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WE-Spark Igniting Discovery Grants Support Several WRH Projects

9-3-2021

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Last week, WE-SPARK Health Institute and its funding partners announced 15 research grants totaling $287,450 to tackle local health challenges, including several projects lead by teams at Windsor Regional Hospital.

Called “Igniting Discovery Grants”, they provide funding to promote the development of early-stage, innovative health research and health education projects in Windsor-Essex, and can include studies related to emerging topics in health, addressing gaps in healthcare needs, igniting new ideas, generating and disseminating knowledge, and sparking collaborations.

A key goal of the grants is to ignite new collaborators across WE-SPARK’s four partner institutions - Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, Windsor Regional Hospital, St. Clair College, and the University of Windsor - along with numerous community members, students, and volunteers across Windsor-Essex.

Research teams at Windsor Regional hospital received a total of $75,000 in grants to support the following projects:


Real-World Experience –Stopping Study in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (Funded by WE-SPARK)
Dr. Caroline Hamm (PI/PA)
CO-APPLICANTS: Dr. Indryas Woldie, Dr. Mohamad Jarrar, Dr. Rasna Gupta, and Dr. Sindu Kanjeekal, Windsor Regional Hospital
COLLABORATOR: Greg Yousif, Schulich School of Medicine

Understanding Needs and Measuring Impact of Cancer Rehabilitation Services for Radiation Oncology Patients: A Pilot Project (Funded by Seeds4Hope through Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation)
Dr. Kitty Huang (CO-PI/PA) and Laura D’Alimonte (Co-PI/PA), Windsor Regional Hospital.
COLLABORATORS: Sarah Mushtaq and Nicole Sbrocca, Windsor Regional Hospital; Adrian Haung, CBI Health Group; and Alexander Grant, University of Alberta.

Stroke Education for 12–15-year olds in Windsor-Essex: pilot feasibility study of a novel on-line, peer education model (Funded by WE-Spark)
Dr. Ryan Punambolam (PI/PA)
CO-APPLICANT: Denise St. Louis, Enhanced District Stroke Centre Windsor-Essex and Lucas Lalondel, University of Windsor.
COLLABORATOR: Veronique Mandal, St. Clair College

Collection and Evaluation of Potential Long-Term Impact of COVID-19 infections in Windsor Essex (Funded by NYN Designs)
Dr. Wassim Saad (Co-PI/PA), Caroline Hamm, Krista Naccarato, Windsor Regional Hospital. Andrea Steen (Co-PI/PA), Ross Moncur (Co-PI/PA), Erie Shores Healthcare.
COLLABORATORS: Dr. Caroline Hamm and Krista Naccarato, Grace Park Windsor Regional Hospital and Dr. Jennifer Voth, Hôtel Dieu Grace Healthcare

“Grants are the fuel that allows researchers to put together a team, to move their idea forward and tackle the biggest health problems that impact society” said Dr. Lisa Porter, Executive Director WE-SPARK Health Institute.

“Our grants program depends on the generosity of our donors – individuals that give directly to WE-SPARK and local organizations that make supporting research a part of their mandate. These funders recognize the importance of igniting new and promising research ideas right here in Windsor-Essex.”

This is the second round of WE-SPARK Health Institute Igniting Discovery research grants awarded since the launch of the institute in March of 2020. Its 2021 competition will be launched on March 5, 2021.

Details of all projects can be found here www.wesparkhealth.com/projects.