A Canadian scientist is shaking up the way we think about mental illness.
Dr. Lena Palaniyappan, Professor of Psychiatry at McGill University and Director of the Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health at the Douglas Research Centre in Montreal, has been awarded the 2025 Royal‑Mach‑Gaensslen Prize for Mental Health Research—a national award recognizing game-changing innovation.
This prestigious national award recognizes Dr. Palaniyappan’s visionary research to transform the early identification and treatment of psychosis – one of the most severe and resource-intensive mental illnesses.
Why this matters
Psychosis often begins in adolescence, derailing education, careers, and relationships. Despite decades of investment, outcomes remain poor: 85 per cent of patients with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia never return to school or work in full capacity despite state-of-the art treatments. Current interventions work well to control - but do not cure, failing to reverse the illness trajectory even when used early.
Dr. Palaniyappan’s mission is clear: “We can’t prevent what we can’t predict.” His research focuses on prediction and prevention—delaying, and eventually stopping illness onset altogether, so young people can graduate, build careers, and form supportive relationships, ultimately having the potential to change the trajectory of their lives.
“This recognition for our team’s work is not just an accolade—it’s fuel for a vision for integrative mental health research in Canada,” said Dr. Palaniyappan. “It will help accelerate our efforts to predict youth-onset severe illnesses like psychosis early, treat them precisely, and understand them more completely. That means hope and compassion for patients and families.”
Disrupting scientific innovation
Dr. Palaniyappan notes disruptive scientific innovation as one of the driving forces behind his research program, where he challenges the status quo and looks to push conventional boundaries through multidisciplinary partnerships spanning biophysics, linguistics, and neuroscience. Including:
- World’s largest 7-Tesla neuroimaging dataset in early psychosis: Created a multimodal dataset in first episode schizophrenia as part of a CIHR Foundation Grant.
- Global DISCOURSE Network: Leads a 350-member international consortium pioneering cross-linguistic speech analysis using Artificial Intelligence for early detection of symptoms of psychosis, supported by major grants (Wellcome, NIH, EU-Horizon).
- Experiential science: Integrates lived experience experts into research for meaningful knowledge translation.
Additional research career highlights
- Instrumental in establishing one of the UK’s first Translational Neuroimaging Centre’s in Mental Health.
- Transformed the Prevention and Early Intervention Program for Psychosis (PEPP) in London, ON into a research-active clinic, establishing the region’s first clinic for youth at risk of psychosis.
Personal drive
Dr. Palaniyappan’s passion began in medical school when he volunteered to take antipsychotic medication for three days. “By day two, I felt zero emotion—neither happy nor sad,” he recalls. “It was a revelation: these drugs control symptoms but take away what makes us human. We need better solutions.”
About the prize
Established in 2015, the Royal‑Mach‑Gaensslen Prize provides $100,000 annually to support an outstanding mental health researcher under 45. Sponsored by The Royal’s Research Institute (IMHR) and the Mach‑Gaensslen Foundation of Canada.
“Dr. Palaniyappan’s exceptional productivity and research excellence, combined with his unwavering focus on improving outcomes for people living with psychosis, make him a truly deserving recipient of the 11th Royal‑Mach‑Gaensslen Prize,” said Dr. Florence Dzierszinski, President and Chief Executive Officer, Research Institute, The Royal. “Lena's innovative work is transforming how we understand, identify, and treat these complex conditions—and it will help advance global efforts, including our own at The Royal, to leverage data-driven approaches that personalize treatment and enhance quality of life for those we serve.”
“Psychosis is a serious and disabling illness, and we need to help young people affected as early as possible,” said Dr. Christopher Carruthers, chair of the board of directors of the Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada. “Dr. Palaniyappan’s research has the potential to change the trajectory for these young people by looking at this illness in innovative ways. The Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize can help fund novel mental health research like Dr. Palaniyappan’s work. Past winners have told us that the prize has been instrumental in funding research that doesn’t fit into the categories of other grants. We take pride in encouraging research that can open new avenues for people with mental illness, their families and communities.”
Media opportunity
Join us Thursday, January 29, 2026, for the award ceremony and an exclusive conversation with Dr. Palaniyappan. Contact communications@theroyal.ca for details.
More information
Media contact
Alyssa Nader, Communications Specialist, The Royal, anader@theroyal.ca
The Royal is one of Canada’s foremost mental illness and addiction treatment, research, and education hospitals, dedicated to supporting individuals aged 16 and older who are living with complex mental illness and addiction. Since opening in 1910, The Royal has grown into a trusted resource for people across eastern and northern Ontario, western Quebec, and Nunavut.
With campuses in Ottawa and Brockville, and clinical teams working directly in homes and communities, The Royal delivers compassionate, evidence-informed care grounded in cutting-edge research, including through its partnership with the University of Ottawa and other academic and community partners. Its integrated model brings together care, research, education, and strategic partnerships to help build a future of recovery.
At The Royal, we separate the person from the illness, helping more people reclaim their lives.
The Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada honours the lives of Vaclav F. Mach and Dr. Hanni Gaensslen by supporting research in cardiology, oncology, and psychiatry. Over $11 million has been provided in grants since 2001.
The foundation’s objectives are
- to carry out, support, and promote medical research in the fields of cardiology, oncology, and psychiatry in Canada
- to disseminate the findings of such research to the interested public
- to promote excellence in education in the fields of cardiology, oncology, and psychiatry
