Disseminating knowledge about CP pain management
Dr. Darcy Fehlings, lead in the Cerebral Palsy Discovery Lab in the Bloorview Research Institute, published findings in Pediatrics identifying pain prevalence and origin in children with cerebral palsy.Dr. Fehlings’s publication received wide interest in the media and will provide pediatricians with the information they need to focus on accurately assessing and managing the root cause of pain associated with cerebral palsy.
Leading the system in acquired brain injury
2013 saw the launch of our new Concussion Research Centre, one of the first devoted to researching pediatric concussions.Led by Dr. Michelle Keightley and committed to helping children and youth achieve peak performance following brain injury, the Concussion Research Centre was granted $1.2 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to support their NeuroCare research.
Making strides in mobility
Jan Andrysek, lead of the PROPEL Lab and developer of the Low Cost (LC) Knee, received Grand Challenges Canada: Phase II – Transition to Scale funding, his second round of funding from the organization.Funds will be used to expand manufacturing and field testing of the affordable prosthetic knee joint internationally
Celebrating “All Green” in Research Ethics Board Review
In a 2013 qualification review, all Bloorview Research Institute Research Ethics Board processes were rated "Green" or fully compliant with regulatory requirements.Holland Bloorview was the first TAHSN hospital to receive a 100% Green score.
Paving the way for engaging families in research
Bloorview Research Institute was featured as an emerging leader in the area of family engagement in research by Canadian healthcare publication Health Research & Innovation.Just over a year ago, the Bloorview Research Institute formed a Family Engagement Committee to include clients and families in all aspects of the research process.
Gathering data to advance treatments in autism and CP
The Bloorview Research Institute is the leader of two separate Ontario initiatives to collect and analyze data to improve outcomes for children with autism and cerebral palsy.
Dr. Evdokia Anagnostou, co-lead of the Autism Research Centre in the Bloorview Research Institute, and her team received an $18.7 million grant renewal from the Ontario Brain Institute to lead the Province of Ontario Neurodevelopmental Disorders Network (POND).
Dr. Darcy Fehlings, leader of the Cerebral Palsy Discovery Lab in the Bloorview Research Institute, and her team received a $7.5 million grant renewal from the Ontario Brain Institute to lead the Childhood Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy Integrated Neuroscience Discover Network (CP-NET).
Announcing new research chair appointments
Two Bloorview Research Institute scientists were appointed to endowed research chairs funded by the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, the University of Toronto, and the Holland Bloorview Foundation.Dr. Barbara Gibson was appointed to the Bloorview Kids Foundation Chair in Childhood Disability Studies, while Dr. Darcy Fehlings’s appointment to the Bloorview Childrens Hospital Foundation Chair in Developmental Paediatrics was renewed for a second term.
Guiding the province in speech language therapy
Nancy Thomas-Stonell and her team, developers of the FOCUS outcome measure, published results in Child: Care Health Development.The FOCUS, a clinical tool to evaluate change in communicative participation in preschool children, was adopted by Ontario as a provincial standard for all preschool-age children undergoing speech language therapy.
Receiving the Diamond Jubilee Medal
The Bloorview Research Institute’s Vice President of Research, Dr. Tom Chau, was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his work developing assistive technologies for children with disabilities.
Gaining recognition as a Top 40 Research Hospital
Featured on Research InfoSource’s 2013 Top 40 list, the Bloorview Research Institute is committed to increasing its capacity.In 2013, the research institute added twelve scientists and investigators and has further plans for expansion in 2014.
