1996 Baycrest Aligns with the University of Toronto Baycrest becomes a fully-affiliated teaching hospital with the University of Toronto, a beneficial symbiosis promoting research, clinical care and education. As a teaching hospital, Baycrest commits to mentoring future researchers and clinicians, while the University in turn commits to providing essential services and resources.
1996 Kunin-Lunenfeld Applied Research Unit (KLARU) On the advice of the (then) Director of ICES, Dr. David Naylor, the CRU and CEEU amalgamate as the initial step in developing KLARU. A search is initiated for the Director.
1996 Frontal Temporal Dementia Network (Canada, France, U.K. & U.S.A) Initiated by the RRI, the formation of this group of multinational, multidisciplinary experts promotes the development of common standards for the investigation and assessment of frontal temporal dementia. Their work resulted in the establishment of a set of international diagnostic criteria for the disorder, thereby ensuring that individuals with this form of dementia are detected early and treatment made available.
1996 Ben and Hilda Katz Centre in Gerontological Social Work The Katz Centre, a joint venture between Baycrest and the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto, is the result of a gift by long-time Baycrest supporters, Ben and Hilda Katz.
In the field of gerontological social work, the Katz Centre is unique in Canada, and possibly all of North America, because it is based in a multi-service practice setting and shares with the other disciplines at Baycrest a strong focus on clinical research.
1996 Dr. Max and Gianna Glassman Chair in Neuropsychology A $1 million endowment provided by philanthropist Dr. Max Glassman and his wife Gianna, which was matched by the University of Toronto, inaugurated the Dr. Max and Gianna Glassman Chair in Neuropsychology held jointly at the University of Toronto Department of Psychology and the RRI at Baycrest. The chair aims to advance research in the effects of aging on cognitive functioning.
The first appointee was Dr. Fergus Craik, a senior scientist at RRI and a world-renowned expert in memory and normal aging.
1996 Second Anne and Max Tanenbaum Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience The Anne and Max Tanenbaum Chair Program in Biomedical Research stems from a $10 million gift from philanthropist Dr. Anne Tanenbaum in 1996 to honour her late husband Max. The program includes the creation of six endowed chairs dedicated to research in neuroscience and molecular medicine, one of which is at Baycrest.
The appointee of the second chair was Dr. Terence Picton, a senior scientist at RRI and expert in the use of event-related potentials (ERP) technology to assess changes in the brain’s electrical activity. The appointment recognizes Dr. Picton’s expertise in the application of ERP and MEG technology to understand cognitive function.
1997 Functional Imaging Research Network (FIRN) [RRI (MEG and ERP), Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (structural and functional MRI), The Hospital for Sick Children, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (PET), and the University Health Network (MRI)]
The sophisticated neuroimaging technology, techniques and expertise in the five university-affiliated academic centres are used to obtain an infrastructure grant to develop a comprehensive program in functional imaging that would be applicable to brain, cardiovascular, and cancer research. The focus for three of the partners (Baycrest, CAMH, and Sunnybrook) is the interrelationships between the brain, cognition and emotion. By integrating behavioural studies with neuroimaging techniques the network aims to determine the anatomy, pathways, and timing of brain activity and how these change with age, or in dementias and other cognitive disorders. As a key component and lead in this network, RRI demonstrates its national stature. The use of a combination of imaging techniques provides a more comprehensive view of the active brain providing an edge to the institutions in the international sphere.
1997 Second External Review - Rotman Research Institute “The Rotman Research Institute has attained international stature as a centre for cognitive neuroscience.” -- M. Mesulam (Northwestern University), R. Knight (University of California – Davis), S. Peterson (Washington University), A. Shimamura (University of California-Berkeley).
1998 Kunin-Lunenfeld Applied Research Unit (KLARU) Established! KLARU is formally established with the appointment of the first Director, Dr. David Streiner, as the applied arm of research at Baycrest. KLARU focuses on implementation of evidence-based practice, translation of research to care and establishment of practice benchmarks as a basis for evaluation. This initiative is supported by a gift from the Lunenfeld Foundation, and named in honour of Sybil Kunin (nee Lunenfeld) and Mitchell Kunin.
1998 CIHR Brain and Aging Group is Formed The Brain and Aging Group is an alliance of researchers studying cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, brain imaging and rehabilitation, within RRI who have joined forces to decode the changes in behaviour and the brain as it relates to age-related disorders. This focus on aging was rewarded by the Institutes first group grant from the (then) Medical Research Council of Canada.
1998 Cognitive Rehabilitation Network (Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, U.K., and U.S.A.) The significance of the work in rehabilitation undertaken by this multidisciplinary, multinational group, spearheaded by RRI, led to the following development: Three institutions worldwide, of which the RRI at Baycrest was one, were awarded the 21st Century Collaborative Activity Award by the James S. McDonnell Foundation to support research to advance rehabilitation techniques for individuals suffering from neurological disorders and brain injury.
1999 Sandra A. Rotman Chair in Neuropsychiatry The Sandra A. Rotman Chair and Program in Neuropsychiatry is a joint appointment with the University of Toronto and Rotman Research Institute resulting from a gift from benefactor Sandra A. Rotman.
The first incumbent, Dr. Helen Mayberg, is a world-renowned American neurologist for her studies of the pathophysiology and treatment of depression. Her research was done in collaboration with scientists at the PET Centre at CAMH. Her appointment as the chair attests to the caliber of research undertaken at RRI, and to the ability to recruit scientists internationally.
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