Jeff Dixon and Victor Lepp recently presented a cheque $105,000 from the Scottish Rite to Dr. John Vessey of the University of Guelph.
Vessey, a neuroscientist, will use the funds to support his research, which is cellular, molecular or developmental at heart. He completed his undergraduate studies at Dalhousie University, moved to Europe and undertook his doctoral studies at the Max Planck institute in Germany and the University of Vienna in Austria. He moved back to Canada for his postdoctoral studies at the Hospital for Sick Children. Dr. Vessey is currently at the University of Guelph in the department of molecular and cellular biology. His laboratory is investigating the role of various genes in such things as autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia.
The Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation, established in 1964, works for the benefit of all Canadians, regardless of race or creed, with particular interest in funding medical research into areas including dyslexia and autism in children and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’ s disease and dementia in the aging population.
The foundation also supports its valleys to Establish Learning Centres for Children which provide free tutoring to children with reading and comprehension difficulties associated with dyslexia using the Ortan-Gillingham method.
