reshaping philanthropy, research and community impact across Canada and Israel. As chair and former CEO of the Azrieli Foundation, she’s championed transformative initiatives in scientific research, as well as in education, caregiving, Holocaust education, community resilience and social impact for more than two decades. She’s an influential thought leader and convener, a committed social entrepreneur and a passionate advocate for caregivers, Holocaust survivors and neurodiverse people, as well as for the field of neuroscience itself. Naomi is a proud recipient of France’s Legion of Honour and an Officer of the Order of Canada. So, let’s dive in. This is Bold Minds.
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Naomi, welcome.
Dr. Naomi Azrieli 02:36
Thank you for having me on the podcast. It’s great to be here with you.
Fiona 02:40
Over the course of this podcast, I’ve been chatting with 22 outstanding researchers across Canada who’ve been awarded a Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research grant from Brain Canada. These early career scientists are investigating and unravelling the mysteries of the brain. And through our conversations, we’re really getting a sense of what drives them, and we begin to understand their why. So, now I turn to you and ask, Naomi, what is your “why”? With countless worthy causes to support, why the science of the brain? Why research?
Dr. Naomi Azrieli 03:13
You know, I’ve always been interested in human biology, and I’ve been particularly fascinated by the brain because it impacts, really, everything about who we are, how we communicate, how we think, how we behave. It is the seat of our memories. Really, is the seat of our identities. It even has awareness of its own identity. I came to realise very young and then over the course of the last many, many decades that I’ve been doing this and interested in this area, just how complex the brain is. I’m not the only one to say this, but I often say it’s this three to four-pound organ that sits between your ears. And it’s incredible to think that it actually contains 100 billion neurons. It’s just such an extraordinary number.
I remember someone telling me that same number is, like, the same order of magnitude as the number of stars in the Milky Way. So, think about that sitting on top of your shoulders. And even so, just that number doesn’t begin to account for its complexity. I remember there’s a really famous neuroscientist called Gerald Fischbach who once said that the liver probably contains 100 million cells, but a thousand livers do not add up to a rich inner life. And that’s what the brain is. It is our rich inner life.
And with all that, with all this complexity, we understand so little still about it. It really remains the ultimate mystery to be solved. You know, when I think about my why, I would say first, it’s to try to solve this mystery. To try to contribute to knowledge that helps us better understand the brain so that in particular families who are impacted when something goes wrong with the brain can benefit from these discoveries. As always, I think for most people, there’s a personal connection too. And when I think about the origins of our funding in neuroscience, our story is really a personal story. My older brother has a genetic complex brain disorder called Fragile X. When he was born and well into adulthood, it didn’t even have a name. Nobody knew anything about it. And given that lack of knowledge, that lack of medical support, no treatment, my parents really had to be pioneers when they were caring for him and helping him reach his potential. And we’re very blessed and lucky because we were able to do that. And when our family started to think about philanthropy, we started the foundation. It was, really, part of our original mission. Was that we were going to do something, we weren’t even really sure what that something was going to be, but to increase our understanding of Fragile X and hopefully to find treatments and supports to improve the quality of life of people with Fragile X. Very quickly, as we gained knowledge and understanding of how science works and also about Fragile X, we understood just how interconnected the brain is.
It’s one of the things I love about Brain Canada, is a whole system approach, and that studying neurodevelopment more broadly would be much more effective and more likely to move the research forward. And that’s really become the hallmark of our approach. I’m very, very proud, in fact, to tell you that we are now the largest non-governmental funder of neuroscience in Canada. And our funding, as we say, spans from neurons to networks to neighbourhoods, from basic science to clinical and translational science to community support and services. So, that’s really our “why”, what brings us here.
Fiona 07:08
I love that. That concept of neurons to networks to neighbourhoods, because that really is what science is all about. You know, we go from learning about something at such a small level, but it has such a broad effect, and it really goes into people, to individuals, to their homes, to their communities.
Dr. Naomi Azrieli 07:24
That’s exactly right.
Fiona 07:26
With this season of Bold Minds, we’re shining a light on recently funded future leaders. This annual funding opportunity is one of Brain Canada’s signature programs, and it’s made possible thanks to a generous anchor gift provided by the Azrieli Foundation, which in turn is matched by the Canada Brain Research Fund, Brain Canada’s unique partnership with the Government of Canada. As you mentioned, the Azrieli Foundation is a major supporter of scientific research, particularly in neuroscience, neurodevelopmental disorders and healthcare. The Future Leaders program is an integral part of building capacity in Canada. So, why is seed funding so critically important in your view?
Dr. Naomi Azrieli 08:04
I think that investing in young people at the start of their scientific careers is, really, the most important thing we can do in general to build a brighter future. You know, young people bring extraordinary energy to discovery. We’re looking for intellectually ambitious ideas, and generally younger researchers don’t feel as stuck in yesterday’s ideas. Even if you look at, say, the discoverers of DNA, the double helix, you know, Watson and Crick and Franklin, they reshaped our understanding of the world before they reached mid-career. Much of the Nobel-winning work reflects ideas that were conceived around the age of 35. So, there’s really something about investing in young researchers. They bring their enthusiasm, their creativity, their intellectual flexibility. And I think they ask the questions, sometimes the naive questions, that really matter the most because they’re not interested necessarily in defending old ideas. The type of seed funding, for example, that Brain Canada has with its Future Leaders program is really crucial for researchers who are just starting their careers.
You know, we know how hard they’ve worked to get to where they are. It’s very competitive. It’s very high pressure. And so, seed funding at this point in their career can really set them up. And I’m incredibly proud. Incredibly proud that the Azrieli Foundation has been able to support this program. I often say that supporting young researchers is not charity. It’s an investment in the future.
Fiona 09:40
So, not only has the Future Leaders supported 131 early career researchers and counting, those researchers have in turn engaged over 420 students, postdocs, and staff in these research projects. So, you know, that’s really generational inspiration and economic impact. They’ve enrolled more than 1,200 people in clinical research, and that extends the impact of research out into communities, to patients, to people with lived experience, loved ones, this concept of neurons to networks to neighbourhoods.
One of them said to us, “My Future Leaders grant gave me a huge boost in productivity. It allowed me to hire the people I needed to develop my research program and move it forward.” And another told us, “The amazing thing about science is that our findings have the potential to make a difference, not just to one person, but to many people.” So, what do you think about that, this impact?
Dr. Naomi Azrieli 10:32
Oh, my goodness! I feel so grateful. It’s just incredible to hear that. I think that after all my years of doing this, it has made my passion for neuroscience, my passion for understanding the mystery of the brain, turn into also my purpose. The purpose is-- I often say is the reason you journey, but passion is the fire that lights the way. And as with everything in life, it’s really all about the people. And I feel immense gratitude and satisfaction knowing that the funding we’ve enabled has made it possible for young people to flourish, to contribute to scientific discovery. There’s really no better way to make a difference. It’s a changing landscape of research funding in Canada and the US and globally, and it has led me to do a lot of thinking about the role of philanthropy, which I think is a significant and unique role, because we have the flexibility to take a really proactive, more entrepreneurial, maybe less bureaucratic lens. Canada has such incredible homegrown talent, but the problem has sometimes been keeping that innovation and the benefits from it in Canada, another reason to support young researchers at key moments in their careers.
At the Azrieli Foundation right now, we’re for the first time ever convening Canada’s top science philanthropies to address these issues and to look at how to set the science and innovation ecosystem up for success in the long term. To think differently, to invest early, to collaborate deeply, to take the long view, to convene interdisciplinary tables. This is what really drives, I think, meaningful investments.
Fiona 12:17
The Azrieli Foundation has played a pivotal role in advancing Canada’s national strategy on caregiving, acting as a thought leader and convener through the creation of the Centre for Caregiving Excellence. How did the foundation’s longstanding commitment to research evolve into a focus on supporting caregivers across Canada? And how do you see the connection between advancing our understanding of the brain and strengthening support for caregivers?
Dr. Naomi Azrieli 12:43
These are great questions because there really is a deep connection to the funding we do in scientific research, but you might not see it right away. There are, as you know, 7.5 million Canadians who are currently affected by brain diseases, disorders or injuries. But even more than that, one in four Canadians will at some point in their lives need care or provide care. So, the question of caregiving touches every Canadian life, the need for it or the need to provide it, and yet the ecosystem of caregiving in Canada remains so fragmented, so unsupported and so misunderstood. And what we saw was extraordinary dedication in families and communities, but also significant, significant strain. There are brilliant researchers, advocates, organizations who are often working in silos. There was no national coordination in the caregiving space. And so, we saw an opportunity to bring coherence, to bring data, to bring momentum to a field that was rich in compassion but lacking in structure. And so, that’s why we created the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence, CCCE. And the purpose of CCCE is to connect and to convene and to catalyze this work. Bringing people together, looking for collaborative solutions, focusing on data and research, but always knowing that at the end of it, there’s the people; the people who need care, the people who provide care. And so, our motivation was and is to bring people together to create real and lasting change.
You know, if we can advance our understanding of not only how the brain is impacted by disorders or disease, but also develop therapies and treatment approaches, then imagine the impact that could have on millions of caregivers. My own experiences of caregiving for my brother with a complex brain disorder showed me the connection between the deeply personal and the systemic.
Fiona 14:55
After eight years as chair of Brain Canada, you’ve moved to immediate past chair. And I know you’ve also recently elevated your role as chair of the Azrieli Foundation and hired a new CEO. Tell us what’s next for you? What are you most excited about?
Dr. Naomi Azrieli 15:09
Well, it is a very, very exciting time. We’re really thrilled to welcome our new CEO, AndrÈ Beaulieu. He’s long served as a board member of the Azrieli Foundation, so he knows our mission and our values very, very well. I’m incredibly proud to have led the foundation through huge change and growth over the past 20 years. In fact, we recently surpassed $1 billion in charitable disbursements since our founding, and we’re actually set to reach $1 billion in disbursements in the next five years. So, what took us over 30 years to do, we’re going to do in the next five years. We have incredible, incredible plans.
As we move forward, I’m going to continue to guide the Azrieli Foundation’s long term strategic vision, to steward and expand our key partnerships across Canada and Israel, and I’m excited to have some more time to think and some more time for opportunities like this one; to be able to come on to your podcast. You know, what I most want to get across and what I think I’ll be able to do in my new role is how our funding goes well beyond the dollars for us. We really see the potential and we see the need, and we’re in it for the long term. I’m very excited to be in this new role and at this new phase and stage of my life professionally and personally.
Fiona 16:41
I’m excited to see what’s coming up from the Azrieli Foundation and from you as well. Personally, Naomi, your vision has been really instrumental in a lot of different areas.
Well, Naomi, it’s been a pleasure chatting with you today. Thank you for joining us on Bold Minds.
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Dr. Naomi Azrieli 16:57
Thank you, Fiona. It’s been a pleasure to speak with you. Thank you for having me.
Fiona 17:03
Bold Minds is a Brain Canada production with support from the Azrieli Foundation. Our executive producers are Jillian Donnelly and Kate Shingler. Our lead producer is Jess Schmidt, with editing by Morgane Chambrin. Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed this episode, we’d appreciate it if you could send it to a friend. If you want to learn more about Brain Canada and our Future Leaders program, please visit our website at braincanada.ca. [music ends]