Newsroom

The Ottawa Hospital recognized as one of Canada’s leading research hospitals


October 26, 2011

The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) has been recognized as one of Canada’s leading research hospitals, ranking sixth in the country for total research funding in 2009-10 by RE$EARCH Infosource Inc. Research at TOH is conducted through the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI), which had revenues of $105M in 2009-10, up from $88M in 2008-9. Competitive peer-reviewed research grants account for the majority of OHRI’s funding, with the largest source being the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

“I am delighted that The Ottawa Hospital has been recognized as one of Canada’s top research hospitals, especially given the fact that our research institute is relatively young, having been founded just 10 years ago,” said Dr. Duncan Stewart, CEO and Scientific Director of OHRI, Vice-President of Research at TOH and Professor of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. “We’ve had a great deal of success in recent years, not just in funding, but also in terms of the high quality research we’ve produced. For example, we’ve made great strides in developing innovative stem cell therapies and cancer-fighting viruses and our clinical trials in emergency medicine, blood transfusions and thrombosis have saved lives and changed medical practice around the world.”

Despite an increasingly competitive funding environment, researchers at OHRI have consistently ranked above the national average in CIHR grant competitions, with an average success rate of 28 per cent in the last four competitions compared to a national average of 20 per cent. TOH is also one of just two hospitals in the country to receive two grants in the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s “once-in-a-generation” Research Hospital Fund competition, held in 2008. The grants, titled “Translation of Innovation into Medical Excellence” (TIMEx) and “Knowledge Translation Canada” (KT Canada), are together worth more than $85M.

“The Ottawa Hospital is committed to fostering world-class research because it allows us to offer leading-edge therapies to our patients, and it gives us the tools to develop innovative approaches to improve quality and safety. A strong research institute also helps us attract the best and brightest clinicians,” said Dr. Jack Kitts, President & CEO of The Ottawa Hospital.

Further information from RE$SEARCH Infosource is available at:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/865417/canada-s-top-40-research-hospitals-raise-2-1-billion-in-total-research-income.

About the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) is the research arm of The Ottawa Hospital and is an affiliated institute of the University of Ottawa, closely associated with the University’s Faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences. The OHRI includes more than 1,500 scientists, clinical investigators, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and staff conducting research to improve the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human disease. www.ohri.ca

Media contact
Jennifer Paterson
Director, Communications and Public Relations
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
613-798-5555 ext. 73325
613-614-5253 (cell)
jpaterson@ohri.ca