Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre
Sunnybrook’s Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre opened to patients on January 20, 2025. A vital part of Sunnybrook’s vision to invent the future of health care, the Hurvitz Centre is a state-of-the-art facility and the first of its kind in Canada for patient care and interdisciplinary research. With a focus on treating mental and physical health as one, the Hurvitz Centre unites Sunnybrook experts under one roof to increase collaboration and discovery, and enhances the patient experience with streamlined care for complex conditions.
The Hurvitz Centre revolutionizes approaches to the most complex brain disorders, including mood and anxiety disorders, stroke, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS and more.
The Hurvitz Centre is a hub of innovation with multi-disciplinary expertise from across the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program. The Hurvitz Centre will be home to the Harquail Centre for Neuromodulation, offering a range of neuromodulation strategies; the Murphy Family Centre for Mental Health, providing comprehensive inpatient treatment and care; and the Yuval & Lori Barzakay Brain Health Clinic, supporting Sunnybrook's patients with multidisciplinary outpatient care.
Garry Hurvitz - Champion for Brain Sciences
Learn more about Garry’s Hurvitz’s inspiration to focus his philanthropic leadership on mental health, one of the most complex and underfunded areas of medicine.
Our Donors are Special - Q&A with GarryMilestones:
The Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre is an important collaboration between Sunnybrook, government, and the philanthropic community to create a state-of-the-art facility that drives innovation in brain sciences research and patient care. Here are some key moments in the development of the Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre at Sunnybrook.
View milestones organized in reverse chronology.
January 2025: The new Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre began the first full day of operations on January 20, 2025.
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October 2024: Sunnybrook marked the completion of construction at a ribbon cutting ceremony with Garry Hurvitz, representatives from the Government of Ontario and other special guests.
September 2024: In a few short months, Sunnybrook’s Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre will open its doors to patients and work is well underway to finish construction of the new building, located on Sunnybrook’s Bayview campus.
June 2024: First look at the interior finishing of Garry Hurvitz Brain Science Centre with the Harquail Centre for Neuromodulation reception area almost complete.
November 2023: Construction milestone - excitement builds as exterior glass is installed.
March 2023: Watch as progress continues on Sunnybrook’s Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre.
October 2022: Construction milestone – The tower crane leaves the construction site of the Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre as the frame of the building is complete. The next phase will focus on the exterior and interior of the building.
June 2022: Check out behind-the-scenes construction of the Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre.
February 2022: A huge step forward for the project as all construction is now above ground. Formwork continues as the basement and ground floor structures take shape.
September 2021: Construction is well underway with increased activity on site and continued work on the building’s foundation.
June 2021: The arrival of a large crane marks an important milestone: the beginning of the 'formwork stage' – the forming and pouring of concrete to create the new building’s foundation, walls, and floors.
March 2021: Sunnybrook will be home to Toronto’s first 7-Tesla MRI, a powerful new MRI scanner.
February 2021: An exciting beginning. Construction is underway at the future home of the new Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre at Sunnybrook. Inpatient care for youths and adults will be provided in The Murphy Family Centre for Mental Health.
November 10, 2020: Government officials joined Sunnybrook leadership and lead donors for a ceremonial turning of the ground as a symbol of their joint commitment to building the Centre and supporting brain health.
Spring 2020: Getting the site ready for the new Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre at Sunnybrook.
November 2019: A new era of brain and mental-health care at Sunnybrook. The Ontario government provides additional support for the construction of the GHBSC through an investment of up to $60 million.
2018:The Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre receives remarkable philanthropic support from the Sunnybrook community with more than $60 million contributed to the project.
November 2017: The Centre’s integrated approach to the treatment of mental and physical health is supported by a major contribution of $10 million from the Murphy Family Foundation.
October 16, 2014: Sunnybrook announces a new initiative to create a one-of-a-kind brain sciences centre, with a lead gift of $20 million from the Garry Hurvitz Foundation.
About the Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre
The Centre will be three storeys and 121,000 square feet. It will be a unique and collaborative space, unprecedented in the field of brain sciences where interdisciplinary teams will be dedicated to providing patients with compassionate and leading-edge clinical care. The Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre will be a global hub of innovation where we will be able to accelerate the discovery of the next generation of treatments, prevention, and possible cures to the world’s most debilitating brain conditions.
Why it matters: patient stories
Hear more from patients supported by the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program.
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