Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
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The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI), formerly the Ottawa Health Research Institute, is a non-profit academic health research institute located in the City of Ottawa, Canada’s national capital. As the research arm of The Ottawa Hospital and an affiliated institute of The University of Ottawa, the research carried out at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute is focused on answering important health questions and translating new findings into benefits for patients and the community.
With more than 1,700 scientists, clinical investigators, trainees and staff, as well as annual revenues of approximately $100 million, the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute is one of the foremost Canadian hospital-based research institutes. Research conducted at OHRI spans the full spectrum of health science – from basic molecular biology and epidemiology, to clinical trials and the development of new therapies, to health services and knowledge translation research. Researchers at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute are investigating virtually every major disease and condition within five active research programs: cancer therapeutics, chronic disease, clinical epidemiology, neuroscience and regenerative medicine.
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute is a multi-sited research facility based at the Civic, General, and Riverside Campuses of The Ottawa Hospital, with additional space at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Medicine. It houses good manufacturing practice laboratories, advanced imaging equipment, flow cytometry facilities, high-throughput genomics facilities, a clinical pharmacokinetics laboratory and more. As a member of the Shared Core Facilities Initiative, the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute makes many of its facilities available to the broader academic health research community.
Ronald G. Worton founded what is today the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Scientific Director in 2001 following the merger of three Ottawa hospitals. In 2007, Duncan Stewart, formerly Chief Cardiologist of St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and Director of Cardiology at the University of Toronto, took over as CEO and Scientific Director .
Vision:
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute’s vision is to give patients and their loved ones new hope through research that is making tomorrow’s health care possible today. This vision expresses a commitment to research that is focused on and inspired by patients. At the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, researchers approach their work with compassion and dedication, knowing that every question answered and every problem solved could impact many people, including their own loved ones.
Strategic Research Directions:
To support its vision, the institute has developed two strategic research priorities:
1. Regenerative and biological therapeutics: Fostering bench-to-bedside research by turning basic discoveries in cellular and molecular biology into new regenerative and biological therapeutics to improve health.
2. Practice-changing research: Putting knowledge to work by performing high quality clinical research that can inform health decisions, and ensuring that results are optimally applied to improve health.
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute has also developed a crosscutting strategic research theme on vascular health, which is designed to foster an exciting area of research that focuses on the role of blood vessels in health and disease. This theme cuts across existing programs, fits well with partners, and addresses a major challenge for the health and wellbeing of Canadians.
Leadership Structure:
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute is a not-for-profit corporation governed by a Board of Directors that includes members from The University of Ottawa, The Ottawa Hospital and the community. Ronald G. Worton founded OHRI in 2001 and was the institute’s inaugural Chief Executive Officer and Scientific Director following the merger of the Civic, General and Riverside hospitals into The Ottawa Hospital. In 2007, Dr. Duncan Stewart, formerly Chief Cardiologist of St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and Director of Cardiology at The University of Toronto, took over as Chief Executive Officer and Scientific Director after Dr. Worton retires from Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.
Research Milestones:
• 1957: First bone marrow transplant in Canada using patient’s own marrow.
• 1981: Dr. Denis Pagé develops peritoneal dialysis system that allows kidney failure patients to be hooked up to a dialysis machine in their home at night, so they don’t have to be on dialysis at a hospital during the day.
• 1988: First bone marrow transplant in Canada using unrelated donor marrow. This paved the way for transplants that have helped thousands of cancer patients.
• 1988: Loeb Research Institute is founded at the Civic Hospital by Dr. J. David Grimes with donations from the Loeb family.
• 1989: University of Ottawa Eye Institute opens at the General Hospital.
• 1992: Dr. Ian Stiell develops Ottawa Ankle Rules to improve emergency care for ankle injuries.
• 1996: Ottawa General Hospital Research Institute is founded by Dr. Ronald Worton.
• 1998: The Riverside, Civic and General hospitals join to form The Ottawa Hospital.
• 1999: Dr. Phil Wells develops Wells Rule for Deep Vein Thrombosis to improve diagnosis of blood clots.
• 2001: The Ottawa Health Research Institute (OHRI) is created in partnership with The University of Ottawa to unite all research activities at The Ottawa Hospital.
• 2001: First patient treated in ground-breaking bone marrow stem cell transplant trial for multiple sclerosis, led by Dr. Harry Atkins and Dr. Mark Freedman.
• 2002: Dr. Lynn Megeney identifies stem cells in adult heart muscle, paving the way for the development of therapies to regenerate the heart.
• 2006: The regenerative medicine program is launched at OHRI.
• 2007: Clinical trial led by Dr. Derek Jonker shows that cetuximab can improve survival in colorectal cancer patients, leading to widespread adoption of this personalized therapy.
• 2007: Dr. Michael Rudnicki identifies stem cells in skeletal muscle, paving the way for the development of regenerative therapies for muscular dystrophy and other conditions.
• 2008: Clinical trial comparing anti-bleeding drugs, led by Drs. Dean Fergusson and Paul Hébert, improves safety of heart surgery around world.
• 2009: OHRI is renamed the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, highlighting its relationship with The Ottawa Hospital.
• 2010: First biosynthetic cornea, developed by Dr. May Griffith, improves vision in humans.
• 2011: Dr. John Bell provides first demonstration that an intravenously-delivered viral therapy can selectively infect and spread within tumours in humans.
• 2012: Dr. Kumanan Wilson develops first iPhone app to track vaccinations.
• 2013: Ottawa Stroke Program sets a new Canadian record for fastest “door-to-needle” time of 12 minutes for a stroke patient to receive a clot-busting drug.
• 2013: Dr. Duncan Stewart launches world-first clinical trial of a gene-enhanced stem cell therapy for heart attacks.
• 2014: Ottawa Hospital Research Institute scientists are recognized in JAMA Internal Medicine for creating three of the Top Five ways that U.S. emergency physicians can reduce unnecessary and costly procedures.
Facts and Recognition:
• The Ottawa Hospital ranks third among Canadian hospitals for peer-reviewed funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
• In 2013, Dr. Michael Rudnicki was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada, bringing to four the number of OHRI scientists who have been bestowed with this honour. The others are Drs. Michel Chrétien, Antoine Hakim and OHRI founder Ronald Worton.
• Drs. Ronald Worton and Antoine Hakim have been named members of The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
• The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute has 214,000 square feet of dedicated basic and clinical research space, and operates 56 scientific research labs.
• There are more than 600 active clinical trials being conducted by researchers at The Ottawa Hospital.
• The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute has a 10:1 ratio of external research funding leveraged for every $1 donated by the community through The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.
Commercialization of Research:
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute has made a significant commitment towards commercializing the results of its research to ensure that its ideas are made available to the public and can benefit the Canadian economy. The Technology Transfer Office assists in this task by:
• Evaluating the commercial potential of OHRI technologies
• Protecting related intellectual property
• Preparing commercialization strategies jointly with lead inventors
• Negotiating agreements, including licenses and sponsored/collaborative research agreements
• Supporting the development and funding of spin-off endeavors.
The Technology Transfer Office also assists in increasing the profile of OHRI through advocacy, networking and fostering collaborations and interactions with companies and organizations that are active in medical research, development and commercialization. Technologies under commercial development at OHRI include:
• Cancer therapies
• Regenerative therapies based on stem cells
• Biomaterials for transplantation
• Gene therapy
• Assistive and orthotic devices
• Technologies to improve diagnosis and monitoring of neurodegenerative diseases and critical illnesses.
Commercialization activities relating to these and other technologies have led to the creation of several start-up companies, including Jennerex Biotherapeutics, eSight, Coley Pharmaceutical, Northern Therapeutics and Therapeutic Monitoring Systems Inc. The Technolofy Transfer Office also partners with business development and commercialization groups, including OnSETT (The Ontario Society for Excellence in Technology Transfer), OTTN (Ottawa Technology Transfer Network) and OCRI (Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation).
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