the 2011 women’s college ReseaRch inst itute annual RepoRt

how are we tackling some of the greatest challenges of our time?

• By creating sustainable health-care systems that will support an aging population

• By enhancing women’s health and quality of life – both physical and mental

• By understanding the links between genes, environment and cancer

• By exploring how to better care for people with multiple chronic conditions

• By improving access to health care for underserved populations

• Most importantly, Women’s College Research Institute’s discoveries are

having an impact, at home and around the world, by advancing health

research for women and innovative health-care models for all.

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Here at Women’s College Research Institute, we’re committed to improving the world

with medical insights that enhance women’s health and create innovative health-care

options for all. We help keep patients where they want to be: out of hospital.

Founded in 2006, our institute’s energy springs from Women’s College Hospital’s legacy as

an innovator, dedicated to advancing women’s health and supporting women’s contributions

to science and health care. So it’s no surprise that more than 80 per cent of our scientists are

women and that almost 70 per cent of our scientists are also clinicians. Their work is driven

by the needs of our patients, and their findings directly influence the clinical care we deliver. By informing

and influencing the international community, our scientists also help people across the nation and around

the world.

Our growth has positioned us to take on some of the greatest challenges of our time: reducing the

costs and improving the quality of health care, managing an aging population, supporting patients with

multiple chronic conditions, improving women’s health and quality of life, understanding the roles of

heredity and lifestyle in breast cancer, and helping underserved populations access the care they need.

Our researchers are attracting attention with their pioneering work in women’s health and their

innovative solutions that improve how health care is delivered. This past fiscal year, with our faculty size

and funding remaining stable, we increased our peer-reviewed publications by more than 40 per cent, and

won a record number of awards.

As our research programs’ roots broaden, strengthen and deepen, we’re positioned to make an even

bigger impact on women’s health and on health-care systems everywhere. We can’t wait to show the world

what’s next.

a message from Dr. paula Rochon

Vice-president, Research

On May 5, 2011, we hosted

The Spirit of Discovery in Women’s

Health Research, a high-profile

conference to showcase our

research in cancer, mental health,

HIV, chronic diseases and new

ambulatory health-care models.

CBC reporter Mellissa Fung told

the story of her kidnapping in

Afghanistan. Ilana Landsberg-Lewis,

of the Stephen Lewis Foundation,

shared her perspective on world

health, and policy experts

Dr. Adalsteinn Brown and

Dr. Vasanthi Srinivasan discussed

emerging ambulatory care models.

THe NUMBeRS

PuBLICAtIOnS 228

SCIentIStS 21

SuPPORt StAFF 62

exteRnAL FunDIng $5.7 MILLIOn

In the Spirit of Discovery

One hundred years ago, Women’s College Hospital became a health-care innovator, as the first hospital run by women, for women, when it opened with just seven beds. In 2006, Women’s College Research Institute was formed in full affiliation with the university of toronto. Since then, we’ve recruited research faculty, established academic chairs, attracted a core of pre-eminent research leaders, and built the clinically based research programs that have come to define us.

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First, where we began

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Yesterday Today

We helped to discover the genetic mutations that put women at a 40 per cent lifetime risk of getting breast cancer.

> We’ve learned that one per cent of Jewish women in Ontario have that genetic mutation, and when we found that only half qualify for provincially funded genetic testing, we recommended changes to provincial guidelines.

Our work transformed the global understanding of heredity and breast cancer.

> Our scientists are leading the international community in applying this knowledge to improve treatment for breast cancer, and even to prevent it.

We demonstrated which modifiable factors – like weight loss and coffee consumption – can reduce the risk of breast cancer.

> We’re exploring other nutrients that may help women reduce their risk.

We developed a model to distribute the emergency contraceptive pill across Ontario and later, across Canada.

> Our work is advancing models of care that improve access to contraception and provide underserved populations with more birth control options.

we identified differences in how men and women with osteoarthritis – the most common arthritis – are treated, with women much less likely than men to be offered joint replacement surgery.

> We’re leading the world in understanding how arthritis pain impacts other chronic conditions – like heart disease and diabetes – that are common in older people.

Last year, our research uncovered a new use for an old drug – nitroglycerin – when we showed that it builds and strengthens bones.

> We’re discovering new ways to use other existing, affordable and accessible medications to improve cancer outcomes, reduce diabetes and manage an aging population.

we launched our women and hiV Research program to address the needs of canadian women with hiV.

> We’re providing pre-conception and pregnancy planning support for people living with HIV, and transforming how canadians think about this manageable chronic condition.

our work identified the danger of adverse drug reactions in older people with multiple chronic conditions.

> Through post-marketing surveillance and our work to strengthen clinical trial guidelines, we will improve drug safety for the whole world.

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how we’ve grown

Dr. Steven narod’s Familial Breast Cancer Research unit is impacting health research, care and policy in more than 30 countries around the globe. Dr. Ophira ginsburg is working to improve breast cancer screening in nations like Bangladesh and Vietnam. they are just two examples of how our scientists have global impact.

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Today, we’re continuing to break the mould as we transform health care for women, invent a future of innovative health-care solutions for all, and train the research leaders of tomorrow. • In 2010-11, a challenging funding environment for all, our faculty demonstrated their

productivity and strength by publishing more than 40 per cent more peer-reviewed studies than

the previous year.

• Our faculty and trainees have continued to demonstrate their strength by winning prestigious

awards and attracting media attention.

• Our international impact has continued to grow, with Dr. Steven Narod’s re-appointment as Tier

1 Canada Research Chair in Breast Cancer, and with another three of our scientists – Dr. Cindy-

Lee Dennis, Dr. Joanne Kotsopoulos and Dr. John Semple – recently receiving appointments to

prestigious research chairs.

• Our trainee programs are cultivating women in science and shaping the medical leaders

of tomorrow.

• Over the past two years, the number of trainees we support has doubled.

Working closely with our hospital leaders, we’ve embedded research into our clinical departments,

infusing research into all that Women’s College does. By translating our research into better care,

we’re making an impact – in our own clinics, in our community and across the globe.

Dr. Steven narod’s Familial Breast Cancer Research unit is impacting health research, care and policy in more than 30 countries around the globe. Dr. Ophira ginsburg is working to improve breast cancer screening in nations like Bangladesh and Vietnam. they are just two examples of how our scientists have global impact.

Women’s College Research Institute has attracted the best and brightest scientists representing a range of disciplines. Many are also clinicians, who weave research into the clinical departments at Women’s College Hospital.

“Clinical care challenges drive our research, and research findings improve and guide our care,” Rochon explains. “that’s the key to finding the best ways to deliver care.”

Rochon has positioned the institute to continue to improve women’s health and quality of life, and to transform the way health care is delivered.

“Our impact is felt by people who benefit from our innovations in women’s health research,” says Rochon. “And increasingly, it’s also being felt through our innovation in developing evidence-based models of care.”

“At the heart of it, is the determination to maximize our impact on health care, at home and around the world.”

says Dr. Paula Rochon.

“ our goal is to lead the world in women’s health and innovative models of care,”

Dr. steven narod Senior Scientist, Women’s College Research Institute tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Breast Cancer

Dr. Steven Narod’s recent work reveals that one per cent of Jewish women in Ontario carry a BRCA1/2 genetic mutation. “Based on the current provincial guidelines, fewer than half of these women are eligible for genetic testing,” says Narod, “and

none who were eligible because of a family history of breast cancer were referred by their health-care provider for screening.”Recently awarded a grant from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Narod will soon begin to study how pregnancy impacts

breast cancer in women with BRCA1/2 mutations.Narod and his team discovered the BRCA1/2 genetic mutations that cause breast and ovarian cancer. He led the team that

found that women with a family history of breast cancer have a three-to-four-fold higher risk of getting it – even without a mutation – than women with no family history.

Narod is among the world’s most-cited breast cancer researchers, and has collaborated with experts in over 30 countries to advance cancer genetics around the world and publish more than 500 peer-reviewed papers.

Who we are todayDr. gillian hawker

Physician-in-Chief, Department of Medicine, Women’s College Hospital F.M. Hill Chair in Academic Women’s Medicine Senior Scientist, Women’s College Research Institute

Dr. Gillian Hawker suspects that pain from untreated osteoarthritis (OA) does more than cripple a person’s quality of life. In older people with multiple chronic illnesses, Hawker believes that the pain from OA can be dangerous.

“People who have painful OA are less active,” says Hawker, “and we know that contributes to weight gain, higher blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.”

Even though most older people have several chronic illnesses, “doctors generally focus on treating single diseases,” says Hawker. “The medical community has largely overlooked OA, even though it’s by far the most common condition limiting people’s physical

activity.”That’s why Hawker’s team is partnering with other Women’s College researchers – including Dr. Paula Harvey, scientist and director

of the Cardiac Research Program – to determine if OA pain exacerbates life-threatening diseases like heart disease and diabetes.

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Dr. John Semple Surgeon-in-Chief, Women’s College Hospital Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Ontario Region Chair in Surgical Breast Cancer Research Senior Scientist, Women’s College Research Institute

Dr. John Semple has developed an innovative model of care that is already helping patients at Women’s College Hospital. Soon, his method will impact patients – and health-care systems – across Canada and beyond.

Semple’s novel clinical pathway allows patients who undergo TRAM (transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous) flap breast reconstruction to go home after just 18 hours, instead of nearly a week. It’s a model of care that benefits patients and slashes health-care costs.

“Minimizing length-of-stay is obviously good for hospitals,” says Semple. “For patients, going home sooner means a more familiar home environment, but it also reduces the risk of hospital-acquired infections.”

With two-thirds of Ontario’s breast reconstruction surgeries happening at Women’s College Hospital, Semple’s work is already making a difference. And with the vast majority of breast cancer patients surviving long-term, his innovation has the potential to improve the quality of countless lives – and radically reduce health-care expenditures – around the world.

Dr. Cindy-Lee Dennis Shirley Brown Chair in Women’s Mental Health Research Senior Scientist, Women’s College Research Institute

“For women, childbirth is a time of vulnerability,” says Dr. Cindy-Lee Dennis. Dennis is an expert in a wide range of issues surrounding mental health, pregnancy and childbirth. That’s why in March

2011, after an extensive international search for the right candidate, she was appointed to the prestigious Shirley Brown Chair in Women’s Mental Health Research.

As chair, Dennis focuses her research on the critical issue of identifying and preventing postpartum depression, and on developing innovative interventions to manage it.

“It is well established that depression in both mothers and fathers negatively affects children,” says Dennis. “There is growing evidence that early childhood adversity impacts mental and physical health issues later in life.”

Dennis is also an associate professor at the University of Toronto’s Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and Department of Psychiatry.

In February 2011, Dr. gillian Hawker received the Canadian Rheumatology Association’s highest honour – the prestigious “Distinguished Investigator Award” – in recognition of the impact of her research.

In ReCOgnItIOn

surviving cancer

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what can a woman do to reduce her risk of breast cancer? Dr. Joanne Kotsopoulos showed the world that drinking coffee and losing weight can lower

breast cancer risk in women with an inherited predisposition from a BRCA1/2 genetic

mutation. Now, Kotsopoulos wants to give women more proven guidelines about foods,

supplements and habits that may reduce their risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

By identifying nutrients that mitigate genetic predisposition, Kotsopoulos hopes “to

give women more options, and less invasive options than surgery.” Her work evaluates

nutrients like selenium – found in nuts, whole grains, meat, fish and eggs. She’s also studying

DIM, derived from cruciferous vegetables like broccoli.

“We want to identify dietary and lifestyle factors that decrease risk, and to understand

how they work,” says Kotsopoulos.

Kotsopoulos’s work will benefit all women with a predisposition to breast cancer, not just those with

BRCA1/2 mutations.

“Women with a strong family history are still at increased risk, even if they have no mutations,” says

Kotsopoulos. “We need approved guidelines on how to best manage their risk.”

Funded by the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Kotsopoulos will track women who

have family histories of breast cancer, but don’t have mutations. By gathering and analyzing data

on diet, lifestyle, screening, and other factors, her work will support screening prevention and

management guidelines.

“This work will tell women which foods, supplements, medications and behaviours will reduce

their risk. The impact will be incredible.”

Joanne Kotsopoulos completed her post-doctoral training at Harvard. Today, she holds the

Cancer Care Ontario Research Chair in Populations Studies.

When Dr. thiwanka Wijeratne

saw Dr. Paula Rochon’s studies of

drug interactions in people with

multiple chronic conditions, he

knew he had found his mentor.

“My work with Dr. Rochon

has really been a revelation,” he

says. “I’ve had the opportunity to

pursue research to make medical

treatment safer for women’s

complex health needs.”

In 2010, Wijeratne’s research

earned him a prestigious

university of toronto award

for the most promising student

of clinical epidemiology. His

work examined the impact of

tamoxifen to prevent breast

cancer in post-menopausal

women. today, Wijeratne has

graduated from the university

of toronto master’s program

in clinical epidemiology, and is

pursuing his internal medicine

residency at Queen’s university.

Dr. Thiwanka Wijeratne

trainee spotlight

linking cancer and diabetes

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Why do women with diabetes have a higher risk of breast cancer? Dr. Lorraine Lipscombe doesn’t know, but she’s finding out.

“We know there’s a link,” says Lipscombe, a physician in the division of endocrinology and

an assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s department of medicine. “Diabetes increases

the risk of breast cancer, and worsens a woman’s prognosis if she develops it.”

Lipscombe is working to understand how and why.

“We know that diabetic women tend to get fewer mammograms,” says Lipscombe, “but

there seem to be other factors involved.”

For example, some diabetes treatments are linked with an increased risk of breast cancer.

And conversely, some breast cancer medications are linked to an increase in diabetes.

Lipscombe is currently using database analysis to generate insights. She plans to interview patients in the

After Cancer Treatment Transition Clinic (ACTT), an innovative care model designed by Women’s College

Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital to help recovering cancer patients transition back into their lives.

“Talking with these patients will give us insights that we can’t get from datasets,” says Lipscombe.

“The answers we find will help Women’s College, and clinicians everywhere, to provide better care for

future patients.”

Dr. Iliana Lega, endocrinologist at Women’s College Hospital and clinical epidemiology master’s student at the university of toronto, is working with Dr. Lorraine Lipscombe and Dr. Paula Rochon to examine how an established diabetes drug – metformin – may actually help patients with breast cancer.

“We’re looking at metformin’s impact, compared to other diabetes medications, on the survival of diabetic women who develop breast cancer,” Lega explains.

Lega recently received the prestigious Physician Fellowship Award from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation to pursue her research.

“It’s really exciting that an old medication that was meant for one thing may help to improve outcomes for cancer patients,” says Lega. “But we still need to establish what role metformin should play in cancer treatment.”

Dr. Iliana Lega

trainee spotlight

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maintaining functional bodies

Can a common, affordable drug help the whole world grow stronger?Dr. Sophie Jamal thinks so. Her research, published in February 2011 in the world-leading Journal

of the American Medical Association, shows that nitroglycerin – a cheap, internationally available drug

commonly used to ease chest pains – builds bone density as effectively as more expensive drugs. Her

discovery has world-wide implications, grabbing headlines in Canada, the United States and Europe.

Jamal is an MD and PhD who directs the Multidisciplinary Osteoporosis Research Program

in Women’s College Hospital’s department of medicine. She decided to study nitroglycerin after

reading a study reporting that women taking it to ease chest pain experienced fewer fractures.

“We found that bone density improved by about seven per cent at the spine and at the hip over two years,

which is pretty phenomenal,” said Jamal.

Jamal’s research also found that the drug increases the diameter of forearm bone by 14 per cent and shin bone

by 25 per cent.

“Other treatments either slow the breakdown of bone or increase bone formation,” says Jamal. “Nitroglycerin

does both at the same time.”

Nitroglycerin is available in pill, patch or spray form, costs about five cents a day. With nitroglycerin

widely available in countries around the world, Jamal’s findings may have “major international implications

for fracture reduction.”

For some patients, pain from

osteoarthritis (OA) – which is

generally thought to be directly

caused by the damaged joint

– might actually be caused by

neuropathic pain triggered by

nerve damage. neuropathic pain

is the cause of phantom limb

syndrome, which occurs when a

person can still feel pain in a limb

that’s been amputated, even after

the tissue has healed.

Dr. Jacqueline Hochman,

rheumatologist and osteoarthritis

expert, is studying neuropathic

pain in osteoarthritis (OA)

patients, to explore alternative

ways to treat pain for people who

aren’t responding to conventional

treatment for OA.

Dr. Jacqueline Hochman

in the spotlight

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Rethinking hiV

What would change the way we think about HIV?When Dr. Mona Loutfy graduated from medical school in 1995, HIV/AIDS

was still a terminal disease. But by 2006, when Loutfy founded Women’s College

Hospital’s Women and HIV Research Program, anti-retroviral treatments had

begun to transform the health outcomes of people with HIV in Canada.

This year, as the Women and HIV Research Program celebrates its fifth

birthday, Loutfy says that “things are very different. People with HIV can live long

and healthy lives.”

So when her patients ask about healthy conception and pregnancy, Loutfy is

happy to help.

“Being a clinician-scientist, you remain connected with patients’ needs,” says Loutfy, remembering a

chance meeting with a couple she had counselled, pushing a stroller.

“They said ‘Dr. Mona, you helped us do this!’”

But public perception of HIV lags behind the past decade’s medical advances. Stigma persists, says Loutfy,

because “information about HIV has always been negative.”

Loutfy hopes to change that with two CIHR-funded initiatives: the Canadian Women’s HIV Sexual and

Reproductive Health Cohort and the Interdisciplinary HIV Pregnancy Research Group.

“We’re already seeing changes, as stigma is broken down. Like fertility clinics that, last year, weren’t seeing

HIV-positive patients, and now they do,” Loutfy explains.

“We’re teaching health-care workers, policy makers and communities that people with HIV can plan

healthy families. We’re sharing positive news about living with HIV.”

Working under the mentorship of Dr. Mona Loutfy, post-doctoral fellow Dr. Carmen Logie was recently awarded a prestigious grant from grand Challenges Canada to teach Haitian quake survivors how to prevent HIV infection.

Since the January 2010 earthquake, as the country struggles with poverty, escalating violence and a devastated health-care system, HIV infection rates have soared. to help address this crisis, Logie will travel to an internally displaced persons camp in Léogâne, Haiti. there, she’ll use solar-powered tablets programmed with an interactive video to educate women in the camp.

“the tablets will ask the women questions, and based on their answers, it will respond with facts tailored to their knowledge level,” explains Logie.

the innovative technology will also gather information about the women, so that Logie can design counselling sessions that target their needs. Sessions will be run by eight of the women in the camp.

“We’ll be training women about HIV, but also training them to be health workers and educators. And then we’ll teach them how to train other health workers.”

trainee spotlight

Dr. Carmen Logie

It’s been a remarkable year for Dr. Mona Loutfy. the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) honoured her for World Aids Day 2010. Soon after, she was awarded a $1.2-million grant to lead a national study on women and HIV. In April 2011, Loutfy co-chaired the 20th Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research. Finally, she was recognized with Women’s College Research Institute’s Mentorship Award. An expert in infectious disease, Loutfy is a member of Women’s College Hospital’s department of medicine and an associate professor in the university of toronto’s department of medicine.

WHAt A yeAR

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Helping those who need it most

At The Spirit of Discovery in

Women’s Health Research, Drs.

Catherine Classen, Robin Mason

and Janice Du Mont discussed the

relationships between domestic and

sexual violence and trauma.

“Addressing violence, substance

misuse and mental health problems

as discrete and separate issues is

no longer good enough,” says

Mason. “to provide more sensitive

integrated care or appropriate

and timely referrals, we need to

recognize how these problems

develop.”

to that end, Mason is developing

an innovative curriculum to

help front-line workers support

women with complex, co-occurring

problems. Classen is developing

a self-assessment tool for health

providers to learn how well they

deal with traumatized patients.

And Du Mont is working with the

Ontario government to roll out a

strategy to test for date-rape drugs

and care for victims.

How do we improve physical health for people with mental illness?People with mental illness are more prone to physical health issues. Dr. Valerie Taylor, newly appointed psychiatrist-in-chief and scientist, wants to find out why.

“Mentally ill people tend to be overweight because their illness impacts their energy and focus,” she explains. “But weight gain associated with psychiatric medications also plays a role.”

That’s why mentally ill patients are far more likely to develop heart disease, cancer and diabetes, shortening their average lifespan by 15 years.

“Weight gain is a huge reason people go off their meds,” says Taylor. Now, she’s exploring whether weight gain from antidepressants is caused by behaviours – like eating more

and exercising less – or if it’s due to a metabolic shift. Taylor’s work will help people who, without hard facts, have been “left to muddle through.”

It will also help governments and workplaces to increase productivity and cut systemic costs.“Increasing our understanding of these issues could have far-reaching implications.”

Can we “clear a path” to health for pregnant women with mental illness?“The women in my practice are often doubly vulnerable,” explains psychiatrist Dr. Simone Vigod.

In addition to managing inequities – like discrimination, “double shifts” at work and home, and for some, sexual abuse – Vigod’s patients grapple with mood, anxiety, psychotic and substance-use disorders.

“Despite these challenges,” explains Vigod, “they’re incredibly resilient.”Vigod’s master’s research has already shown that women with depression are less likely to be screened for

breast cancer. Now, Vigod is involved in several studies – including a collaboration with Dr. Sophie Grigoriadis – focused on mental health during and after pregnancy.

“My patients want to be functioning well and to be good parents. So I want to help clear a path for them.”

How do we provide culturally sensitive contraception? Dr. Sheila Dunn, clinician and research director, department of family and community medicine at Women’s College Hospital, says she “has always wanted to work in areas of unmet need.”

Dunn’s recent work has shown that care providers could do a better job of helping women – particularly in immigrant and refugee populations – with their contraceptive decision-making.

“Women from different cultures often have different considerations and preferences when it comes to choosing a contraceptive method,” says Dunn.

“Patients from eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia tend to prefer IUDs,” she explains. Dunn’s research – co-ordinated by the Canadian Collaboration of Immigrant and Refugee Health – was

published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in July 2011. It revealed that women with unplanned pregnancies are less likely to follow prenatal health recommendations.

“We need to make sure women from all backgrounds can easily access their method of choice.”

newfrontiers

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Improving health care

How do we make our health-care system work better? For Dr. Andrea Gruneir, it’s a question that gets her out of bed every morning.

“Our health-care system is supposed to meet people’s needs. But it doesn’t always work.” Gruneir knows it won’t be easy to fix the system, but she has hope. “It’s a changeable

problem. We can make it better.”By examining six Toronto hospitals, Gruneir’s research has identified patients at high risk

of readmission to hospital. What she learned has helped shape the planning for the Virtual Ward at Women’s College Hospital, an innovative model of care that supports recently discharged patients so that they don’t end up back in hospital.

“Currently, the system discharges patients from hospital into regular care. And sometimes, even with home care, it’s not enough to make sure they keep getting better.”

Going forward, Gruneir’s research methods will help Women’s College scientists use provincial databases to learn how to minimize readmission. With this information, hospitals everywhere will learn how they can bridge gaps in care for recently discharged patients who are at high risk for readmission.

how do we make our drugs safer? Dr. An-Wen Chan is working to make research work better.

“There’s always pressure to report positive results,” explains Chan, a Women’s College Hospital dermatologist, scientist and Rhodes scholar.

“People tend to blame pharmaceutical companies, but academics are also under huge pressure to publish,” says Chan, “and positive results tend to grab far more attention.”

Doctors often view clinical trials as their patients’ best chance to get the most state-of-the-art care. But biased reporting can actually hurt patients, once doctors begin prescribing drugs that aren’t as safe or effective as the published results suggest.

“When research is not transparent it’s not only less helpful, but also potentially dangerous,” says Chan. “It goes against why we do research – which is to learn the truth.”

Chan’s work, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), has shown that the guidelines in the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) Statement – outlining scientific publication “must-haves” for transparency – have improved research.

But there’s more progress to be made. That’s why last fall, as the chair of the SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials) Initiative, Chan hosted a meeting attended by international leaders, including delegates from the World Health Organization (WHO). The goal: to further strengthen clinical trial guidelines and improve research.

“In the end, patients will benefit.”

Dr. Noah Ivers, physician in the department of family practice and community medicine and PhD candidate, is doing research that will help teach doctors how to be better doctors.

Funded by a research fellowship from the canadian institutes of health Research (cihR), ivers’s phD thesis will pinpoint the best ways to deliver performance feedback to family doctors.

“around the world, there is greater focus on evaluating care providers as accountability becomes a bigger issue,” says Ivers.

as a doctor, ivers wants to benefit from evaluation systems that help care providers to improve their skills, so that their patients get better outcomes. As a researcher, he wants to help build those systems, and in doing so, to impact far more patients.

“If I were only doing clinical work, I could have an impact on maybe 2,000 patients in my practice,” says Ivers.

“But my research allows me to investigate ways to change, and hopefully improve, the way that many providers give care,” says Ivers.

“Research could exponentially increase the number of patients I can help. I mean, that’s the reason any of us do this work, right?”

trainee spotlight

Dr. Noah Ivers

AWARDS nOteSthe Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care presented Dr. Andrea gruneir with a Career Scientist Award in the fall of 2010.

generously supported by the Association of Volunteers, Women’s College Hospital, our Summer Student Program teaches undergraduate and medical school students how to get their research careers off the ground, positioning developing scientists for achievement and strengthening the presence of women in scientific leadership.

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Building the best and the brightest

How do we shape tomorrow’s health innovators? WCRI’s trainee program is growing in size and strength. Not only are we training higher numbers of

promising scientists, but our trainees continue to do research that’s making an impact. Several of our own

award-winning scientists – including Drs. Andrea Gruneir, Jacqueline Hochman, Sophie Jamal, Joanne

Kotsopoulos and Lorraine Lipscombe – began their careers as trainees in our program. Mentored by senior

faculty and supported by prestigious grants and awards, our trainees are already making an impact by:

• demonstrating the safety of a drug that’s been shown to halve breast cancer risk in women with a strong

family history of the disease

• creating systems to support women with serious mental illness who become pregnant

• highlighting the need for doctors to educate more older women about total joint replacement as a

treatment option for arthritis pain

• examining a diabetes drug that may improve cancer outcomes

• launching a pilot project to teach Haitian women how to prevent HIV infection

• investigating the efficacy and side-effects of a procedure that can help reduce breast cancer risk in

women with a BRCA1/2 mutation

• uncovering how physical and leisure activities can strengthen women’s bones

• identifying the best ways to provide feedback that teaches family doctors how they can improve their

performance and better support their patients

our trainees have been recognized with a wide range of awards:• Dr. Amy Finch was awarded an Ontario

Ministry of Research and Innovation Post-Doctoral Fellowship to continue her phD research in familial breast cancer.

• Celeste Hamilton, PhD candidate, received the Helen Marion Walker Soroptimist Women’s Health Research Scholarship to continue her phD research examining how leisure activities strengthen bones.

• Dr. Iliana Lega recently received the prestigious Physician Fellowship Award from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation to pursue her research into how a diabetes drug, metformin, could improve cancer outcomes.

• Dr. Carmen Logie won a prestigious grand challenges grant that will bring innovative educational technology to Haitian quake survivors, to prevent HIV infection.

• Dr. Anne Stephenson (St. Michael’s Hospital) received the CIHR Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award in recognition of her work examining chronic lung disease at Women’s College Hospital. As the highest-ranked applicant, she was also awarded the CIHR’s Bisby Fellowship Prize and the Fellowship Recognition Prize in Research on aging.

• Psychiatrist Dr. Simone Vigod won the University of Toronto’s Claire Bombardier award in recognition of her strength in clinical epidemiology. In 2010, Dr. Thiwanke Wijeratne was recognized for his work in breast cancer with the same award.

WHAt OuR StuDentS ARe SAyIng“Working in the Summer Student Research Program provided me with an opportunity to learn not only about conducting research, but also about what it means to impact people’s lives for the better,” says Rebecca Hicks, one of Dr. Mona Loutfy’s students, who is now studying medicine at the university of toronto.

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charting our growth

publicationsPublications in peer-reviewed journals remain a pivotal measure of our scientists’ productivity. Our productivity continues to grow, while the quality of our publications and their influence remains high. in 2010-11, our scientists and their clinical colleagues published 228 peer-reviewed articles, compared to 159 in the previous year. This impressive growth was accomplished by a core faculty that was similar in size and funding to the previous year. In fact, in 2010-11, we published over 40 per cent more peer-reviewed articles than the year before, and more than doubled our productivity compared to

three years earlier.

external fundingIn fiscal year 2010-11, Women’s College ResearchInstitute’s external funding remained relativelystable. Yet since 2007-08, in an increasingly competitive and challenging funding environment, we have experienced a steady increase in total external funding of more than 50 per cent. During fiscal year 2010-11, with our funding relatively stable compared to the previous fiscal year, we’re pleased to report that our productivity has continued to climb, demonstrating an increased return on investment.

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MAKIng An IMPACtOver the course of his career, Dr. Steven narod has published more than 500 peer-reviewed articles in high-impact journals includingthe Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the Lancet, the Lancet Oncology, and the New England Journal of Medicine. In fiscal year 2010-11 alone, narod – and the hard-working team of scientists, trainees, laboratory technologists and research coordinators on the Familial Breast Cancer Research unit – produced 45 peer-reviewed articles.

our scientists

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Currently under construction, Women’s College Hospital’s new facility will enable our scientists to partner with care providers so they can help patients prevent and manage their conditions and diseases and live healthier and more independent lives. this new hospital will be focused on specialized clinics and surgical suites that combine prevention, research, treatment and education. For patients, it means convenient, comprehensive and effective one-stop care. For the health-care system, it means sustainability.

SenIOR SCIentIStSCatherine Classen, PhDCindy-Lee Dennis, PhD, Shirley Brown Chair in Women’s Mental Health ResearchGillian Hawker, MD, M.Sc., F.M. Hill Chair in Women’s Academic MedicineSteven Narod, MD, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Breast CancerPaula Rochon, MD, MPH, Vice-President, Research, Women’s College HospitalJohn Semple, MD, M.Sc., Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Ontario Region Chair in

Surgical Breast Cancer Research

SCIentIStSAn-Wen Chan, MD, D.Phil.Wee Shian Chan, MD, M.Sc. Janice Du Mont, EdDShannon Dunn, PhDSheila Dunn, MD, M.Sc.Sophie Grigoriadis, MD, PhDAndrea Gruneir, PhDMona Gupta, MD, PhD Paula Harvey, BMBS, PhDJacqueline Hochman, MD, M.Sc.Sophie Jamal, MD, PhDJoanne Kotsopoulos, PhD, Cancer Care Ontario Chair in Population StudiesLorraine Lipscombe, MD, M.Sc.Mona Loutfy, MD, MPHRobin Mason, PhD

ADJunCt SCIentIStS Geoffrey Anderson, MD, PhD, Chair in Health Management StrategiesGillian Einstein, PhD, Director, Collaborative Graduate Program in Women’s HealthEleanor Fish, PhD, Chair in Women’s Health and ImmunobiologyEva Grunfeld, MD, DPhil, M.Sc.Susan Jaglal, PhDKelly Metcalfe, PhDOphira Ginsberg, MD, M.Sc.Izzeldin Abuelaish, MD, MPHLori Ross, PhD

tRAIneeS (graduate students and post-doctoral fellows)Mohammad Akbari, PhDTaryn Becker, MD, M.Sc.Anita Benoit, PhDCory Borkhoff, PhDCandemir Cigsar, PhDAmy Finch, PhDTroy Grennan, MDCeleste Hamilton, PhD candidateJavaid Iqbal, MDNoah Ivers, MD, PhD candidateAva John-Baptiste, PhDIliana Lega, MD, M.Sc. candidateCarmen Logie, PhDDallas Seitz, MD, PhD candidateAnne Stephenson, MD, PhDAdriana Valentini, MD, M.Sc. candidateSimone Vigod, MD, M.Sc.Sarah West, PhD candidate

women’s college Research institute thanks all of

our undergraduate and medical students, and students

from the collaborative program in women’s health,

who also contribute to our work.

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