HNine research teams at The Ottawa Hospital were awarded CIHR grants, including an ovarian cancer research team led by Dr. Benjamin Tsang (above).ow can we treat depression when nothing else is working? How can heart growth be both good and bad? How can we increase patient participation in clinical trials? These are just a few of the big questions that researchers at The Ottawa Hospital will try to answer with nine new project grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), worth a total of $5.6 million.

“Research projects such as these allow us to provide the best possible care for our patients, while advancing science and improving health on a global scale.” said Dr. Duncan Stewart, Executive Vice-President of Research at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at the University of Ottawa. “I’m proud that The Ottawa Hospital has consistently ranked as one of the top hospitals in the country for highly-competitive CIHR funding, ranking third overall in 2018-19.”

The new grants will focus on the following questions:

Could innovations like light-based brain stimulation overcome resistance to antidepressants?
Principal Investigator: Paul Albert
Amount: $791,775

How does betaine, a nutrient first discovered in beets, keep embryos healthy?
Principal Investigators: Jay Baltz, Andrea Jurisicova
Amount: $807,075

How can we increase patient participation in clinical trials?
Principal Investigators: Jamie Brehaut, Susan Marlin
Co-Investigators: Hey, Spencer P; Graham, Ian D; Ramsay, Craig; Presseau, Justin; Gillies, Katie; Taljaard, Monica; Grimshaw, Jeremy M; Fergusson, Dean A; Rodger, Marc A; Duncan, Eilidh; Weijer, Charles E
Amount: $963,900

What should we be measuring when we do research on subarachnoid hemorrhage?
Principal Investigators: Shane English, Justin Presseau, Maria Luisa Marti
Co-Investigators: McIntyre, Lauralyn A; Zha, Xiaohui; Marshall, Shawn C; Chasse, Michael; Marshall, John C; Muscedere, John; Turgeon, Alexis F; Griesdale, Donald; Lauzier, François; Thavorn, Kednapa; Graham, Ian D; Tugwell, Peter S; Shea, Beverley J; Fergusson, Dean A; Andersen, Christopher R; Finfer, Simon R; Saigle, Victoria; Delaney, Anthony
Amount: $100,000

How can we engage patients and the public in laboratory research?
Principal Investigators: Dean Fergusson, Manoj Lalu
Co-Investigators: Fiest, Kirsten M; Fox-Robichaud, Alison E; Hendrick, Kathryn; Liaw, Patricia C; Macala, Kimberly; Mendelson, Asher A; Presseau, Justin; Richards, Dawn; Rodger, Marc A
Amount: $76,500

Can “calcium nanodomains” explain the astonishing accuracy of cell division and provide insight into cancer and neurodegenerative diseases? 
Principal Investigator: Johné Liu
Amount: $918,000

How can heart growth be both good and bad?
Principal Investigator: Lynn Megeney
Amount: $745,875

How can we incorporate local context into strategies to enhance the implementation of evidence-based health care?
Principal Investigators: Janet Squires, Lee Fairclough and Alison Hutchinson were
Co-Investigators: Backman, Chantal; Bergstrom, Anna; Brehaut, Jamie C; Brouwers, Melissa C; Burton, Christopher; Cassidy, Christine E; Chalmers, Elizabeth C; Chapman, Anna; Colquhoun, Heather; Curran, Janet; Demery Varin, Melissa G; Doering, Paula; Elliott Rose, Annette J; Godfrey, Christina M; Graham, Ian D; Grinspun, Doris R.; Harvey, Gillian; Hillmer, Michael; Ivers, Noah M; Li, Shelly-Anne; Miller, Calvin W; Noseworthy, Thomas W; Robson, Mark; Rycroft-Malone, Joanne; Stacey, Dawn; Straus, Sharon E; Tricco, Andrea C; Wallin, Lars
Amount: $371,025

How do we target chemo-resistant ovarian cancer cells to enhance patient survival in an era of precision medicine?
Principal Investigator: Benjamin Tsang
Co-Investigator: Dylan Burger
Amount: $784,125

Most of the projects listed above make use of Core Resources for research at The Ottawa Hospital, which are supported by donations to The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.

“Donor support is essential to research at The Ottawa Hospital,” said Dr. Stewart. “It allows us to provide our researchers with the tools and resources they need to conduct the highest quality research and improve patient care.”

Support research at The Ottawa Hospital and make a difference for patients in Ottawa and around the world.

About The Ottawa Hospital: The Ottawa Hospital is one of Canada’s top learning and research hospitals, where excellent care is inspired by research and driven by compassion. As the third-largest employer in Canada’s capital city, our support staff, researchers, nurses, physicians, and volunteers never stop seeking solutions to the most complex health-care challenges. Our multi-campus hospital, affiliated with the University of Ottawa, attracts some of the most influential scientific minds from around the world. Backed by generous support from the community, we are committed to providing the world-class, compassionate care we would want for our loved ones. www.ohri.ca

About the University of Ottawa —A crossroads of cultures and ideas: The University of Ottawa is home to over 50,000 students, faculty and staff, who live, work and study in both French and English. Our campus is a crossroads of cultures and ideas, where bold minds come together to inspire game-changing ideas. We are one of Canada’s top 10 research universities—our professors and researchers explore new approaches to today’s challenges. One of a handful of Canadian universities ranked among the top 200 in the world, we attract exceptional thinkers and welcome diverse perspectives from across the globe. www.uottawa.ca

Media Contact
Jennifer Ganton
Director, Communications and Public Relations
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Office: 613-798-5555 x 73325
Cell: 613-614-5253
jganton@ohri.ca