Toronto General Hospital Toronto Western Hospital Princess Margaret 20 Hospital 04 RESEARCH REPORT ABOUT RESEARCH ABOUT RESEARCH AT UNIVERSITY HEALTH NETWORK 20 Total Number of Researchers 468 Senior Scientists 160 Scientists 54 Affiliate Scientists 47 04 CSRC Members 207 Contents Investing in Future Health - From the President & CEO 1 Total Number of Trainees 770 Strong Funding Based on Strong Science - From the VP 2 Fellows 397 The Year in Review 4 Ontario Cancer Institute 6 PhD Students 81 Toronto General Research Institute 8 Toronto Western Research Institute 10 Other Graduate Students 292 Features 12 Breakthroughs 18 Staff 996 Funding 30 Committees/Services 32 Research Space 480,000 sq ft Analysis of Research Activity 35 Publications 1293 Endowed Chairs 36 International Research Advisory Board 37 Total Research Funding $155,976,000 RESEARCH REPORT 2004 FROM THE PRESIDENT & CEO Investing in Future Health Tom Closson niversity Health Network in 2004 is an amazing commitment of our researchers and research staff and their place to be, and UHN Research is one of the things partners in the government, community and private sector. U that makes it so. From the research funding flowing from federal, provincial Patient care, education, and research are all highly intercon- and international agencies, to the community volunteers who nected. UHN attracts some of the best clinicians—because it sit on our boards and committees, to the enormously dedicated offers the opportunity to combine clinical practice with research. work of the three UHN Foundations—the Arthritis & UHN attracts many patients from across Ontario due to high Autoimmunity Research Centre Foundation, the Princess standards of care and the opportunity to participate in ground- Margaret Hospital Foundation and the Toronto General & breaking clinical research—all because of the thriving Western Hospital Foundation—we owe an enormous debt research community here. of thanks to many groups for their ongoing support. The UHN strategic plan, Strategic Directions 2011, outlines An investment in biomedical research is an investment ambitious targets for all of us at UHN. As this Research Report in future health. UHN has much to be proud of in this area. documents, Research is making great strides towards these Please read on to learn more. targets. This year saw new buildings, new institutes, new Tom Closson initiatives and new partnership ventures in Research. President and Chief Executive Officer None of this would be possible without the hard work and University Health Network UNIVERSITY HEALTH NETWORK 1 FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT Strong Funding Based on Strong Science Christopher J. Paige, PhD esearch has had an amazing year in 2003/04. impressive. As a hospital-based This year for the first time our research budget This year for the research institute, our programs R topped $150M, with strong support from provincial first time our of inquiry span the spectrum from and national agencies including an all-time high of $20.5M from research budget fundamental understanding of the national Canadian Institutes of Health Research, nearly topped $150M molecules and cells to mission- $10M from the National Cancer Institute of Canada and $6M oriented, disease-specific clinical from the new Ontario Cancer Research Network. These figures research. Our discoveries reflect this diversity: the first approved demonstrate yet again the scientific excellence of our scientists treatment for SARS; a multi-drug protocol that extends the lives and the members of their research programs. They also show of lung cancer patients; identification of a leukemia stem cell; how reliant we are on a strong research funding environment discovery of a new mechanism that controls brain cell death to fuel research at UHN and how this support is key in realizing during stroke; and a novel molecular switch that controls the the research achievements that generate advances in patient process of inflammation. Breakthroughs like these hold the care at Canada’s largest hospital. promise of improving the lives of our patients today or in the Topping off the year came the announcement in March that not too distant future. our researchers won $36.4M in infrastructure funding from federal UHN’s achievements rest on the achievements of our and provincial sources to launch three new centres—the Advanced individual investigators. UHN researchers have received Medical Discovery Institute, the Centre for Research in Immune many individual honours this year, achieving global Tolerance in Transplantation, and the STTARR Centre in radia- and national renown. Some of these include: tion medicine. We are tremendously proud of this achievement ■ The Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, the highest and it will prove critical in developing our research capacity in prize awarded in Germany in the field of medicine, awarded key areas in the next few years. to Dr. Tak Mak In 2003/04 UHN’s list of scientific accomplishments was ■ The appointments of Dr. Peter St George-Hyslop as Fellow 2 RESEARCH REPORT 2004 FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT of the Royal Society and Dr. John Dick as a Fellow UHN’s strengths in basic, transla- of the Royal Society of Canada UHN Global tional and clinical research to accel- ■ The naming of Drs. Jim Woodgett and Peter St George- Ventures is a new erate innovations further down the Hyslop as International Research Scholars by the R&D interface that development pipeline and capture Howard Hughes Medical Institute will capitalize on more value for UHN’s research ■ The appointments of Drs. Cheryl Arrowsmith, Dan Drucker UHN’s strengths investment. A third new venture and Mitsu Ikura as Tier I Canada Research Chairs and owes a great deal to the Princess Dr. Peter Cheung as a Tier II Canada Research Chair Margaret Hospital Foundation, which was a driving force ■ The Society for Thoracic Surgeons’ Earl Bakken award for behind its development. The Institute for Breast Cancer lifetime scientific achievement, awarded to Dr. Richard Weisel Research, opened this year under the leadership of Dr. Tak ■ Honorary degrees from the University of Toronto awarded Mak, is an exciting development in the field and will no doubt to Drs. Jim Till and Ernest McCulloch, who were also this be the focus of many future pieces in this report. year elected to the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame All told, the year 2003/04 was an important year in the growth ■ Dr. Tony Lang, who received the American Academy of UHN’s research enterprise. And, as in previous years, I’d like of Neurology’s Movement Disorders Research Award to close by offering my thanks and congratulations to all who Finally, this year saw progress in three significant new contributed to UHN Research’s success in 2003/04: our scien- ventures. The Toronto Medical Discovery Tower, critical for tists and clinician-scientists, our technical and support staff, our increasing research space capacity, neared completion this students and fellows, our colleagues in the Toronto Academic year and we are currently awaiting handover of the shell Health Sciences Network, and, most especially, our Foundations. space for UHN’s interior fit-out and occupancy in 2005. UHN Christopher J. Paige, PhD Global Ventures was launched this year under the leadership Vice President, Research of Dr. Brian Barber. This R&D interface will capitalize on University Health Network UNIVERSITY HEALTH NETWORK 3 HIGHLIGHTS The Year in Review DECEMBER 2003 The second meeting of the UHN International Research Advisory Board brings together four internationally-recognized scientists in high-impact areas to meet with various UHN constituencies including researchers, platform leaders, medical program leaders, foundations and hospital and research leadership. JANUARY 2004 The UHN Platform planning process, Phase II of The Future Project, launches. Led by Platform Chairs, the nine-month process aims NOVEMBER 2003 to define visions and new The second annual UHN tactical plans for the four Research Day held at UHN Platforms: Genes, a Toronto hotel provides Proteins & People, Health a chance for researchers Informatics, Medical to mingle and learn about Technology Innovation, and projects and findings from Regenerative Medicine. UHN colleagues. Keynote speaker was Dr. Catherine MARCH 2004 Verfaille, Director of the Stem Cell Institute at the The Research strategic plan University of Minnesota. entitled The Future Project is Also announced at the event approved by the UHN Board was the recipient of the of Trustees. inaugural UHN Inventor of the Year award: Dr. Kevin Three teams of UHN Kain, honoured for his work researchers celebrate the in new malaria treatments. announcement of awards totaling nearly $18.2M from the Canada Foundation 4 RESEARCH REPORT 2004 HIGHLIGHTS for Innovation to build new infrastructure to study the mechanisms of cancer, radia- tion medicine and immune tolerance. These awards were later matched by the Ontario government (Ministry of Economic Development and Trade/Ontario Innovation Trust), bringing funding to a total of $36.4M. APRIL 2004 Dr. Peter St George-Hyslop becomes Director of the Toronto Western Research Institute. His research in determining the genetic and molecular processes underlying neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, has had a major impact in the field and has been recognized by many national and interna- tional awards. MAY 2004 JUNE 2004 ▲ Dr. Brian Barber is recruited A significant milestone is to helm UHN Global Ventures, reached as the new Toronto Integrating basic, translational a new initative promoting com- Medical Discovery Tower is and clinical research, the mercialization and partnership topped off in a short ceremony new $125M Institute for Breast with UHN Research on an held 15 floors above ground. Cancer Research launches international level. UHN is eagerly anticipating the on June 2, 2004. Director hand-over of the building for Dr. Tak Mak begins assembling fit-out starting October 2004. Canada’s first scientific team to develop new improved drugs and therapies to conquer breast cancer.