Canadian Cardiovascular Research Network (CCRN)

The Canadian Cardiovascular Research Network (CCRN) is a not-for-profit academic research organization that aims to foster basic, translational, clinical and population level research efforts and generate new knowledge to improve cardiovascular care in Canada. An additional mandate is to develop state-of-the-art knowledge integration platforms that feature multidisciplinary and inter-specialty collaboration focusing on the future of health care delivery, research and academia-industry interface.CCRN is actively involved in basic studies evaluating the role of adipokines in atherosclerosis, translational studies in cardiometabolic risk, clinical trials in atherothrombosis and population based studies in minority groups.

 RESEARCH DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

The CCRN medical writing team has extensive experience with study design and protocol development. Following a comprehensive literature review and advisory meetings with national and international experts, protocols are developed to answer relevant and timely questions. We hold to the strictest scientific principles and ethical standards in design and data collection. Our team liaises with our statistical analysis specialists to review developing protocols to ensure statistical and scientific validity and develop a statistical data analysis plan right from the beginning stages to ensure appropriate data variable collection.CCRN can work with you to develop a study protocol from as early in the process as the idea stage. If requested, we can also work on your existing protocol and bring to the table our group of experts. We will ensure that the protocol will answer the important questions and is based on sound design, containing scientific and statistical validity.

JOIN OUR TEAM

We would like to introduce you to the Canadian Cardiovascular Research Network (CCRN). We are a not-for-profit academic research organization that aims to foster basic, translational, clinical and population level research efforts and generate new knowledge to improve cardiovascular care in Canada. An additional mandate is to develop state-of-the-art knowledge integration platforms that feature multidisciplinary and inter-specialty collaboration focusing on the future of health care delivery, research and academia-industry interface. We invite you to explore our site to learn more about us.We are now inviting physicians who have an interest or experience in clinical trials/registries, as well as participation in CME programs, to join our network of Canadian physicians who are dedicated to improving patient care through evidence based medicine. Through such a network, we will be able to more accurately identify opportunities that may be of interest to you. CCRN will then inform you of relevant research or educational opportunities that you may choose to participate in with no obligation.Please complete the response form below to inform us of your interest in joining the Canadian Cardiovascular Research Network. The information you provide will be kept strictly confidential and will not be shared outside of CCRN. We hope you will consider providing us your information and join our network of physicians who wish to improve cardiovascular care in Canada.

2014 PROGRAM SUMMARY

RESEARCHES

1- Basic Study

Rodent Cardiovascular and Physiological Investigations

ACE2 and Atherosclerosis. Novel Target for Endothelial Function and Atherosclerosis

Role of the Tumor Suppressor Gene BRCA1 in Adverse Cardiac Remodeling

2- clinical Study

The primary aim of the CIRT is to directly test the inflammatory…

Stroke Prevention and Rhythm INTerventions in Atrilal Fibrillation

Primary cARe AuDIt of Global risk Management

This study is designed to understand why people of South Asian origin…

PRospective Assessment of Cardiovascular risk and Treatment In Canadians of varying Ethnicity

Changes to Inflammatory Markers in Hypertensive, Diabetic Patients Using an Oral Antidiabetic Medication…

Effects of EZEtimibe add-on to statin Therapy on adipokine production in obese and metabolic syndrome…

Comparison of Adipokines and Inflammatory Markers in South Asians and Caucasians with CHD

A Prospective Study to Compare the Functionality of HDL-Cholesterol to Limit Endothelial Dysfunction…

South Asian Group Education Pilot Study

SERVICES

CCRN excels at education initiatives. We have a strong reputation of providing quality education programs that address timely topics and are presented by leading… Read More »

 The CCRN staff are experienced professionals that excel in proficient management of research projects. Our team is knowledgeable of the industry regulations… Read More »

The purpose of this clinic is to provide cardiovascular screening of individuals of South Asian descent in an effort to promote earlier risk factor modification… Read More »

We have a long history of coordinating clinical trials. Our experienced staff excels at patient recruitment and has a proven track record of patient retention… Read More »

The CCRN medical writing team has extensive experience with study design and protocol development. Following a comprehensive literature review… Read More »

CCRN uses the DataFax clinical trial management system for our studies. This unique database… Read More »

Whether it is for a large national or international investigator meeting or a regional CME, we are able to coordinate all stages of planning, invitations and travel… Read More »

 CCRN and our professional academic staff have leading edge capabilities for the review and submission of applications grants, contract negotiations… Read More »

 The professional alliance of CCRN Directors, Project Managers and Research staff liase with board certified, regulatory compliant and state of the art bio analytical… Read More »

Integral affiliations between both Canadian and American Academics, University Faculty and leading research hospitals allows CCRN access to premiere… Read More »

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Keenan Research Centre

The Keenan Research Centre is among the top 15 research hospitals in Canada and home to top-tier researchers recruited from around the world. Collectively, their areas of expertise cover a wide variety of disciplines and methodologies, generating knowledge about:

• The biological mechanisms underlying health and disease.
• The application of fundamental research to improve the understanding and treatment of human disease.
• The best methods of preventing disease and providing health care.
• The social, economic and policy determinants of health.
• The best methods of partnering with our community to generate policy relevant research and ensuring greater health equity. Researchers at the Keenan Research Centre work closely with educators, clinicians and community members to generate and transfer knowledge that will improve the health of our patients and communities.

Our total research funding continues to grow steadily, despite increased competition

Research Programs

KEENAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE The Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science consists of basic scientists who study the biological mechanisms of disease, and use this understanding to develop new treatments for human disease. Find out more.

CLINICAL RESEARCH Clinical researchers study the determinants and consequences of diseases and methods of improving patient outcomes. Find out more.

CENTRE FOR GLOBAL HEALTH RESEARCH The Centre for Global Health Research conducts large scale epidemiological studies in the developing world to understand the major determinants of death in these countries, and works with policy makers to design interventions to decrease mortality. Find out more.

JOINT PROGRAM IN KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION The Joint Program in Knowledge Translation is focused on designing and evaluating interventions to increase the likelihood that knowledge is incorporated into practice and policy. Find out more.

NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH PROGRAM St Michael’s Neuroscience Research Program is built upon the well-established, clinical excellence in the areas of stroke, neurotrauma, multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases. By mobilizing researchers in the areas of fundamental neurobiology, neuroimaging, clinical trials and knowledge translation, the Neuroscience Research Program works to unravel the mysteries of the brain and brain health. Find out more.

CRITICAL ILLNESS AND INJURY RESEARCH CENTRE The Critical Illness and Injury Research Centre provides a unique platform for translational research in critical care from the molecular level to the clinical setting and vice versa, for large group research initiatives and for collaborative projects with partners in academia and industry. The centre brings together more than 40 basic and clinician scientists with internationally recognized expertise in acute lung injury, sepsis and in trauma and resuscitation to generate one of the largest centres focused on critical care research in the world. The diverse research programs within the centre are designed to advance our mechanistic understanding, our diagnostic tool kit and our therapeutic options for the critically ill. Find out more.

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OUR RESEARCHERS Find detailed profiles of our research scientists at the Keenan Research Centre.

APPLIED HEALTH RESEARCH CENTRE Applied Health Research Centre (AHRC) supports clinical research activities at St. Michael’s and beyond. The mission of the AHRC is to advance patient care through meaningful clinical research involving human subjects. Find out more

TRAINEES & STUDENTS An excellent starting point for current or future trainees, summer students, supervisors or interested visitors. Find out more.

RESEARCH ETHICS BOARD The Research Ethics Board ensures that research involving human participation meets current scientific and ethical standards for the protection of participants. Find out more.

ADMINISTRATION The Office of Research Administration (ORA) is the coordinating and managing centre for research operations at St. Michael’s. Find out more.

FACILITIES & RESOURCES Find out more about the facilities and resources available at the Keenan Research Centre.

VOLUNTEER WITH RESEARCH Find out more about opportunities to volunteer in a clinical setting or as a participant in a research study.

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Baycrest

Baycrest is driving urgently needed innovation in successful aging and brain health. Located on a 22-acre campus in Toronto, Baycrest is one of the world’s leading academic health sciences centres focused on aging.One of the few places in the world to have a world-class research institute embedded within a rich continuum of senior care services, Baycrest continues to attract some of the most influential scientists in aging and cognition and is a laboratory for unparalleled innovation in clinical care delivery to an aging population.

Baycrest’s Research Centre for Aging and the Brain includes the acclaimed Rotman ResearchInstitute, a global leader in the field of cognitive neuroscience in aging, and the Kunin-Lunenfeld Applied Research Unit (KLARU), which conducts research alongside clinicians and applies findings directly to patient care. Together the Rotman and KLARU form a continuum of research – from basic science that elucidates the fundamental mechanisms and processes of cognition to translational research that determines how best to implement this knowledge in the context of aging in the real world.

Baycrest Centre for Brain FitnessIn April 2008, the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation awarded $10 million toward the creation of the Baycrest Centre for Brain Fitness (CBF), matching another $10 million in private donations. The centre’s mandate is to translate and fast-track promising cognitive assessment and training strategies into practical applications that benefit an aging population.

To do this, the centre partnered with Canada’s premiere innovation incubator MaRS to engineer and market a suite of scientifically proven brain fitness products that will be the gold standard and consolidate Ontario and Canada’s reputation in neuroscience research and innovation.

Baycrest is an ideal environment for incubating new commercial opportunities that address the challenges of the aging brain. Projects at the CBF range from social robotics to cognitive rehabilitation therapies. The researchers and clinicians at Baycrest are continually uncovering new methods for research, diagnosis and treatment of cognitive decline.

CognicitiTo commercialize the science-driven interventions coming out of the Baycrest Centre for Brain Fitness for the general population, Baycrest and MaRS created the for-profit company Cogniciti in December 2009. It aims to stake a claim in the nascent brain fitness market which is projected to grow to between one and five billion dollars by 2015. Cogniciti leverages Baycrest’s cognitive research strengths and MaRS’s expertise in growing and scaling market-driven ventures. The company’s first product will be an evidence-based cognitive training program for the workplace, aimed at optimizing the abilities of knowledge workers to reason, remember, learn, plan and adapt. Increased confidence in memory abilities, and cognitive efficiency, will lead to better performance at work.

Memory LinkBaycrest’s innovative Memory Link program blends cutting-edge brain research with emerging electronic technology to train people with severe amnesia to use smartphones and other handheld devices as assistive memory aids.

The program, delivered by psychologists, uses an evidence-based training method that taps into the client’s undamaged procedural memory. Electronic memory prosthetics have the potential to help an aging population with a wide range of memory disorders.

Computational Neuroscience and Brain Network Dynamics – the world’s first virtual brainBaycrest’s Rotman Research Institute is leading a team of international scientists in a mammoth project to create the world’s first functional, virtual brain. The effort puts Canada in a global race to pull off a neuroscience feat that is comparable to decoding the human genome. The achievement could revolutionize how clinicians assess and treat various brain disorders, including cognitive impairment caused by stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.

The Toronto Transgenerational Brain and Body CentreThe Rotman Research Institute and the Hospital for Sick Children – two research powerhouses at different ends of the age spectrum – have teamed up to examine how environment and genes shape the human brain and cognition as well as metabolic and cardiovascular disorders from childhood to old age.

They’ve created the Toronto Transgenerational Brain and Body Centre to carry out this massive population science project. It’s the first of its kind in North America and will recruit hundreds of multigenerational family members from various ethnic groups, yielding vital data that will inform future interventions toward successful aging. Internet intervention for family caregivers

Baycrest has developed an internet-based video conferencing intervention program for dementia caregivers to help them sustain their caregiving tasks without compromising their own health. Supporting the health of the caregiver with electronically delivered educational and psychosocial supports can help delay the costly institutionalization of those with dementia, which translates into substantial savings for the Province.

Contact Information

Baycrest
3560 Bathurst Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M6A 2E1
Phone: 416-785-2500
Fax: 416-785-2378
Website: www.baycrest.org

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Doors Open Toronto: 12 things you must see at U of T

12 things you must see at University of Toronto

On May 23 and 24, the annual Doors Open Toronto(presented by Great Gulf and produced by the City of Toronto) is set to take over 155 buildings in Toronto with the theme “Sports, Recreation and Leisure”.This year, the University of Toronto is sponsoring 14 free walking tours throughout various areas of the city.During the walking tours, local experts will take guests on a walk through time, into ravines, along the lake, through Indigenous lands, and past historical architecture. U of T is hosting two walking tours at the St. George and Scarborough campuses, and here are 12 reasons why you can’t miss these tours.

1.    The ghost of University College

U of T’s famous ghost story started in 1857, when University College was still under construction. Two friends who were working on the building got into a fight over a woman. A chase ensued, an axe was used, a body was found, and a ghost has been haunting this building since.

2.    The Most Magical Library (according to Buzzfeed)

(Image by Andrew Louis via Flickr)

Earlier this year, Buzzfeed readers voted the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library the top most magical library they have visited. This dramatic library houses six floors of rare manuscripts by literary legends such as Shakespeare, as well as medieval manuscripts that look like they were dropped off by Robin Hood himself.

3.    Hart House’s wartime stories

(Image from University of Toronto Archives)

Hart House wasn’t completed until 1919 but, while it was still under construction, it was used to house trainees who went on to fight in World War 1. Later, it was used as a treatment facility and an indoor target practice facility. You can still see marks from live ammunition on the walls of this building.

4.    Sneak peek of Pan Am locations

In less than 50 days, the Pan Am & Parapan American Games will bring 250,000 to Toronto from across the world. U of T is proud to be home to several games. Our Scarborough campus will feature diving, fencing, swimming, modern pentathlon, wheelchair tennis and sitting volleyball. Our St. George campus will host field hockey, football 5-a-side and 7-a-side and archery. Doors Open guests will have a chance to see several of our games venues.

5.    Medieval Art from the Malcove Collection

(Image courtesy of UTAC – Lucas Cranach, Adam and Eve, 1538)

U of T has a spectacular art collection within its walls and the Malcove Collection housed at theUniversity of Toronto Art Centre is particularly note-worthy. It includes a third century Anatolian marble bust of Zeus Ampelikos, a Syro-Palestian glass jug (ca. 100-299) and several works from Early Christian, Byzantine and Post Byzantine eras.

6.    A peaceful oasis within the city

(Image courtesy UTSC)

The Highland Creek Ravine, which runs through the University of Toronto Scarborough, is a wildlife sanctuary and a popular destination for hikers and naturalists.The peaceful trail provides a refreshing break from the bustling city that surrounds it, and is frequented by wildlife photographers and nature-lovers. This ravine also serves as an outdoor classroom for UTSC, where faculty and students – often in collaboration with the City of Toronto and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority – work on ecological restoration, wildlife protection and conservation and water quality monitoring among other environmental concerns.

7.    THE FIRST INDOOR SWIMMING POOL IN TORONTO (STEWART BUILDING)

In 1894, Toronto-based architect E.J.Lennox designed the Toronto Athletic Club at 149 College Street. Following a Richardsonian Romanesque style for this building, Lennox – who is also known for designing Old City Hall and the King Edward Hotel – built Toronto’s first indoor swimming pool in the basement of this building.

8.    Filming locations for Hollywood films and TV shows

Hundreds of films and TV shows have been filmed on our three campuses. During Doors Open, you will be walking where film crews have shot films including Mean Girls, The Incredible Hulk, RoboCop, Good Will Hunting (shown above) and Cinderella Man; as well as TV shows including Friends (The One Where Joey Speaks French), Fringe, Covert Affairs, Orphan Blackand Hannibal.

9.    First game of football, ever.

(Photo courtesy University of Toronto Archives)

“Gridiron” football, which is the Canadian and American version of football, has roots in U of T’s front campus. The first documented game took place in November 1861 between U of T students on the front campus fields.

10.    The Observatory that predicted weather during WW2

(Postcard view of the Dominion Observatory, c.1910; John Chuckman. Toronto Postcards Volume 03.)

During the Second World War, the Observatory at 315 Bloor Street W. was the headquarters for Dominion Meteorological Service. The Service developed a 24-hr weather service to assist air mail flights. During the war, the Observatory was a site for training officers to identify weather patterns instead of relying on radio communications.

11.    Butterflies at UTSC

(Image courtesy UTSC)

Each year, hundreds of butterflies flock to the grounds around UTSC. In the middle of the campus, they often stop at the Fred Urquhart Memorial Garden, which boasts flora that attracts butterflies and helps them thrive. The garden is named after Fred Urquhart, who tracked the migratory paths of monarch butterflies across North America and was a zoology professor at UTSC.

12.    TOP-TIER ATHLETES AND WORLD-CLASS TRAINING FACILITIES

The Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport is a unique fusion between research facility and state-of-the-art competition and training grounds for the Toronto community. Doors Open guests will be able to see architectural elements of this stunning building as well as live demonstrations of various sports, and take selfies with Pan Am competitor and U of T athleteZack Chetrat and Olympic gold medalist and U of T coachVicky Sunohara.

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