The Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping (CFMM) at Western’s Robarts Research Institute houses Canada’s only collection of high-field (3T human) and ultra-high field (7T human and 9.4T animal) MR systems. The Centre is dedicated to establishing the anatomical, metabolic and functional characteristics of normal brain development and healthy ageing across the lifespan; as well as establishing the brain basis of developmental, neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative deficits. The CFMM enables the research of over 100 local, regional and national faculty (including those in the world-renowned Brain and Mind Institute) and several dozen Canadian and multinational companies. Students from a number of CIHR and NSERC training programs (based at Western and elsewhere) also acquire their data at the CFMM, and several large consortia such as the Ontario Brain Institute (OBI), the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration and Ageing (CCNA) and the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) utilize the facilities as well. The Brain Canada PSG investment in the CFMM benefits the Canadian neuroscience community by providing (1) cost-effective access to imaging opportunities for new researchers, (2) value-added collaborations between Canadian researchers and international scientists, (3) increased flexibility to pursue new research avenues for existing users, (4) the ability to share imaging data with national and international consortia, (5) the capability to safely and consistently image animal models from mice to non-human primates, (6) training programs and career enhancement for HQP and (7) sharing of unique technologies and methods that are not available elsewhere.
