The research we conduct at Niagara Health has a profound impact on the health and well-being of our patients and communities.
While medical research is traditionally conducted in academic hospitals that are affiliated with universities, the majority of patients in Canada receive care in community hospitals.
Niagara Health researchers are at the forefront of a national movement to bring more medical research into community hospital settings like ours.
Our Research Office is dedicated to building our capacity and currently supports more than 50 research studies and clinical trials involving Cardiology, Critical Care, Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Interventional Radiology, Nephrology, Oncology, Pediatrics and Surgery. These studies contribute to better understanding some of the most significant healthcare challenges of our time and have the potential to benefit patients in Niagara and across Canada.
Research Office Goals
- To build healthcare learners’ and professionals’ skills and confidence in conducting health research
- To promote interprofessional collaboration in research
- To establish research networks with partners in the community to improve integration of primary and acute health services
- To improve health through knowledge translation
Fostering Community Hospital Research
Dr. Jennifer Tsang, Research Lead, Intensivist and Co-Director Critical Care Research, was part of a team of clinicians published in the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia (Oct. 12, 2021) examining the importance of increasing participation in pandemic research in Canada. They highlighted that while many Canadian hospitals are participating in COVID-19-related research, the majority of Canadians are cared for in centres where clinical trials are not conducted, and how increased research participation will benefit all hospitals where patients in Canada are treated. Read more
Research Partnerships
Brock University and Niagara Health launched a partnership in March 2019 that will increase opportunities to improve the overall health and wellbeing in our region and beyond. It will place a heightened focus on research that will help people stay healthy, improve both patient outcomes and the way healthcare is delivered, and create training and employment opportunities for Brock students and graduates.
The Research Office has built strong networks within our organization that include departments such as Quality, Patient Safety & Risk, Decision Support, Health Records and many clinical departments and units across Niagara Health.
We're also very proud to work closely with our community partners:
Examples of research at Niagara Health
- Conducting COVID-19 research studies and creating opportunities for Niagara patients to participate in clinical trials related to the virus.
- Better understanding the standard of care radiation through Randomized Phase III Clinical Trial SABR COMET 3 and COMET 10.
- Reducing opioid prescriptions in Emergency Departments and surgical units.
- Participating in a Canadian Medication Safety Improvement Project – one of the many ways we emphasize safety and reduce harm.
- Being able to better predict and manage pain, agitation and delirium among our critically ill patients.
- Participating in More-2-Eat, a study that looked at ways to treat and prevent malnutrition. Our teams identify at-risk patients and work with them on nutrition treatment plans. We also connect patients to resources for support when they leave the hospital.
Research Office Team
Jennifer LY Tsang, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Physician Research Lead, Intensivist, Niagara Health,
Assistant Professor of Medicine, McMaster University
dr.jennifer.tsang@niagarahealth.on.ca
tsangj10@mcmaster.ca
W: 905-378-4647 x42919
Elaina Orlando, PhD, MPH
Research Manager
elaina.orlando@niagarahealth.on.ca
W: 905-378-4647 x44544
Useful Links
HiREB Information
For guidelines, application forms etc.
Health Canada
For reference documents relating to Health Canada regulated trials.
Food and Drug Regulations - Division 5 Part C
For regulations which govern clinical investigation drug trials in Canada.
International Conference on Harmonization - Good Clinical Practice (ICH GCP)
EMRoN – Emergency Medicine Researchers of Niagara
Canadian Network of COVID-19 Clinical Trials Networks
World Medical Association: Declaration of Helsinki
Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research - RCR (2016)
Canadian Association of Research Ethics Boards (CAREB-ACCER)
30 clinical trials across Cardiology, Critical Care, Oncology, Emergency Medicine, Surgery, Kidney Care and Medicine
14 clinical trials currently in the follow-up stage
110 multi-centre observational and investigator-initiated studies
$50 million in grant funding Niagara Health has been part of as principal or co-investigators
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