Scientist profiles A-F

For administrative inquiries: Kapil Punniyamoorthy
Phone: 416-480-6100 ext. 4551

For clinical inquiries: 416-480-4551

Education:

• B.Sc. (Hons), 1969, biological and medical sciences, University of Toronto, Canada
• Diploma (MA Equivalent), 1970, history and philosophy of science, Oxford University, UK
• MD, 1978, medicine, University of Toronto, Canada
• Fellowship in cognitive neurology, 1984, Western University, Canada

Appointments and Affiliations:

• Scientific Director, Dr. Sandra Black Centre For Brain Resilience and Recovery (2020 – )
• Associate Faculty (status only), Graduate Dept. of Psychological Clinical Science, UofT (2015 – )
• Executive Director, Toronto Dementia Research Alliance (2012 – 2020)
• Adjunct Scientist, Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre, UofT (2012 – ), Senior Scientist (1999 – 2012), Associate Scientist (1990 – 1999)
• Professor, Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering, UofT (cross-appointment) (2010 – )
• Adjunct Scientist, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (2008 – )
• Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program Research Director, Sunnybrook Research Institute (2006 – 01/ 2022)
• Deborah Ivy Cristiani Brill Chair in Neurology, Dept. of Medicine, UofT (2006 – 2017)
• Professor, Rehabilitation Sciences Institute (RSI), former GDRS, UofT (2003 – )
• Site Director and Co-founder, Heart and Stroke Foundation Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery (2002 – 2023)
• Medical Director, North & East GTA Regional Stroke Centre, Ontario Stroke System (2001 – 2012)
• Professor, Department of Medicine (Neurology), UofT (1999 – )
• Head, Division of Neurology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, UofT (1995 – 2006)
• Member, Neuroscience Program, University of Toronto (1994 – )
• Member, Institute of Medical Science, UofT (1991 – )
• Senior Scientist, Sunnybrook Program in Aging/Imaging (1990-2002), Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program (2002 – )
• Co-Director, Stroke Research Unit, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, UofT (1988 – 2009)
• Director, LC Campbell Cognitive Neurology Research Unit, Sunnybrook HSC, UofT (1986 – )
• Consultant Neurologist, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (1985 – )

Distinctions:

• Ranked 8th nationally and 298 in the world of the top 1000 female scientists by Research.com, a leading academic platform for researchers (2022)
• Bill Thies Award for Distinguished Service to the International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART), 2022
• The Canadian Stroke Consortium officially joined the Canadian Neurological Societies Federation in 2022, and named its annual Grand Plenary Lecture the Sandra Black CSC Lecture, for which Dr. Black gave the inaugural lecture on June 27, 2022 in Montreal.
• Margolese National Brain Disorders Prize, Office of Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia (2021) recognizes Canadians who have made outstanding contributions to treatment, amelioration or cure of brain disorders
• Distinguished Achievement Award, American Academy of Neurology, Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology, 2020
• Honorary degree recipient, Doctor of Science, University of Waterloo, 2018
• Dean’s Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award, UofT, Faculty of Medicine (2015)
• Appointed as Officer to Order of Canada, 2015
• Researcher of the Year, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto (2013)
• Elected to Royal Society of Canada, 2012
• Appointed to Order of Ontario, 2011
• Sibbald Mentorship Award, Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook HSC, University of Toronto (2011)
• Irma M. Parhad Award for Excellence, Consortium of Canadian Centres for Clinical Cognitive Research, 2011

Research Focus:

• Mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease
• Vascular cognitive impairment and cerebral small vessel disease
• Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body spectrum disorder and frontotemporal dementia (behavioural variant, primary progressive aphasia)
• Apraxia and aphasia
• Stroke recovery
• Clinical trials in dementia and its prevention
• Neuroimaging biomarkers and brain-behaviour relationships
  

Research Summary:

Dr. Black has had continual peer-reviewed funding since 1986. Her research focuses on the cognitive sequelae of stroke and stroke recovery, the differential diagnosis of dementia, the use of neuroimaging techniques to elucidate brain-behaviour relationships in stroke and dementia, and more recently, imaging-genetics correlations.

Her funding sources include the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, Brain Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, National Institutes of Aging and Weston Brain Institute.

She is conducting prospective studies on the utility of quantitative structural and functional imaging in diagnosis and monitoring of mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and Parkinson’s-Lewy body disease, and on the interactions of Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular disease. She is also an active clinical trialist with experience in more than 60 clinical and pharmaceutical trials.

She is leading multicentre Canadian trials using amyloid imaging in patients with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease with moderate to severe white matter disease. In these trials, she is using ocular biomarkers, genetics, multimodal magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological testing. She is also concluding a repurposing trial of angiotensin receptor blockers versus angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors in hypertensive patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

As of June 2016, Dr. Black has over 470 publications (403 peer-reviewed), a Scopus H-index of 72, Google Scholar H-index of 89 and 28,726 citations. Over the last 25 years, she has led multidisciplinary research teams in studies of stroke and dementia. She has mentored many young faculty and trainees, including 36 postdoctoral fellows, 18 PhD students and 15 master’s students, earning outstanding mentorship awards from U of T’s Institute of Medical Sciences and department of medicine.

Her CIHR-funded multidisciplinary, multimodality longitudinal study of 1,279 patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias has investigated brain-behaviour relationships, particularly the role of small vessel disease, and the utility of neuroimaging for diagnosis and monitoring treatment response (including 170 patients followed to autopsy). This invaluable archive has generated and contributed to 191 peer-reviewed publications in high-quality journals with trainees as first authors on more than 70 of those. These include reports of novel gene mutations in frontotemporal dementia and Lewy body disease.

Leadership Summary:

Since 2012, Dr. Black has served as the executive director of the Toronto Dementia Research Alliance. Since 2013, she has been a co-principal investigator and member of the executive committees for the Ontario Neurodegenerative Research Initiative and Canadian Consortium for Neurodegeneration and Aging (CCNA). She is also theme co-lead with Dr. Mario Masellis on clinical cohorts and clinical trials for CCNA.

Starting in 2014, Dr. Black has served as vice-chair of the Alzheimer's Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer Research. Since 2001, she has served on the executive and scientific conference planning committees for the International Society for Vascular Behavioural and Cognitive Disorders. She is a member of the executive, steering and data publication committees for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.

She also serves on the Ontario Stroke Network, the governing body of the Ontario Stroke System. She was head of the neurology division, department of medicine, at Sunnybrook from 1995 to 2006, and medical director of the Regional Stroke Centre for North and East Greater Toronto Area within the Ontario Stroke System from 2001 to 2012.

Selected Publications:
See current publications list at PubMed.

Related News and Stories:

• Focused ultrasound successful in phase one of world-first trial to treat ALS: study: Researchers show the technique opens the blood-brain barrier safely and temporarily (Oct. 31, 2019)
• Researchers target tough-to-treat brain diseases with focused ultrasound: Noninvasive imaging technique makes major gains in studies (SRI Magazine, 2018)
• Recognizing a revered contribution: Renowned brain scientist receives honorary degree (July 30, 2018)
• Granted the means to advance novel health research ventures: Sunnybrook Research Institute scientists receive almost $9 million via Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant competitions (July 24, 2018)
• Hitting a different note: Talented pianist takes on research via summer studentship (July 12, 2017)
• No cure: and few—or no—treatments for these devastating brain diseases: Why not? (SRI Magazine, 2017)
• Launched: first clinical trial of focused ultrasound for Alzheimer's (SRI Magazine, 2017)
• SRI scientists top the national average in successful CIHR project grants: Over a dozen projects approved (June 2, 2017)
• National agency recognizes scientific excellence at Sunnybrook Research Institute: Scientists score high with multimillion-dollar funding investment (Oct. 13, 2015)
• Game-changing global trials could slow down Alzheimer’s (The Globe and Mail, Feb. 19, 2015)
• Let’s use our bodies to protect our minds (The Globe and Mail, Oct. 8, 2014)
• Studying risk: Research aims to put an early brake on Alzheimer’s (Sunnybrook Magazine, Fall 2014)
• Preventable dementia? (Canadian Institutes of Health Research Magazine, 2014)
• Rethinking dementia: Researchers at U of T medicine are exploring innovative approaches to cognitive decline (U of T Medicine Magazine, 2014)
• Images of the future of medicine (Sunnybrook Magazine, Spring 2014)
• Infrastructure issues: Congestion and chaos on the brain's highways: This is neurodegeneration (SRI Magazine, 2013)
• Spotted: Imaging and the injured brain: Detecting the obvious and the insidious (SRI Magazine, 2013)
• Weston family gives $50-million boost to 'high-risk, high-reward' brain research (The Globe and Mail, May 15, 2014)
• Driving progress: National health research agency funds a dozen SRI scientists (April 25, 2014)
• Minding the head-heart connection: Conference explores link between diseases of circulatory system and brain (July 15, 2013)
• Walk this way: SRI brain scientist's research uncovers how gait affects thinking (SRI Magazine, 2012)
• Boom, baby, boom! SRI scientist's research highlights the social and economic burden of dementia (SRI Magazine, 2011)
• Video: Weighing in on spinal fluid test in identifying Alzheimer's (Aug. 25, 2010)
• Dementia projected to cost $872 billion over next 30 years: Prevention, support and research can turn tide, reveals new Alzheimer Society report (Jan. 4, 2010)
• Crowning tomorrow's medical scientists: Annual project competition highlights research talent of SRI's summer students (Aug. 26, 2009)
• Young, bright and honoured: Three Sunnybrook students receive Vanier awards (June 26, 2009)
• New Canadian imaging network will improve detection and prevention of stroke, cardiac and vascular disease (May 14, 2009)
• Daylong dash through the brain sciences: Baycrest and Sunnybrook showcase research at first Neurosciences Research Day (Jan. 27, 2009)
• CIHR taps SRI PIs: Latest funding round awards $3 million-plus (Aug. 26, 2008)
• Drug looks promising in Alzheimer's fight: Sunnybrook pioneers new research practice providing first-ever two year results (May 21, 2008)
• Head injuries result in widespread brain tissue loss one year later (March 4, 2008)
• Caring enough: Two SRI neuroscientists investigate the link between Alzheimer's disease and apathy (Feb. 19, 2008)
• Canadian government provides historic heart & stroke research funding (Jan. 11, 2008)

Related Links:

• LC Campbell cognitive neurology unit
• SRI Centre of Excellence in Focused Ultrasound
• Rotman Research Institute profile