Southlake Health has joined Research Canada, a national alliance dedicated to advancing health research and innovation, strengthening Southlake’s connection to a growing network of health care organizations, researchers, academic institutions, industry leaders and other partners across the country.
The new membership supports Southlake’s Strategy for the Decade Ahead and commitment to its strategic priority of Partnership, Research and Academics, and reflects the important role research and innovation play in advancing leading edge care and improving health outcomes for patients and communities.
“Research and innovation are an important part of how we will transform health care at Southlake and across the communities we serve,” said Charissa Cordon, Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive, Southlake Health. “As we build a Distributed Health Network, we have an opportunity to rethink how care is delivered and our partnership with Research Canada will help strengthen our connections across the health research community and support our continued focus on bringing new ideas and knowledge into practice.”
Southlake has a long history of research, with clinicians, staff, and students conducting research at the organization for more than 30 years. Research at Southlake spans a range of areas, including biomedical research, patient-oriented research, health policy and systems, and population and community health. The organization also collaborates with academic and health care partners to advance research and support the next generation of researchers and health care professionals.
As Southlake continues to strengthen its research, innovation, and clinical scholarship activities, the organization is developing a new vision and approach for research across Southlake. This work will be informed by the perspectives and priorities of medical staff, staff, researchers, patients and families, operational leaders, and other partners.
“Joining Research Canada is an important step as we build a stronger and more connected research community at Southlake,” said Luca Pisterzi, Director, Research, Innovation and Clinical Scholarship, Southlake Health. “Our goal is to create a research environment that brings together the expertise and perspectives of our people, patients and partners, while creating opportunities to share knowledge, collaborate and translate research into meaningful improvements in care.”
As Medical Director, Research and Innovation at Southlake Health and a paediatric hematologist-oncologist, Arif Manji, MD sees research as inseparable from everyday patient care.
“The questions we ask in research are often the same questions families ask us in clinic: Is there a better way to do this?” said Dr. Manji. “No hospital can answer all those questions alone. Research Canada connects Southlake with researchers, institutions, and partners across the country working on many of the same questions, and that means better evidence reaching our patients sooner.”
Southlake’s focus on research and innovation comes at an important time as the organization continues to build a Distributed Health Network (DHN) that will transform how care is delivered across its communities. Research and innovation will play an important role in this transformation, helping identify new opportunities, improve how care is delivered and support access to leading edge treatments and approaches.
“Research and innovation are essential to building a stronger, more connected health system, and organizations like Southlake Health play an important role in advancing that work,” said Alison Evans, President and CEO, Research Canada. “Southlake’s commitment to developing a new vision for research reflects the kind of forward-thinking approach that strengthens health care for patients and communities. We look forward to connecting Southlake with our national network and creating opportunities to share knowledge, collaborate and advance health research and innovation together.”
Through its membership, Southlake will have opportunities to engage with Research Canada’s national network and participate in discussions focused on the future of health research and innovation. Research Canada’s membership brings together more than 120 organizations from across Canada’s health research and innovation ecosystem.
For more information about research at Southlake, visit southlake.ca/research.
For more information about Research Canada, visit Research Canada.
