Highlights

Patient-Oriented Research at The Ottawa Hospital

The Ottawa Hospital is leading the way in this emerging practice. OPERA provides an Ottawa-based research and clinical collaboration to promote communication between key stakeholders in health research. The OPERA office is the first of its kind in Canada with an explicit mandate to promote and support local patient-oriented research and patient engagement in both the basic and translational research.

We actively work with and support patients, families, and caregivers, research teams, and knowledge users to:

• Identify and develop research questions to be studied
• Define characteristics of study participants
• Develop outcomes that are in line with patient and stakeholder priorities
• Draft or revise study materials and protocols
• Participate in the evaluation of patient and stakeholder engagement
• Identify partner organizations for dissemination
• Identify opportunities to present or share information

Below are recent examples of patient-oriented research conducted at The Ottawa Hospital:

	New scientist profile: Dr. Stuart Nicholls aims to improve patient engagement in clinical trials and health research April 11, 2025 - Clinical trials can offer new treatment options and improve health care, but many patients face barriers and burdens to participating.
	Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital awarded 16 CIHR grants worth more than $8 million February 3, 2025 - Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital are leading 16 new projects funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) through the most recent operating grant competition.
	When research inspires care: Patient partners spearhead brain aneurysm recovery guide July 23, 2024 - Survivors of brain aneurysms and their family members are the driving force behind a new guide for patients at The Ottawa Hospital on what to expect when recovering from this kind of stroke.
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	Making CAR T Therapies More Accessible January 2, 2024 - “Our study shows there is room for CAR T therapy in the market. We further show that Canadian-made CAR T therapy could be cost-effective and has a much better chance of being funded than existing commercial CAR T therapies.”
	Exercise before surgery? This cancer survivor is a believer April 4, 2023 - Find out why he credits a “prehab” study for his quick recovery
	Moving the needle forward on sepsis research with a world-first clinical trial March 16, 2023 - The search for the silver bullet for sepsis has been decades in the making. However, The Ottawa Hospital is taking a big step forward in the next phase of a world-first clinical trial using stem cells in patients with septic shock.
	How patients can improve the way new cancer therapies are assessed January 27, 2023 - Researchers are bringing patient perspectives on new health technologies into the health economic evaluation process.
	Why more patients are taking a front seat in medical research January 27, 2023 - After undergoing surgery herself, Gurlie Kidd was so interested in work on a team studying “prehabilitation” for frail patients undergoing surgery, that she got involved.
	Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital co-lead $39M Accelerating Clinical Trials (ACT) Consortium January 19, 2023 - The new Accelerating Clinical Trials (ACT) Consortium, co-led by The Ottawa Hospital, aims to transform Canada’s clinical trials landscape by removing barriers, streamlining approvals, enhancing support and facilitating the engagement and participati
	People with lived experience of cancer are bringing crucial insights to studies January 11, 2023 - The early days after Gary Davis’s leukemia diagnosis were all a blur. Now cancer-free, Gary is advising our researchers on how to navigate difficult conversations about study participation with patients like himself
	How The Ottawa Hospital is partnering with patients to transform research and health care October 24, 2022 - As an elementary school teacher with a rare metabolic disease, Ottawa resident Maureen Smith has inspired not only her students, but also hundreds of doctors, researchers and health policy experts.
	How TOH and OHRI are leading the way in patient engagement in research August 3, 2022 - The Ottawa Hospital and OHRI have had unique success in facilitating and supporting patient engagement in research, with an increasing number of patient-oriented projects undertaken every year.
	Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital awarded 19 CIHR grants worth more than $12 million July 20, 2022 - These projects will advance science and improve health in areas such as cancer, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, autism, Kabuki Syndrome, kidney disease, patient engagement, blood transfusions, sepsis, surgery, anesthesia, plasma donation, muscle
	Ottawa Hospital researchers awarded $1.85M from Stem Cell Network May 12, 2022 - Four research teams at The Ottawa Hospital have been awarded a total of $1.85 million to harness stem cells and regenerative medicine to develop new therapies for septic shock, bone and joint conditions, and newborn lung damage, while also advancing
	Meet patient engagement researcher Grace Fox April 25, 2022 - “Being the link between patients and the research team, and making sure that the patient voice is heard throughout the research project is extremely fulfilling for me.”
	Study examines how patients are informing pragmatic clinical trials March 25, 2022 - A study published in PLOS Medicine found that worldwide, many pragmatic clinical trials are considering patient perspectives, but there is room to improve.
	Survivors and families help set priorities for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest research February 17, 2022 - Survivors, families, bystander responders and healthcare providers were part of an inclusive process to set international priorities for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest research.
	Study explores patient engagement in lab research January 6, 2022 - A study found that engaging patients in laboratory research is possible, and can benefit both the patients and the researchers.
	Expanding plasma donation to be more inclusive October 28, 2021 - Research led by Dr. Elisabeth Vesnaver, a postdoctoral fellow on Dr. Justin Presseau’s team, directly contributed to the development of Canadian Blood Services’ new donor screening processes for source plasma donation, a type of blood donation.
	Nothing about me, without me: Engaging patients in clinical trials August 13, 2021 - It seems obvious – blindingly so – that patients, traditionally the subjects of clinical trials, should be involved as partners from the beginning. The benefits for patients are clear – an increased sense of control and the ability to learn about the
	Research study to improve patient care during pandemic March 17, 2021 - Meagan Gordon spent much of her high-risk twin pregnancy confined to a room at our hospital to keep her and her babies safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, she's helping our researchers improve care.
	New scientist profile: Dr. Darine El-Chaâr aims to help pregnant parents and their babies March 10, 2021 - Dr. Darine El-Chaâr’s research focuses on three areas: increasing breast/chestfeeding among patients with diabetes, cannabis use in pregnancy, and COVID-19 in pregnancy.
	App provides patients with their personalized risks after surgery February 17, 2021 - Patients who used a made-in-Ottawa app to calculate their risk of complications, hospitalization and death after surgery understood these risks better than patients who received standard care, according to a study published in the Canadian Journal of
	New scientist profile: Dr. Angela Cheung’s patients inspire her to investigate rare liver diseases January 27, 2021 - Dr. Angela Cheung understands why her patients with autoimmune liver diseases are frustrated. Little is known about these rare diseases, and treatments can often only delay, but not prevent, a liver transplant.
	Blueprint Excelerator helps move discoveries from the bench to the bedside November 6, 2020 - The Blueprint Translational Research Group was established in 2016 at The Ottawa Hospital, in collaboration with the Ottawa Methods Centre. Co-led by Dr. Dean Fergusson and Dr. Manoj Lalu, Blueprint developed an innovative model called the Excelerato
	COVID-19 research moving at ‘lightning speed’, thanks to generous community support May 8, 2020 - Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital are working around the clock to advance more than 50 potentially life-saving research projects to support the world-wide effort to find better ways to treat and prevent COVID-19. Now, nine of these projects have bee
	Patient engagement in health research: 10 tips from people with lived experience February 25, 2020 - Individuals with lived experience who worked with Dr. Simon Hatcher’s team on suicide prevention research developed a list of 10 recommendations for researchers based on their experiences. The comic format uses scenarios to make these recommendations
	How a lung cancer survivor advocate is helping advance research that will lead to early detection February 7, 2020 - In September of 2013, Jill Hamer-Wilson caught something many of us tend to catch this time of year – a cold. While the cold eventually went away, a cough remained, and lingered for quite some time. Little did Jill know that this was an early sign of
	Ottawa hosts hugely successful Canadian Cancer Research Conference November 27, 2019 - Nearly 900 researchers, clinicians, trainees and members of the public recently came together for the Canadian Cancer Research Conference, held for the first time in Ottawa.
	aSAH survivor and her daughter help advance stroke research October 23, 2019 - When 61-year-old Debi Borbridge had an aSAH, a rare form of stroke, little did she know that two years later she and her daughter would be helping to shape the future of research in this field.
	Ottawa a “hotbed of patient partnerships in research” September 27, 2019 - The Ontario SPOR Support Unit’s summer newsletter showcases how Ottawa has become a “hotbed of patient partnerships in research.” Three stories demonstrate how researchers at The Ottawa Hospital are partnering with patients and caregivers to improve
	Dr. Dawn Stacey co-hosts International Shared Decision Making Conference August 14, 2019 - Dr. Dawn Stacey co-hosted the International Shared Decision Making Conference in Quebec City with Dr. France Légaré. More than 400 people from 22 countries participated in the conference, which focused on Patient-Oriented Shared Decision Ma
	Dr. John Bell wins public and patient engagement award April 15, 2019 - Dr. John Bell won the inaugural European Society for Gene and Cell Therapy Public and Patient Engagement Award.
	Researchers push for better patient engagement June 27, 2018 - Research improves patient care, and a growing movement aims to engage and involve patients in the research process from start to finish. However, little is known about what meaningful patient engagement in research looks like. To find out, Dr. Dean F