2003 Research as One of Four Pillars of Excellence at Baycrest Baycrest’s new identity as outlined in its 2003 strategic vision emphasizes the integration of care, research and education. The commitment to research is exemplified in the prominent role research now plays as one of Baycrest’s pillars of excellence.
Baycrest Pillars of Excellence: 1) Care - Baycrest Geriatric Health Care System; 2) Research – Baycrest Centre for Aging and the Brain; 3) Education – Baycrest Centre for Education on Aging; and the 4) Baycrest Foundation.
2003 Centre for Stroke Recovery (CSR) (Baycrest, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and the Ottawa Health Research Institute) These three institutions, matching funds provided by a grant from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, have joined forces to develop a broad integrated research program to identify post-stroke interventions that will lead to effective improvement in function such that post-stroke quality of life will be improved. This virtual centre spans acute to chronic care, biomedical research to functional outcome, and imaging from cells to brain functioning.
2003 CIHR Brain and Aging Group Grant Renewed CIHR affirms the importance of the research conducted by the Brain and Aging Group by renewing the group grant awarded in 1999, with increased funds for further infrastructure development.
2003 Introduction of Internet-Based Intervention Programs for Caregivers Funding from the Canarie Foundation and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has enabled KLARU scientist, Dr. Elsa Marziali, to explore the development and evaluation of internet-based intervention programs for family caregivers of persons with long term disabilities (dementia, stroke, Parkinson, frontotemporal dementia, and traumatic brain injury). This initiative in another example of the commitment to address the whole-person, including the social network of patients with long term disabilities.
2003 Third External Review - Rotman Research Institute “The Rotman Institute is a premier international center for the study of human brain function. Rotman researchers have provided pioneering insights into the mechanisms of normal aging and neurological and psychiatric diseases.” -- M. Gazzaniga (Dartmouth College), H-J. Heinze (Otto-v-Guericke University Magdeburg), M. Posner (University of Oregon), R. Knight (University of California-Berkeley) & D. Park (Beckman Institute).
2004 A Revolutionary Model for Out-Patient Care - The Brain Health Centre Clinics Comprised of the Mood and Related Disorders Clinic, the Memory Clinic and the Louis and Leah Posluns Stroke and Cognition Clinic, the Brain Health Centre Clinics represent the integration of research and care as scientists and clinicians work side by side to provide clients with new treatment options for intervention, rehabilitation, prevention and support for families.
2004 Neuroscience Alliance (Baycrest, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and St. John’s Rehabilitation Hospital) The partnership between the three Toronto healthcare centres builds on the strengths of each and allows for the sharing of resources in order to create a complete continuum of care for clients with neurological diseases and disorders.
2004 Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC) Upon Dr. Pantev’s return to Germany, the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair is awarded to Dr. Cheryl Grady in Neurocognitive Aging. As a CRC, Dr. Grady is recognized for her expertise in utilizing brain imaging technology to assess changes in cortical activity and plasticity in the aging brain in order to provide insight into how to maximize memory function in the elderly.
2004 A Leader in Implementing a State-of-the-Art Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) System with Clinical Decision Support (CDS) Capability The implementation of this system has leveraged Baycrest as the site of a benchmark study to assess the effectiveness of CPOE/CDS from a cost-benefit perspective in terms of implementation and maintenance versus effectiveness is reducing adverse drug events in a long-term care setting. This project is a collaborative effort between KLARU scientist, Dr. Paula Rochon in Canada, and Drs. Jerry Gurwitz, Terry Field and David Bates in the U.S.A.
2004 First External Review - Kunin-Lunenfeld Applied Research Unit “The establishment of KLARU as a translational research group focused on aging and the elderly was visionary, and it is a unique centre in Canada and perhaps in North America.” --H. Chertkow (Lady Davis Institute) & R. Tamblyn (McGill University)
2005 Brain Network Recovery Group (Brain NRG) (Canada, U.S.A., Australia, Germany) Spearheaded by RRI Scientist Dr. Randy McIntosh, Brain NRG funded by the JSF McDonnell Foundation represents the union of computational, cognitive and clinical neuroscience working in concert to understand the damaged brain through application of network modeling. The goal of the group is to develop a framework for understanding normal brain function versus damaged brain function, which in turn may be applied to the development of potential rehabilitative treatment options.
2005 Centre for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging (CIMBI) Funded by the Lundbeck Foundation, CIMBI is a new research center conducting research at several institutions in Copenhagen, Denmark, in addition to collaboration with other institutions in Europe and the U.S.A. Their main focus is on investigating the neural bases of personality that predispose individuals to affective and substance use disorders using PET and MRI technology in human and animal models. As an associated institution, RRI scientists such as Dr. Stephen Strother lend their modeling expertise in the integration of different imaging techniques to yield meaningful data. The association reflects RRI’s international clout.
2005 Sandra A. Rotman Chair in Neuropsychiatry Recruited to return to Canada from the United States, Dr. Bruce Pollock, the second appointee of this chair, is recognized for his leadership in geriatric psychiatry. This is exemplified in his role as a scientist at RRI and Head of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He is currently involved in pioneering research into how genetic variations may potentially help explain differential responses to particular drug treatments.
2005 Review of Geriatric Psychiatry Clinical and Research Developments Dr. B. Lebowitz, Deputy Director, Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, University of California, San Diego, visited Baycrest and CAMH to provide advice on the current status and potential of each institution and the promise of the newly signed Memorandum of Understanding. His observation in his report to Baycrest:
“The emerging view in the scientific community is that understanding the complex patterns of interrelationships of Gene, Brain, and Environment will lead to significant breakthroughs at both the scientific and clinical levels… there is no place in the world better positioned to now apply these powerful new theories and methods to improve our understanding of brain disorders in later life in a new patient-oriented research synthesis.”
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