CAMH to open state-of-the-art Research Imaging Centre

New facility will allow scientists to see mental illness in the brain and change the future of research and treatment

For Immediate Release – October 19, 2011 (Toronto) – The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) will officially open the doors to its new Research Imaging Centre - the first of its kind in Canada where positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and genetic imaging will be dedicated to the study of addictions and mental illness.

Over the past two years CAMH’s research facilities have undergone extensive development and construction to accommodate a new state-of-the-art brain imaging capacity, adding 5,700 square feet to its research wing. From depression and schizophrenia to Alzheimer’s and addictions, the new facility will allow CAMH scientists to combine technologies in novel ways to learn more about how neurological and mental disorders affect brain function, leading to more effective interventions and treatment.

This new centre is part of the Research Renaissance Project -- CAMH’s largest ever scientific endeavour in which we take a uniquely interdisciplinary approach to research that extends from the neuron out to the neighbourhood.

*Tour the new facilities and hear CAMH scientists explain how this facility will change the way mental illness and addictions are researched and treated in the future.

Date: Tuesday October 25, 2011

Time: *10AM Media Tours (please call to pre-book your tour); 11AM formal program

Location: 250 College St, Toronto, Floor B

Media Contact: Michael Torres, Media Relations, CAMH; 416-595-6015

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The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, as well as one of the world's leading research centres in the area of addiction and mental health. CAMH combines clinical care, research, education, policy development and health promotion to help transform the lives of people affected by mental health and addiction issues.

CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, and is a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre.