Our Member Organizations

ACCRU is the Alberta Clinical Cancer Research Unit; the clinical research enterprise of Alberta Health Services – Cancer Care. This umbrella organization encompasses all cancer clinical research that is carried out at the Cross Cancer Institute, Tom Baker Cancer Centre and the associate Cancer Centres within the province. ACCRU provides a responsive and supportive environment for researchers. ACCRU has been created to improve practice and patient outcomes through scientifically and ethically sound clinical research that increases our understanding of cancer and fulfills the benefits of interventions to prevent or treat this disease.

Clinical trial activity within the Alberta Cancer Board has expanded to an impressive level. At both sites there has been year on year growth in patient recruitment to clinical trials in excess of 5%. Recruitment now approaches 15% of new patients annually. This compares with figures at cancer agencies nationally between 3 and 10%. This increase may be credited to changes implemented following which include centralization of contract reviews, coordinating of costing (including start-up and overhead costs) at the two sites, developing standardized language, SOP development and coordination, a base level of core funding service departments, and the appointment of individuals in leadership roles at the 2 sites with experience in managing large clinical trial operations.

The Applied Health Research Centre (AHRC) of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital is an Academic Research Organization that supports clinical research activities at St. Michael’s Hospital, the University of Toronto community, and beyond. The mission of the AHRC is to advance patient care through meaningful clinical research involving human subjects. With a team of staff and research partners with clinical and scientific expertise, AHRC supports both experimental (e.g. clinical trials) and non-experimental clinical research (e.g. observational studies, qualitative research). We offer comprehensive study management services from protocol development and research consulting through study and site management, data management using industry standard data management and study management systems, and data analysis and reporting. Our staff includes skilled research methodologists and statisticians, operational staff, and administrative support.

The C17 Research Network is one of the major initiatives of the C17 Council, a non-profit organization that represents the 17 academic pediatric oncology/hematology/bone marrow transplantation programs across Canada. Our mission is to improve health outcomes and quality of life for children and adolescents in Canada with cancer and blood disorders. This multidisciplinary network promotes and funds collaborative research across Canada through a peer reviewed grant competition, and serves as the Canadian Regulatory Office for cooperative group studies. Our services include: grant competition, submission of clinical trial applications, and establishment of a national education and quality assurance program. The scope of clinical research projects include: phase I, II, III, pilot clinical trials; registries and population based studies; biological sample banks; quality of life and psychosocial research; health outcomes and health services research; basic laboratory and translational research. By supporting and funding multi centre, multi disciplinary Canada-wide research, C17 is reducing barriers to access to research studies and increasing treatment and research opportunities for all children.

The Canadian HIV Trials Network (CTN) is committed to developing treatments, vaccines and a cure for HIV disease and AIDS through the conduct of scientifically sound and ethical clinical trials. The CTN is an innovative partnership of clinical investigators, physicians, nurses, people living with HIV/AIDS, pharmaceutical manufacturers and others that facilitate HIV/AIDS clinical trials.

Established in 1990 as a cornerstone of the federal AIDS Strategy, the Network is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and jointly sponsored by the University of British Columbia and St. Paul’s Hospital (Providence Health Care) in Vancouver. Since 1990, the National Centre and more than 30 research clinics and hospitals, in the Network across Canada, have reviewed 208 clinical trial protocols; implemented 89 clinical trials involving 8,448 volunteers at sites across Canada; contributed to advances in HIV clinical care; and enrolled another 11,000 Canadians in CTN expanded (compassionate) access trials.

The Canadian Rheumatology Research Consortium (CRRC) is a non-profit, national network of academic and community rheumatologists who conduct phase I-IV clinical trials in new therapies for arthritis. CRRC’s services include trial design and evaluation, centralized site selection and budget negotiation, conduct of clinical trials and consulting in clinical development.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, and one of the world’s leading research centres in the area of addiction and mental health. CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, and is a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre.

CAMH research focuses not only on understanding mental illness and addictions, but also on improving existing treatment and developing new treatment approaches, and providing guidance on prevention, intervention and public policy initiatives. Our extensive resources are interlaced across four areas of scientific focus: neuroscience; clinical research; social, prevention and health policy research; and the PET Centre, the only facility of its kind in Canada fully dedicated to mental health and addictions research.

The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario is a pediatric health and research center providing outstanding family-centered patient care, pioneering breakthrough research, and training the health care professionals of tomorrow. Over the past thirty-six years, CHEO has established itself as a world-class centre providing leading-edge treatment, diagnostic and laboratory services for children and youth aged 0 to their 18th birthday. CHEO houses the Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health and the Ontario Newborn Screening Program. CHEO is an active partner in the Champlain Local Health Integration Network, providing leadership in all aspects of pediatric health and wellbeing. The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario’s large service area includes not only Ottawa, but also Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, Nunavut and parts of Northern Ontario. Adjacent to the hospital, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario’s Research Institute takes a proactive approach to the development and dissemination of new knowledge to ensure the best treatments for children and youth. Research at CHEO spans many diverse areas, including cancer, obesity, emergency and critical care medicine, bone health, mental health, clinical research and eHealth. The CHEO Research Institute currently employs 225 research personnel with over $17M of annual research funding.

The Consortium of Canadian Centres for Clinical Cognitive Research (C5R) was founded in 1991 by a group of neurologists, geriatricians and psychiatrists from across Canada. A number of the founding members had worked together on the Canadian Study on Health and Aging (CSHA) and the C5R grew from this practical experience of Canadian collaborative research

The C5R has 34 accredited sites in all of the Canadian provinces with 51 full members, 28 associate members and 6 corporate members. Essentially, all academic clinical dementia researchers in our country are members, creating a network of 34 sites which have participated in phase 2, phase 3 and phase 4 dementia drug studies. C5R objectives include: to facilitate collaborative clinical cognitive research in Canada; to establish a forum for the exchange of information relevant to research in cognitive disorders; to consider and make recommendations upon methodologies of clinical cognitive research and to advocate for appropriate treatment of clinical cognitive disorders; to provide consensus opinion upon clinical research issues as may most experientially benefit the health of the Canadian population, including guidelines for practice; to develop liaison with agencies supporting cognitively impaired patients.

The mission of the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ), a funding agency reporting to the Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade (MDEIE), is to support health research and thus foster the well-being of Quebecers.

The FRSQ has identified clinical research as one of its main strategic priorities. Clinical research is an important component of the FRSQ’s 19 funded research centres and 15 theme networks in which close to 2000 researchers currently work throughout the Province of Quebec. In addition, since January 2007, the FRSQ has played a leadership role in advancing clinical research quality and assurance of good practices in clinical research sites by publishing and sharing Standard Operating Procedures for Clinical Research at the Canadian and International levels.

Hamilton Health Sciences is a family of five hospitals and a cancer centre together operating as an academic health sciences centre carrying out patient care, health services, research and international research coordination from many research institutes, centres and groups. Research is conducted in affiliation with McMaster University and is supported through federal and provincial research grants, foundation donations, not-for-profit agencies and pharmaceutical industry contracts. Hamilton Health Sciences’ mission is to advance excellence in health care through research and education to benefit the people and communities it serves and to share knowledge by collaborating beyond borders and promoting the adoption of best practices within Canada and internationally. More information about Hamilton Health Sciences and its location, research strategic plan, programs and services can be found on the Centre’s website.

The Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital (Holland Bloorview) is Canada’s largest children’s rehabilitation hospital.

Our vision is to create a world of possibility for kids with a disability.

We pioneer treatments, technologies, therapies and real-world programs that give children with disabilities the tools to participate fully in life.

Holland Bloorview serves about 7,000 children each year, with about 600 inpatient admissions and 58,000 outpatient visits. Holland Bloorview is a world-class teaching hospital fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. We train future health-care specialists in the field of childhood disability. The Bloorview Research Institute is located onsite, allowing us to integrate cutting-edge research and teaching with frontline care to improve children’s quality of life.

Français

L’Hôpital Montfort est une institution francophone offrant, dans un milieu universitaire, des soins de qualité dans les deux langues officielles. Avec ses partenaires, il contribue à l’amélioration de la santé des communautés. Par l’entremise de son institut de recherche, l’Institut de recherche de l’Hôpital Montfort (l’IRHM), affilié à l’Université d’Ottawa, l’Hôpital Montfort offre un espace de recherche interdisciplinaire en santé pour l’acquisition, l’application, et la vulgarisation des connaissances dans les domaines de recherche tels que les soins primaires, les déterminants de la santé des Communautés de langue
officielle en situation minoritaire, la nutrition et le métabolisme, la santé des familles, la santé mentale et la psychologie de la santé. L’excellence des soins personnalisés aux patients et la qualité de son milieu de travail, de son enseignement et de sa
recherche font de Montfort l’hôpital de choix.

Anglais

Hôpital Montfort is a Francophone institution that delivers quality care in both official languages within an academic setting and works with its partners to improve the health of communities. Through its research institute, the Institut de recherche de l’Hôpital Montfort (IRHM), which is affiliated with the University of Ottawa, Hôpital Montfort provides an interdisciplinary health research environment that focuses on the creation, application and translation of new knowledge to clinical practice in research areas such as primary health care, health determinants of Official Language Minority Communities, nutrition and metabolism, family health, mental health and psychology of health. The excellence of the institution’s personalized patient care and the quality of its workplace, teaching and research make Montfort the hospital of choice.

The Lawson Health Research Institute (Lawson) is located in London, Ontario Canada and is the research institute of London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care, London. As one of the largest hospital-based research institutes in Canada with 7 hospital sites, Lawson is committed to furthering scientific knowledge to advance health care around the world. Whether it be Phase I-IV Trials, Sponsored, Peer-Reviewed or Investigator Initiated, Lawson is known worldwide for its innovative medical research across a wide variety of therapeutic areas. Within the institute, a ‘bench to bedside’ approach to medical research is encouraged. This means our researchers focus their efforts on the development of new knowledge that can be applied directly to patient care within the hospitals. Through collaboration and the sharing of their discoveries, Lawson researchers make a difference in patients’ lives every day.

McMaster University supports clinical research activities through its affiliated hospitals, Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. McMaster was established in 1887 and is one of Canada’s top research-intensive universities. The Faculty of Health Sciences is a major contributor in maintaining that position, with $133 million (08/09) in research funding being overseen by health sciences investigators. McMaster’s health sciences research spans the spectrum from curiosity-driven basic science in the laboratory to clinical research at the bedside and in the community, to studies analyzing the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of particular therapies and the efficiency of health care delivery. Health Sciences education programs cover the spectrum of health care, including schools of medicine, nursing, rehabilitation science, midwifery, an undergraduate Bachelor of Health Sciences and Canada’s first undergraduate program for physician assistants. Our graduate programs range from biomedical engineering to health research methodologies. In partnership with hospitals, government bodies and private enterprise, we continually pursue medical breakthroughs in our laboratories and incorporate them into the practice of health care professionals.

The NCIC Clinical Trials Group is a cooperative oncology group which carries out clinical trials in cancer therapy, supportive care and prevention across Canada and internationally. It is one of the national programmes and networks of the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute (CCSRI), and is supported by the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS). The mission of the NCIC CTG is to develop and conduct clinical trials aimed at improving the treatment and prevention of cancer with the ultimate goal of reducing morbidity and mortality from this disease. The NCIC Clinical Trials Group is located at Queen’s University, Kingston Ontario at the Cancer Research Institute.

The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research is dedicated to research in prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and control of cancer. The Institute is an independent, not-for-profit corporation funded by the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Research and Innovation. The Institute will bring together multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional collaborations, which will allow complex questions to be pursued. It will focus on translating research findings into programs, technologies and therapies.

WebEd is a project from a group at the Ottawa Health Research Institute that involve the development of a suite of web-based educational tutorials related to research ethics. There will be a basic course of interest to a broad range of individuals involved in biomedical research, including investigators and their staff, REB members and research administrators. A planned collection of “boutique” courses will address particular types of research (e.g., genetics, stem cells) and particular participant populations (e.g., paediatric, non-consenting). The tutorials will be interactive, with extensive linked resources. Importantly, evaluation of participants will allow for quality assurance or accreditation.

The Providence Health Care Research Institute (PHCRI) supports all researchers at Providence Health Care. The Research Institute is located at St. Paul’s Hospital, in downtown Vancouver, BC. One of two adult acute care academic health science centres affiliated with the University of British Columbia (UBC), PHCRI’s research and teaching mandate is supported by programs in more than 30 clinical specialties. The PHC Research Institute is home to over 150 researchers and annually attracts over $25 million in scientific competitive grants and industry sponsored research trials. Approximately 40 per cent of PHC Research Institute members have care-giving responsibilities at Providence Health Care hospitals and residences, ensuring the benefits of research translate quickly into better patient care. The PHC Research Institute has six research priorities that align with Providence Health Care’s specialties. Our major research programs include: Kidney, Heart / Lung / Blood Vessels, HIV/AIDS, Aging and Elder Care, Urban Health and Mental Health research.

Q-CROC is a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional network of clinicians, basic researchers and other members of the medical community (pathologists, pharmacists, research nurses, etc) involved in clinical and translational cancer research. Founded in 2007, Q-CROC’s mission is to increase and improve treatment options for oncology patients by developing a strong provincial infrastructure for clinical research, coupled with a translational research program focused on the discovery of biomarkers of therapeutic resistance in the metastatic setting. This oncology network aims to promote a “clinical research culture” among patients, clinicians, residents, institutions and government so that a positive clinical research environment is available to the medical personnel and scientists wanting to become active partners and leaders in the discovery of targeted and effective cancer therapies.

Q-CROC’s members are defined as individuals who are actively involved in pharmaceutical-sponsored or investigator-initiated oncology clinical research at an institution affiliated with Q-CROC’s network. As of May 2011, centers affiliated with Q-CROC include the Jewish General Hospital (JGH), Hôtel-Dieu du Québec (HDQ), Hôpital Sacré-Coeur de Montréal (HSCM), McGill Clinical Research Program (MGH, RVH, and SMH), Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke (CHUS-Hôpital Fleurimont), and the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Montréal (CHUM). Members are also defined as individuals participating in translational research projects supported by Q-CROC. The objective of these biopsy-driven projects is to advance personalized medicine for the benefit of cancer patients.

Saskatoon Health Region is the largest health region in Saskatchewan, serving approximately 300,000 local residents in more than 100 cities, towns, villages, rural municipalities and First Nation communities. Saskatoon Health Region is an integrated health delivery agency providing a comprehensive range of services and programs, including but not limited to hospital and long-term care, public health and home care, mental health and addiction services, prenatal and palliative care. It provides services and programs in more than 75 facilities, including 10 hospitals (including three tertiary hospitals in Saskatoon), 29 long-term care facilities, and numerous primary health care sites, public health centres, mental health and addictions centres and community-based settings.

Southlake Regional Health Centre is a full service hospital with a regional, clinically advanced focus. Situated in the community of Newmarket, just 40 minutes north of Downtown Toronto, Southlake offers 400 patient beds and a full complement of outpatient services and accommodates approximately 67,000 emergency patient visits and almost 22,000 inpatient admissions each year.

As a regionally designated site, Southlake is responsible for developing and providing advanced levels of care to the over one million people who reside in York Region, Simcoe County and, in some cases, as far north as Muskoka. Southlake’s regional programs include Cardiac Care, Cancer Care, Child and Adolescent Eating Disorders, Child and Adolescent Mental Health beds, and Pediatrics and Perinatal Care. Other specialty services offered at Southlake include thoracic surgery, cataract surgery, and arthritis care. Southlake is committed to an aggressive research agenda, having recently created its own Research Institute with the express aim of developing a robust research program and supports to its physicians and staff engaged in research pursuits. Southlake operates its own Research Ethics Board and oversees approximately two hundred open studies and 50 to 60 new studies per year. With its vast array of specialty services and broad range of clinical expertise, Southlake has attracted clinical trial research (phase II – IV), conducts a range of investigator-initiated studies, partners with other research centres on multi-centre projects, provides data to a number of clinical-epidemiological projects and works with both industry and academic partners. Southlake has recently significantly grown its Cardiac, Oncology, Orthopedic and Rheumatology/Musculoskeletal research programs and is currently developing other key research areas.

St. Joseph’s is an academic health sciences centre and hospital fully affiliated with the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. Our aim is to better understand certain diseases that are all too common in society today, with the ultimate goal of being able to provide advanced medical therapies that will improve patient health. In excess of $25 million is spent annually on research in the areas of clinical science, mental health, nephrology, respirology, virology by the internationally renowned scientists, investigator and clinicians of our faculty.

The Clinical Studies Resource Centre (CSRC) is committed to supporting clinical research excellence at Sunnybrook. Staffed by friendly, accessible experts, the CSRC provides the Sunnybrook research community with unique access to guidance, education, support and resources. The CSRC also oversees the research ethics office and the administrative functions of the research ethics board.

Together Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) and St. Joseph’s Care Group (SJCG) serve the healthcare needs of people living in Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario. TBRHSC and SJCG have established one Research Ethics Office to administratively support health research ethics review for their two independent Research Ethics Boards. The Research Ethics Office serves the staff and physicians of SJCG and TBRHSC, including its partnership with the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute (TBRRI), as well as external research teams interested in partnering with TBRHSC and SJCG. Research ethics review embraces a broad spectrum of projects including biomedical (e.g., clinical trials, medical devices), health (e.g., quantitative assessments, surveys), and psychosocial behavioural methods (e.g., observational, qualitative). While endeavouring to safeguard the rights, safety and well-being of all individuals involved in research, the office is committed to enhancing the research ethics review process to facilitate excellence in research to improve health for the patients, clients and community we serve.

The University of British Columbia, established in 1908, educates a student population of close to 50,000 on major campuses in two cities and holds an international reputation for excellence in advanced research and learning. Enrolment at the Vancouver campus has grown to more than 45,000 since the mid 1990′s, with a corresponding expansion of UBC Vancouver’s academic core. In Kelowna, 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students are now participating in unique and innovative UBC degree programs on a rapidly growing campus, open since 2005, located in the Southern Interior of the Okanagan Valley.

UBC consistently ranks among the top three Canadian universities by research funding. This funding comes from a wide range of sources including competitive government grants, awards from non-profit foundations, and contracts with industry or government for prescribed research. In 2008-09, UBC earned more than $475 million in research funding from all sources, 40% of which was awarded to health researchers based at UBC-affiliated hospitals and research institutes.

UBC supports a thriving community of over 12,000 talented research faculty and staff members, 8,000 graduate students, and a growing number of undergraduates. UBC’s researchers are based at the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, as well as in affiliated hospitals and research institutes around the province.

The University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) is Canada’s largest and foremost cardiovascular health centre dedicated to understanding, treating, and preventing heart disease. We deliver high-tech care with a personal touch, shape the way cardiovascular medicine is practiced, and revolutionize cardiac treatment and understanding. We build knowledge through research and translate discoveries into advanced care. We serve the local, national, and international communities as we pioneer a new era in heart health.

Located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the University of Saskatchewan is a centre of excellence for education, research and service. As an academic community, its mission is to achieve excellence in the scholarly activities of teaching, discovering, preserving and applying knowledge. The U of S offers 58 undergraduate and graduate degrees, diplomas and certificates in over 100 disciplines, and prides itself on its outstanding and diverse faculty and staff that number about 7,500.

The U of S attracted over $170 million in research revenue in 2008-09, accounting for 22% of the university’s total revenue. It is the only Anglophone University in Canada with a combination of colleges devoted to the study of human, animal and plant life on one campus. The U of S innovation cluster is unmatched in Canada and includes the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), the Canadian Light Source (CLS) synchrotron and Innovation Place, one of the largest research parks in North America. The CLS synchrotron is the only one in Canada and the only one in the world located on a university campus. The newest research facility on campus is the International Vaccine Centre (InterVac), which is currently in construction. When complete, InterVac will be one of the largest Containment Level 3 (CL3) vaccine research and development facilities in North America, studying CL3 diseases such as SARS, HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis C.

The Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute is the research body of Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. Created in June 2003, it is a joint venture between the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. VCHRI serves as the public face of research, promotes the development of new researchers and research activity, and acts as a virtual umbrella for existing research activities. VCHRI encompasses three research-intensive institutions (VGH, UBC Hospital & GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre) as well as Richmond Hospital, Lions Gate Hospital, community hospitals in the Coast Garibaldi regions and public health agencies in Vancouver.