April 9
2026
The Fondation Douglas is proud to announce a significant commitment from Manulife Canada, which is investing $1 million over four years to support an innovative initiative in cognitive health.
This funding will help advance the Douglas Cognitive Health and Prevention Clinic, the first clinic in the Quebec public health network dedicated to personalized dementia prevention. The clinic is lead by researcher and psychiatrist, Dr. Simon Ducharme.
Acting earlier to change trajectories
Today, nearly 600,000 Canadians are living with dementia, a number projected to reach 1.7 million by 2050. In this context, prevention has become essential. While comprehensive personalized intervention procotols exist, they are only offered at a high cost in private clinics.
The Douglas Clinic therefore offers an alternative: adapting these approaches to the public system through a deliberately streamlined, targeted model focused on the most effective interventions, in order to make prevention accessible on a large scale.
Through a comprehensive assessment, including health, lifestyle, and even genetic risk factors, each patient receives a personalized prevention plan based on the best available scientific evidence.
A science-driven, human-centered approach
Hosted within the Douglas Institute, the Clinic is supported by a world-class research ecosystem.
It works closely with the Centre for Studies on the Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease (StoP-AD), directly connecting scientific discoveries with patient care.
This approach enables the testing and validation of concrete interventions such as cardiovascular risk management, tailored physical activity, nutritional support, cognitive stimulation, and sleep optimization. The goal is to identify the most decisive factors for each individual, in order to provide care that is both targeted and effective.
Simple actions, but when combined and personalized, can have a powerful impact.
Building a model for the future
Beyond supporting individuals, the ambition is clear: to develop a scalable prevention model that can be deployed across Quebec and Canada.
Manulife’s Canada investment not only accelerates research, but also expands access to care that could transform how we approach cognitive aging.
At the Fondation Douglas, we believe that research changes lives. This project embodies that vision: acting earlier, understanding better, and delivering concrete solutions to improve quality of life for current and future generations.
The Fondation Douglas would like to express its sincere gratitude to Manulife Canada for this major gift and essential support. Thank you for helping build hope.
Thanks to a major commitment from Manulife Canada, the Fondation Douglas is advancing a first in Quebec: a clinic dedicated to personalized dementia prevention, helping people act earlier and transform cognitive health trajectories.
The Ouverts d’esprit evening broke a new record last Thursday, February 26, at the Théâtre Paradoxe — marking the second consecutive year of record-breaking impact!
A major water leak in January 2026 caused significant losses at the Douglas Research Centre, directly impacting research teams. An emergency campaign is underway to support the resumption of essential mental health research.