Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Research News

	By thinking differently, this research team is improving the lives of people with cancer February 20, 2025 - The REthinking Clinical Trials (REaCT) program focuses on comparing existing standard treatments to find out which ones are best for patients with cancer.
	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
	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.
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	Breast cancer patients benefit from Ottawa-based study December 3, 2020 - There is such deep love in Gina Mertikas-Lavictoire’s eyes when she looks at her three young children. But there is something else, too: fear. Fear that one or even both of her daughters will develop the same aggressive breast cancer she’s had. So, w
	Bone-modulating drugs can be given less often during cancer treatment, reducing side-effects and saving time and money November 28, 2020 - When cancer spreads to the bones, it can cause pain, reduce mobility and increase the risk of fractures. Bone modulating drugs can help, but a new study suggests that to maximize the value of these drugs, it may be better to give them less often.
	Fewer hospital visits, safer care, less cost: study changing breast cancer treatment around the world October 15, 2020 - A new study published in Annals of Oncology shows that a drug commonly used to prevent infections in breast cancer patients can safely be given less often, meaning fewer hospital visits, fewer side effects and reduced treatment costs.
	Ottawa researcher plays key role in $53-million Alzheimer’s research project September 24, 2019 - Dr. Monica Taljaard is playing a major role in a $53-million project funded by the U.S. National Institute of Aging to improve health care and quality of life for people living with Alzheimer’s disease, as well as for their caregivers.
	New approach to clinical trials could revolutionize cancer care February 23, 2017 - Yasemin Heinbecker was a career diplomat used to working 10-hour days when she received a diagnosis last fall that stopped her busy life in its tracks. Like 25,000 other Canadian women every year, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and ended up “re
	Ottawa team pioneers new approach for cancer clinical trials September 28, 2016 - What is the most efficient way to answer the most important questions to improve care for cancer patients? Drs. John Hilton, Mark Clemons and Dean Fergusson got a group of Ottawa researchers together to answer this question and came up eight key

Researchers

Name	Scientific appointment	Diseases, conditions and populations of interest	Research and clinical approaches
Beltran-Bless, Ana-Alicia MD	Clinician Investigator (CR)		Clinical research, Patient engagement, Pragmatic trials
Dennis, Kristopher MD FRCPC PhD	Clinician Investigator (CR)	Cancer, Colorectal cancer, Gastric cancer, Liver cancer, Pain, Pancreatic cancer	Behaviour, Biomarkers, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Health professional behaviour change, Health services research, Palliative care, Pragmatic trials, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Systematic reviews
Fahed, Robert MD MSc	Associate Scientist (NS)	Stroke, Subarachnoid hemorrhage	Biostatistics, Clinical decision rules, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Epidemiology, Imaging, Pragmatic trials, Quality Improvement, Shared decision making, Systematic reviews
Fergusson, Dean PhD, MHA, FCAHS	Program Director and Senior Scientist (MIR)	Cancer, COVID-19, Kidney disease, Septic shock, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease	Clinical trials, Health services research, Health technology, Patient engagement, Pragmatic trials, Surveys, Translational research, Biostatistics, Clinical research, Cluster randomized trials, Cohort studies, Critical care, Health research methods, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Systematic reviews, Transfusions
Hiremath, Swapnil MD, MPH, FASN	Associate Scientist (ICD)	Diabetes, Health in older peoples, Heart disease, Hypertension, Kidney disease, Population health, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease	Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Epidemiology, Health services research, Imaging, Pharmacology, Pragmatic trials, Public health, Quality Improvement, Systematic reviews
Kwok, Edmund MD MHA MSc FRCPC	Clinician Investigator (ACR)		Clinical research, Critical care, Emergency medicine, Health professional behaviour change, Health services research, Knowledge translation and implementation research, Patient safety, Pragmatic trials, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Rapid reviews, Systematic reviews
McIntyre, Lauralyn MD, MHSc, FRCPC	Senior Scientist (ACR)	Septic shock	Cell therapy, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Critical care, Patient engagement, Pragmatic trials, Stem cells, Transfusions, Translational research
Nair, Vimoj MBBS MD MSc FRCPC	Clinician Investigator (CR)	Blood cancer, Brain cancer, Colorectal cancer, Gastric cancer, Liver cancer, Pancreatic cancer	Artificial intelligence and data science, Biostatistics, Cancer biotherapeutics, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Health technology, Imaging, Pragmatic trials, Quality Improvement, Translational research
Nicholls, Stuart BSc(Hons), MSc, MRes, PhD	Scientist (MIR)	Health equity	Health research methods, Health services research, Health technology, Knowledge translation and implementation research, Patient decision aids, Patient engagement, Pragmatic trials, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Rapid reviews, Systematic reviews
Pakhale, Smita MD, FRCPC, MSc (Epi & Biostat)	Senior Scientist (ICD)	COVID-19, First Nations, Inuit and Métis Health, Health equity, Health in disadvantaged peoples, Lung disease, Sickle cell anemia	Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Epidemiology, Health economics, Health promotion, Health services research, Patient engagement, Pragmatic trials, Public health, Quality Improvement
Poulin, Patricia C. Psych.	Associate Scientist (NS)	Addiction, Anxiety, Cancer, Chronic pain, Depression, Health equity, Musculoskeletal conditions, Pain	Anesthesiology, Behaviour, Biomarkers, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Emergency medicine, Epidemiology, Health professional behaviour change, Health services research, Knowledge translation and implementation research, Palliative care, Patient decision aids, Patient safety, Peri-operative medicine, Pragmatic trials, Psychology, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Systematic reviews
Santos, Marlise MD (FRCPC), MSc, MPH	Clinician Investigator (NS)	Alzheimer's, Anxiety, Ataxia, Autoimmune disease, Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Blood cancer, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Brain cancer, Cancer, Concussion, Dementia, Depression, Global health, Head and neck cancer, Health equity, Health in disadvantaged peoples, Infectious disease, Intellectual disabilities, Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, Population health, Sickle cell anemia, Spinal cord injury, Stroke, Subarachnoid hemorrhage, Thrombosis / thromboembolism, Traumatic brain injury, Traumatic injuries, Vascular cognitive impairment, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease	Artificial intelligence and data science, Basic research, Behaviour, Biostatistics, Cancer biotherapeutics, Clinical decision rules, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Critical care, Epidemiology, Health economics, Health research methods, Health services research, Health technology, Imaging, Patient safety, Pragmatic trials, Prevention, Public health, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Shared decision making, Surgery, Surveys, Systematic reviews
Solmi, Marco MD, PhD, Psychiatrist	Clinician Investigator (NS)	Addiction, Anxiety, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Autism, Bipolar, Dementia, Depression, Mental health, Schizophrenia, Suicide	Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cluster randomized trials, Cohort studies, Epidemiology, Health research methods, Neuro-stimulation, Pharmacology, Pragmatic trials, Surveys, Systematic reviews
Walker, Mark MD, FRCPC, MSc, MScHCM	Senior Scientist (ACR)	Global health, Health equity, Infertility, Maternal and fetal health, Newborn and child health, Population health, Pregnancy, Women's health	Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cluster randomized trials, Cohort studies, Epidemiology, Health economics, Health promotion, Health research methods, Health services research, Knowledge translation and implementation research, Pragmatic trials, Prevention, Public health, Quality Improvement, Rapid reviews, Risk assessment, Surveys, Systematic reviews
Yogendrakumar, Vignan MD, PhD, FRCPC	Associate Scientist (NS)	Stroke	Biomarkers, Clinical trials, Cluster randomized trials, Cohort studies, Imaging, Pragmatic trials, Translational research

Related Resources

Ottawa Methods Centre