Preserving Potential

In a quiet lab tucked within the Tupper Medical Building at Dalhousie University, a powerful collaboration has been shaping neurological research since the 1990s. The Maritime Brain Tissue Bank (MBTB), led by Dr. Sultan Darvesh, is a vital resource that provides researchers around the world with access to high-quality brain tissue samples, fueling discoveries in Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, multiple sclerosis (MS), and other neurodegenerative conditions.

Supported annually by the Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia (ASNS), MBTB is a tangible example of how donor-directed funding can drive meaningful impact. ASNS’s commitment, which has been sustained by ongoing donor contributions, ensures the MBTB’s operating costs are covered, allowing scientists to focus on what matters most: advancing knowledge and improving lives.

Dr. Darvesh, who is the Irene MacDonald Sobey Chair in Curative Approaches to Alzheimer's Disease at Dalhousie and whose passion and dedication to his work is evident to anyone who has the pleasure of visiting the MBTB, pushed for the development of the brain tissue bank not long after arriving at Dalhousie in 1992. His collaboration and a serendipitous moment with international frailty expert Dr. Ken Rockwood played a key role in this effort.

“I was seeing a patient, and Dr. Rockwood was seeing another patient on the same ward,” recalls Dr. Darvesh. “On the patient’s chart it said at the top: When this patient dies, they request the brain to go to the brain bank in Toronto. I said, wait a minute—what's wrong with us? We want to do research; we want to establish a brain bank here.”

And so, by 1993 the Maritime Brain Tissue Bank was established with help from the ASNS, Dalhousie University, and Nova Scotia Health. The first in Atlantic Canada, and only the third in the country, since its inception the MBTB has received nearly 1,600 tissue donations and sent over 2,200 tissue samples to researchers worldwide. Their work is a testament to the power of collaboration and the irreplaceable value of human donation in advancing medical science.

“I think people need to know that to advance Alzheimer’s care and to advance dementia care, you have to look at the brain,” Dr. Darvesh emphasizes. “You can't look at a mouse brain. You have to look at the human brain.”

Among MBTB’s long list of scientific contributions is its role in advancing research on multiple sclerosis (MS). Recently, a major breakthrough was achieved when researchers at Stanford University in the United States confirmed a long-suspected link between MS and the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Using MS brain tissues, they were able to show clearly that there are EB virus particles in MS lesions. This discovery, made possible by the availability of high-quality human brain tissue from MBTB, has helped shift the global scientific conversation about MS and opened new avenues for research and treatment.

"I said, wait a minute—what's wrong with us? We want to do research; we want to establish a brain bank here.”

These breakthroughs are only possible because of a unique partnership and sustained donor support.

“Over the last 30 years, most of the operations of the Brain Bank have been made possible through gifts to Dalhousie from the Alzheimer’s Society,” says Dr. Darvesh. “They have been giving since we started.”

ASNS’s annual support is a key component of its research commitment, advancing the shared mission of understanding the causes of dementia to develop effective clinical interventions. ASNS’s involvement extends beyond funding, with staff tours, educational outreach, and collaborative branding efforts that have helped sustain and grow MBTB’s operations and visibility.

“The Alzheimer’s Society of Nova Scotia remains a proud and committed annual funding partner to Maritime Brain Tissue Bank,” says Rosanne Burke, manager of advocacy for ASNS. “We are privileged to have such an innovative, world-class research initiative right here in Nova Scotia.”

Supporting comparative analysis

The partnership with ASNS is not the only collaboration advancing research into neurodegenerative diseases. For more than a decade, MBTB has been working with Dalhousie’s Human Body Donation Program, which has become an essential source of healthy brain tissue, providing researchers with the comparative data needed to distinguish between normal and pathological changes in the brain.

“The strength of a brain bank is how many normal brains we have,” says Dr. Darvesh. “People probably don't think as often, ‘OK, I have a normal brain. I'm going to donate it to the brain bank.’”

These donations help ensure that MBTB’s collection remains balanced and scientifically robust, supporting a wide range of studies from early detection to disease prevention.

Getting the word out

The MBTB’s reach extends beyond the lab and into communities across the region, thanks in large part to Dr. Darvesh’s tireless public engagement. Over the years he has given hundreds of talks to raise awareness about brain donation and the importance of neurological research.

With an incredible desire to share his knowledge and willingness to travel, these talks have taken Dr. Darvesh across the Maritimes and everywhere from nursing homes and community centers to radio studios and church halls.

“It doesn’t matter how many times you talk, people will always say, oh, really? I didn’t know about that,” Dr. Darvesh says. “The message has to be simple, and it has to be repeated often; otherwise, it will fade.”

The impact of these conversations is profound. In one case, after speaking at an event in Amherst, Nova Scotia, he received a significant donation to the Brain Bank from an attendee, reflecting the deep public investment in the future of neurological health.

Funding the future

The human stories behind MBTB are as powerful as its scientific achievements. Families who have donated loved ones’ brains often find comfort and meaning in their decision.

Sheila Blair-Reid’s mother lived with Alzheimer’s for 17 years, maintaining her joyful spirit and deep love for family throughout. As she passed, Sheila’s father, a retired Dalhousie medical professor, was diagnosed with vascular dementia. Sheila and her family have established a fund to support Alzheimer and dementia research conducted by graduate students.

“Our hope is that this gift will help to ease the disruption to people’s lives living with these diseases, and that hopefully, one day there will be preventions and cures,” she says. “We are grateful to family and friends who are contributing to this gift to enable more substantive support and therefore greater impact, and to those who dedicate their careers and lives to this research.”

In addition to funds, Sheila’s mother donated her brain to the MBTB for study.

“In many ways, that was the most meaningful act,” she says. “It is deeply important to us to know that there are talented people dedicated to tackling the challenges associated with dementias, aiming to ease the suffering of those with the disease and their loved ones through medical research.”

Spirit of giving

As MBTB looks to the future, its leaders hope that this spirit of giving and partnership will endure.

“Our hope is to continue this philanthropy,” says Dr. Darvesh. “We are hoping that this will remain in perpetuity, because if it does not, then we would have not done our job.”

To learn more about the Maritime Brain Tissue Bank, or to give, visit https://www.mbtb.ca/.