Dr. Graham Collingridge
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute
Harnessing the brain's plasticity to restore memory and cognitive function
We are studying the mechanisms that control the strength of brain cell connections, or synapses, and how this fundamental property, known as synaptic plasticity, affects brain function. The work is critical for understanding the cellular basis of learning and memory in health and disease. Our work aims to find treatments to restore behavioural and cognitive function in people with Alzheimer’s disease, mental illness and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Our research focuses on the hippocampus, a brain region critical for learning and memory. Electrophysiological and imaging recordings are used to investigate two main forms of synaptic plasticity, known as long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD). In some of the work, our team employs disease models to study the genetic and molecular signalling pathways that go awry.
We are designing and testing new therapies that promote healthy aging and others that aim to combat disease and restore cognitive function. As most neurological, cognitive and psychiatric illnesses involve impairments in neuronal signalling and neuronal plasticity, this research holds great promise in helping the millions of people who are afflicted with a variety of brain disorders.
Email: [email protected]
Room 860, 600 University Avenue
Toronto, M5G 1X5
Website: Collingridge Lab
Publications: PubMed
Google Scholar: Graham Collingridge
ORCID: 0000-0002-9572-5359
U of T Discover Research: Graham Collingridge
Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases Research: Graham Collingridge
Wikipedia: Graham Collingridge
- 2021–present; Toronto Dementia Research Alliance (TDRA), Scientific Advisory Committee and Research Operations Committee
- 2021–present; Editor-in-Chief, Molecular Brain
- 2020–present; Affiliate Scientist, Krembil Research Institute, Toronto
- 2020–present; Visiting Professor, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, China
- 2020–present; Emeritus Professor of Neuroscience in Anatomy, School of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Bristol, U.K.
- 2019–present; Board of Directors, Brain Canada Foundation
- 2019–present; Director and Krembil Family Chair in Alzheimer’s Research,
Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases - 2019–present; Professor, Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto
- 2015–present; Senior Investigator, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health, Toronto
Former appointments
- 2020–2022; President, Canadian Physiological Society (CPS)
- 2015–2019; Ernest B. and Leonard B. Smith Chair, Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto
- 2009; Chair, IUPHAR ionotropic glutamate nomenclature subcommittee
- 1999–2012; Director, MRC Centre for Synaptic Plasticity, School of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Bristol, U.K.
- 1994–2015; Professor of Neuroscience in Anatomy, University of Bristol, U.K.
- 1993–2010; Editor-in-Chief, Neuropharmacology
- BSc, Pharmacology, 1st Class Honours, University of Bristol, Bristol UK; 1975–1977
- PhD, The School of Pharmacy (UCL), University College London, UK;1977–1980
- Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dept. of Physiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver; 1980–1982
- 2024 – GRI Patient Impact Award, CureGRIN Foundation, GRICON 2024, Toronto Canada.
- 2019 – Awarded CBE, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Services to Biomedical Sciences
- 2017 – Ideas Award, Creative Destruction Lab, Toronto.
- 2016 – The Brain Prize (1 of 3 co-recipients), Denmark
- 2013 – The Feldberg Prize
- 2008 – The Santiago Grisolia Prize
- 2004 – Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award
- 2003 – Gaddam Memorial Prize (The Pharmacological Society)
- 1998 – Founder Fellow, Academy of Medical Sciences
- 1997 – Founder Fellow, European DANA Alliance
- 1997 – Fellow, Institute of Biology
- 1992 – Sharpey-Shafer Prize (The Physiological Society)
- 1991 – Pfizer Academic Award
We have several preclinical research projects to examine the role of genes in synaptic plasticity and cognitive function. The Collingridge lab is also collaborating on clinical studies to examine novel treatments for healthy aging, Alzheimer's disease, depression and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Notable publications
Molecular Brain, 2025
Neuroscience, 2025
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2024
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2024
iScience, 2023
Join our team
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