Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Research News

	Dr. Deborah Siegal honoured for groundbreaking blood research February 25, 2025 - Dr. Deborah Siegal has been awarded the prestigious Joe Doupe Young Investigator Award from the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation in recognition of her groundbreaking research on treatments for blood clots and blood transfusions.
	Blood transfusions for brain bleeding: Large trial in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patients adds to debate about optimal threshold December 9, 2024 - Blood is one of the oldest drugs in the world, but after many decades of research, it is still not always clear when a blood transfusion should be given. A large trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine is adding to the debate for patie
	When can a critically ill patient breathe on their own? Trial compares approaches November 27, 2024 - “We want to see patients in the ICU breathing on their own as soon as possible, and this trial identified some promising avenues to explore."
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	New scientist profile: Dr. Alexandre Tran aims to personalize blood clot prevention in trauma and critical care August 27, 2024 - Whether he’s preparing a trauma patient for surgery or caring for a patient in the intensive care unit, Dr. Alexandre Tran is thinking about how to keep them safe from life-threatening bleeds and blood clots.
	Physiotherapists get patients moving early in international ICU cycling trial August 27, 2024 - “There’s considerable evidence that early mobility is the best thing we can contribute to a patient’s recovery, and in-bed cycling can be another great tool to accomplish this with certain patients."
	Specialized therapy helps teacher with traumatic brain injury make remarkable recovery July 2, 2024 - “We’ve been really active in brain injury and trauma research and this study was brought here to truly provide the best care possible to our patients.”
	The doctor “on a mission to keep you out of the ICU”: July 2, 2024 - A researcher, clinician, and advocate for The Ottawa Hospital’s ICU and palliative care, Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng’s focus is on preventing health issues from bringing people into the ICU in the first place on one hand, and on how to reduce costs and p
	Made-in-Ottawa AI tool could help critically ill patients February 1, 2024 - An innovative tool developed by researchers at The Ottawa Hospital is closer to helping critically ill patients following its approval by Health Canada.
	Big blood savings: large trial in JAMA shows taking less blood for lab testing reduces transfusions in intensive care October 12, 2023 - A world-first clinical trial published in JAMA could provide an easy way to save tens of thousands of units of blood every year in Canada and much more worldwide. The trial, which involved more than 27,000 patients in 25 adult intensive care units (I
	Meet Dr. Edward Clark, The Ottawa Hospital’s new Jindal Research Chair for the Prevention of Kidney Disease September 28, 2023 - As The Ottawa Hospital’s new Jindal Chair for Kidney Disease Prevention, Dr. Clark will be able to accelerate his research, which aims to help more critically ill patients survive acute kidney injury, and recover enough kidney function to avoid dialy
	Novel stem cell drives ‘remarkable’ regeneration of tiny blood vessels in the lung May 15, 2023 - Dr. Duncan Stewart’s team has identified a novel stem cell with a remarkable ability to regenerate and repair the tiny blood vessels in the lungs.
	Meet Dr. Lauralyn McIntyre — sepsis researcher and clinician extraordinaire March 16, 2023 - Dr. Lauralyn McIntyre’s path to The Ottawa Hospital wasn’t necessarily a direct one — it took her all over Ontario and out west to the mountains — but she couldn’t do her groundbreaking sepsis research anywhere else, or with any other team.
	Intravenous vitamin C treatment does not help sepsis patients December 14, 2022 - A randomized controlled trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine has quashed the theory that intravenous vitamin C could prevent death and organ damage in patients with sepsis.
	ECMO survivors have higher rate of new mental health diagnoses than other ICU survivors October 26, 2022 - Survivors of ECMO life support had a 24% higher rate of new mental health diagnoses after discharge compared to other ICU survivors, according to the first study of its kind, published in JAMA.
	Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital awarded 19 CIHR grants worth more than $12 million July 20, 2022 - These projects will advance science and improve health in areas such as cancer, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, autism, Kabuki Syndrome, kidney disease, patient engagement, blood transfusions, sepsis, surgery, anesthesia, plasma donation, muscle
	Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital awarded 18 CIHR grants worth more than $11 million February 5, 2022 - These projects will advance science and improve health in areas such as tuberculosis, blood disease, prostate cancer, heart disease, muscle repair, sleep apnea, brain cancer, medical imaging, virtual care, prehab, intellectual disability, sarcoma, CA
	ICU admission linked to higher rate of future suicide compared with other hospitalizations May 5, 2021 - An ICU admission is associated with a higher rate of suicide and self-harm after discharge when compared to hospital admissions without an ICU stay, according to the first study of its kind published in the medical journal The BMJ.
	Grateful COVID-19 patient gives back by participating in research April 13, 2021 - Sharon Charlebois doesn’t remember much about the 25 days she spent at The Ottawa Hospital fighting a severe case of COVID-19 in January 2021. Now that she’s recovering at home with her husband, some memories come back to her in flashes.
	Researchers join the fight against COVID-19 April 2, 2020 - As hospitals and communities band together to fight COVID-19, researchers at The Ottawa Hospital are harnessing their unique expertise and resources to help.
	Older blood just as good as fresh in critically ill children January 10, 2020 - A large international clinical trial conducted in critically ill children has shown that fresh red cell transfusions (stored for seven days or less) are no better than older red cells (stored for up to 25 days).
	New scientist profile: Dr. James Downar wants more people to benefit from palliative care August 7, 2019 - Dr. James Downar has many ideas about how to improve end of life care, and in Ottawa he’s found enthusiastic colleagues and an integrated palliative care system well suited to the task.
	Researchers honoured for outstanding work in Parkinson’s, critical care and surgery April 11, 2019 - A number of outstanding researchers and research teams were recognized at The Ottawa Hospital’s Excellence Awards Ceremony on April 11. They include the Parkinson Research Consortium, the Operating Room Black Box® Research Program and ICU resear
	New scientist profile: Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng aims to improve care for the critically ill September 25, 2018 - As a critical care and palliative care physician at The Ottawa Hospital, Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng cares for the sickest of the sick patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). As a researcher, he’s interested in using ICU resources more efficiently an
	The Ottawa Hospital awarded $12.7M for research, double the national CIHR success rate January 30, 2018 - Sixteen research groups at The Ottawa Hospital, affiliated with the University of Ottawa, have been awarded $12.7 million in the most recent project grant competition from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). This represents a success r
	Stem cells for septic shock: world-first trial establishes safety, sets stage for larger trial November 2, 2017 - Stem cells are usually thought of as the building blocks of the body – able to give rise to all our cells and organs. But Dr. Lauralyn McIntyre, Dr. Duncan Stewart, Dr. Dean Fergusson and their colleagues are testing the idea that certain stem cells
	New treatment for our sickest patients comes closer to reality June 30, 2017 - The Ottawa Hospital was one of the top sites for enrolling patients in an international clinical trial of a promising new treatment for shock. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, shows that a naturally-occurring protein calle
	The Ottawa Hospital General Campus to be a test ground to compare two rehydration fluids August 11, 2016 - Starting August 2016, a pilot study at the General Campus of The Ottawa Hospital will help find out which of two liquids is the best to replace lost fluids in hospitalized patients. A healthy person’s bodyweight is about 60 percent water. How
	Study could help manage pain in delirious patients March 23, 2016 - A study led by Drs. Salmaan Kanji and Heather MacPhee is the first to show that a behaviour-based tool for assessing pain works even for delirious patients who are unable to say how they’re feeling. Up to 80 percent of patients in the Intensive C

Researchers

Name	Scientific appointment	Diseases, conditions and populations of interest	Research and clinical approaches
Austin, Michael MD, FRCPC, DRCPSC (PTM)	Clinician Investigator (ACR)	Asthma, Cardiac arrest, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Diabetes, Pain, Population health, Stroke	Clinical decision rules, Clinical trials, Cluster randomized trials, Cohort studies, Critical care, Emergency medicine, Palliative care, Risk assessment
Castellucci, Lana MD, FRCPC, MSc	Scientist (ICD)	Thrombosis / thromboembolism	Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Critical care, Patient engagement, Systematic reviews, Transfusions
English, Shane MD	Senior Scientist (ACR)	COVID-19, Septic shock, Subarachnoid hemorrhage, Traumatic brain injury	Clinical research, Critical care, Patient engagement
Fergusson, Dean PhD, MHA, FCAHS	Program Director and Senior Scientist (MIR)	Cancer, COVID-19, Kidney disease, Septic shock, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease	Clinical trials, Health services research, Health technology, Patient engagement, Pragmatic trials, Surveys, Translational research, Biostatistics, Clinical research, Cluster randomized trials, Cohort studies, Critical care, Health research methods, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Systematic reviews, Transfusions
Kanji, Salmaan BSc, Pharm, PharmD	Associate Scientist (ACR)		Critical care, Pharmacology, Pharmacy
Kwok, Edmund MD MHA MSc FRCPC	Clinician Investigator (ACR)		Clinical research, Critical care, Emergency medicine, Health professional behaviour change, Health services research, Knowledge translation and implementation research, Patient safety, Pragmatic trials, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Rapid reviews, Systematic reviews
McIntyre, Lauralyn MD, MHSc, FRCPC	Senior Scientist (ACR)	Septic shock	Cell therapy, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Critical care, Patient engagement, Pragmatic trials, Stem cells, Transfusions, Translational research
Mei, Shirley PhD, MSc	Investigator (RM)	COVID-19, Septic shock	Basic research, Biomarkers, Cell therapy, Critical care, Disease models, Epigenetics, Gene therapy, Knowledge translation and implementation research, Molecular and cellular biology, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells
Ramsay, Timothy PhD	Senior Scientist (MIR)	Addiction, Alzheimer's, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Anxiety, Ataxia, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Autism, Bipolar, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Colorectal cancer, Concussion, Cystic fibrosis, Dementia, Depression, First Nations, Inuit and Métis Health, HIV, Immigrant and refugee health, Influenza, Kidney disease, Lung cancer, Macular degeneration, Men's health, Multiple sclerosis, Muscular dystrophy, Myasthenia gravis, Obesity, Ovarian cancer, Parkinson's, Pulmonary hypertension, Septic shock, Spinal cord injury	Artificial intelligence and data science, Behaviour, Biomaterials, Biostatistics, Cell therapy, Clinical decision rules, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Critical care, Drug development, Emergency medicine, Epidemiology, Health professional behaviour change, Health promotion, Health research methods, Health services research, Health technology, Immunization, Immunotherapy, Palliative care, Patient decision aids, Pharmacology, Pharmacy, Prevention, Psychology, Psychometrics, Public health, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Regenerative medicine, Rehabilitation, Risk assessment, Shared decision making, Surgery, Surveys, Systematic reviews, Transfusions, Translational research, Transplantation, Viral therapy
Santos, Marlise MD (FRCPC), MSc, MPH	Clinician Investigator (NS)	Alzheimer's, Anxiety, Ataxia, Autoimmune disease, Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Blood cancer, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Brain cancer, Cancer, Concussion, Dementia, Depression, Global health, Head and neck cancer, Health equity, Health in disadvantaged peoples, Infectious disease, Intellectual disabilities, Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, Population health, Sickle cell anemia, Spinal cord injury, Stroke, Subarachnoid hemorrhage, Thrombosis / thromboembolism, Traumatic brain injury, Traumatic injuries, Vascular cognitive impairment, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease	Artificial intelligence and data science, Basic research, Behaviour, Biostatistics, Cancer biotherapeutics, Clinical decision rules, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Critical care, Epidemiology, Health economics, Health research methods, Health services research, Health technology, Imaging, Patient safety, Pragmatic trials, Prevention, Public health, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Shared decision making, Surgery, Surveys, Systematic reviews
Seely, Andrew MD/PhD	Scientist (ACR)	COVID-19	Artificial intelligence and data science, Critical care
Vaillancourt, Christian MD, MSc, FRCPC, CSPQ	Senior Scientist (ACR)	Cardiac arrest, Heart disease, Population health, Spinal cord injury, Traumatic brain injury, Traumatic injuries	Clinical decision rules, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cluster randomized trials, Cohort studies, Critical care, Emergency medicine, Epidemiology, Health economics, Health professional behaviour change, Health services research, Knowledge translation and implementation research, Public health, Quality Improvement, Surveys, Systematic reviews

Related Resources

Intensive Care Unit at The Ottawa Hospital

University of Ottawa Department of Critical Care