The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the Faculty of Medicine are providing up to $150,000 in in-kind support to help translate three laboratory research projects into clinical applications. The three projects will receive support from the Blueprint Translational Research Group’s Excelerator program, which is designed to enable efficient clinical translation through rigorous methods and approaches.
One of the projects, led by Dr. Mark Freedman, focuses on developing a blood biomarker to measure the progression of multiple sclerosis.
Another project, led by Dr. Guy Trudel, focuses on developing a more accurate and cost-effective approach for measuring the breakdown of red blood cells, using breath samples.
The third project, led by Dr. Catherine Tsilfidis, focuses on developing a gene therapy approach to preserve vision in people with retinitis pigmentosa.
The three projects were selected after a peer-reviewed competition.
The Blueprint Translational Research Group was established at OHRI in 2016 by Drs. Dean Fergusson and Manoj Lalu in collaboration with Ottawa Methods Centre. In 2019, Blueprint partnered with uOttawa’s Faculty of Medicine to extend the Excelerator program to its faculty.
OHRI is able to support resources such as the Ottawa Methods Centre and Blueprint thanks to generous donors to The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.
Team members on all three projects: Mark Freedman, Ronald Booth, Vincent Tabard-Cossa, Rob Ben, Simon Thebault, Guy Trudel, Hakim Louati, Julie Shaw, Mark Campbell and Nibras Shahin, Catherine Tsilfidis, Brian Leonard, Stuart Coupland, Bernard Hurley, Michael Dollin.
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 Ottawa, 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
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
Jenn Ganton
jganton@ohri.ca
613-614-5253
