Timeline
The research missions of London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and St. Joseph’s Health Care London (St. Joseph’s) each have a strong legacy of scientific discovery that has continued since their merger in 2000 to form Lawson Health Research Institute.
The research conducted by our investigators has contributed to many firsts and innovations that have significantly improved care for patients in London, as well patients across the country and around the world.
1940s - 1970s
1948 – The first artificial kidney machine in Canada is developed at LHSC. Visit the Cool Science page to learn more.
1949 - Sexual dimorphism in cells is discovered at LHSC’s Victoria Hospital, leading to new knowledge of the relationship between sex chromosome abnormalities and human disease. Visit the Cool Science page to learn more.
1951 – The first “cobalt bomb” in the world is used to deliver radiation therapy to cancer patients at LHSC’s Victoria Hospital. Visit the Cool Science page to learn more.
1956 – Researchers at the London Clinic of the Ontario Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation at Victoria Hospital (now the London Regional Cancer Program) and Western University discover the chemotherapy drugs vinca alkaloids.
1958 - Dr. Charles Drake pioneers a world-first surgical procedure for aneurysms at the base of the brain, called basilar aneurysms, at LHSC. Visit the Cool Science page to learn more.
1979 – Researchers at St. Joseph’s use glucocorticoids (steroids) as initiator of term labour-stimulant to help bring on labour.
1980s - 1990s
1981 – Dr. Fred Possmayer discovers a method of extracting and purifying natural surfactant from a cow's lung to help premature infants breathe, saving millions of infants worldwide. Visit the Cool Science page to learn more.
1981 – The first Canadian bone mineral density measurement for osteoporosis is performed at St. Joseph’s.
1982 – The first Canadian human magnetic resonance images (MRI) are taken at St. Joseph’s.
1985 – A team at LHSC's University Hospital announces success in a trial using cyclosporine to arrest the progress of Type 1 diabetes.
1987 – Researchers at St. Joseph’s are the first in Canada to show that nuclear magnetic imaging would be able to discern abnormalities in tissue.
1989 – The first Canadian Enhancement MRI is developed at St. Joseph’s.
1990 – The first measure of neurotransmitter concentration in schizophrenics by Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) is taken at St. Joseph’s.
1991- A discovery at LHSC shows that grapefruit juice can greatly boost the amount of drug that reaches the body’s circulation. Research by Dr. David Bailey in 2012 shows an increase in interactions between grapefruit and certain medications. Visit the Cool Science page to learn more.
1991 – The first clinical trials of potassium channel blocking drug, sampridine, in spinal cord injured patients are conducted at St. Joseph’s. The drug is shown to restore neurological function once thought impossible.
1993 – Urologists at St. Joseph’s are the first in the world to use a holmium laser for fragmentation of renal calculi. It is now used world-wide as standard of care in hundreds of centres. Visit the Cool Science page to learn more.
1995 – The first 1.9T dedicated hand and wrist MRI images are taken at St. Joseph’s.
1996 – A world-first device that monitors heart beat during fainting spells is developed at LHSC.
1999 – Lawson researchers were the first in Canada to perform neonatal MRI research at 3 Tesla (higher than the conventional magnetic field strength of 1.5 Tesla) at St. Joseph’s. Visit the Cool Science page to learn more.
2000s - 2010s
2000 - LHSC, St. Joseph's, Lawson Research Institute and LHSC Research, Inc. join forces to create Canada's third largest hospital-based research organization, the Lawson Health Research Institute.
2000 - LHSC and Lawson establish the Canadian Surgical Technologies and Advanced Robotic (CSTAR) centre.
2000 - First development of CT Perfusion Imaging at St. Joseph’s.
2000 – St. Joseph’s Urology is the first site in the world to implant an antibiotic coated penile implant, called Inhibizone.
2001 – St. Joseph’s is one of five sites in the world piloting the Diabetes Electronic Management Systems. Visit the Cool Science page to learn more.
2001 – Researchers at LHSC find strong evidence that surgery, not medicine, for temporal lobe epilepsy is key to improving quality of life – a world first.
2001 - Lawson establishes the first Canadian Research and Development Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotics at St. Joseph’s. Visit the Cool Science page to learn more.
2002 – A study conducted at LHSC determines that patients with congestive heart failure have an improved quality of life with a new pacemaker that works on both sides of the heart.
2002 - The first Positron Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography (PET/CT) Scanner in Canada is installed at St. Joseph’s.
2003 – Lawson researchers at St. Joseph's perform the first treatment of pain with extremely low frequency magnetic field. Visit the Cool Science page to learn more.
2003 – Researchers at St. Joseph’s become the first to study the role of sleep and hormonal changes in the etiology and treatment of postpartum psychosis - the most serious psychiatric disorder that develops following childbirth.
2003 - Victoria Research Laboratories opens at LHSC – the first collaboration of its kind in Canada bringing together researchers from cancer, child health and vascular biology.
2003 – Revolutionary digital technology to produce detailed fluoroscopic images is used for diagnostic and interventional procedures at LHSC – a Canadian first.
2003 - Results of an international study show that the common high blood pressure drug ramipril can prevent heart failure in high risk cardiovascular patients.
2004 - Lawson scientists release a three-year study on the effects of the Walkerton water disaster.
2004 - A small multi-channel recording and stimulating device aiding in the advancement of Deep Brain Stimulation is developed at LHSC.
2004 – SNAC (Staged Nutrition and Activity Counselling) study to prevent hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease is conducted at St. Joseph’s.
2004 - Researchers at St. Joseph’s launch a probiotic product in Malaysia and Hong Kong.
2004 - Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT) redefines treatment of glaucoma at St. Joseph’s.
2005 – Largest and most diverse Hemochromatosis and Iron Screening study is conducted at LHSC to guide future screening and intervention.
2005 - The Ontario Cardiac Rehabilitation Registry launches at St. Joseph’s.
2006 - An LHSC team is one of two independent Canadian teams to first use new electroanatomical mapping technology to perform a pulmonary vein ablation for atrial fibrillation.
2008 - Lawson opens Canada's first dedicated personalized medicine clinic at LHSC. Visit the Cool Science page to learn more.
2008 - A landmark study conducted at Lawson and Western University shows that a routinely practiced knee surgery is ineffective at reducing joint pain or improving joint function for sufferers of osteoarthritis.
2010 - Lawson opens the Cyclotron and PET Radiochemistry facility at St. Joseph’s. Visit the Cool Science page to learn more.
2010 – Lawson researchers discover that vitamin C can not only prevent the onset of sepsis but can reverse the disease in mice with sepsis.
2011 – The Lindros Legacy Research Building officially opens at LHSC's University Hospital.
2011 – Lawson researchers participate in the world’s largest kidney disease trial.
2011 – Lawson launches an international study with British Columbia and the Netherlands with the potential to eradicate cancers previously thought to be incurable.
2011 - Canada’s only human 7Tesla MRI, located at Western University, scans its first clinical research case. This is a Canadian first using the strongest MRI in the country.
2011 - Studying the genetic basis of schizophrenia, Shiva Singh and Dr. Richard O'Reilly demonstrate that identical twins do not necessarily share identical DNA, which may provide new opportunities to treat illness.
2012 – Lawson receives Canada’s first whole body PET/MRI scanner, the Biograph mMR, manufactured by Siemens and installed at St. Joseph's. Visit the Cool Science page to learn more.
2012 - Lawson receives the Grand Challenges Explorations Grant for Groundbreaking Research in Global Health and Development to study the potential benefits of enriched yogurt in African communities.
2013 - LHSC and Lawson perform world-first treatment of localized prostate cancer. The treatment - transurethral magnetic resonance (MR) guided ultrasound ablation for prostate cancer - utilizes a new ablation device that uses thermal ultrasound therapy with real-time MR image guidance to eliminate cancer cells in the prostate gland, a minimally invasive treatment option for patients with localized prostate cancer.
2013 - Lawson shows first direct evidence that HPV-Related Tonsillar Cancer is on the rise in Canada.
2013 - The Institute of Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) launches their latest satellite site in London: ICES Western. This venture provides researchers with access to unique scientific data to speed up discovery and improve patient care. ICES Western is located at LHSC’s Victoria Hospital.
2014 – A Canadian team, including members from Lawson, dramatically advances technology for addressing the medical-isotope crisis. The key medical isotope, technetium-99m (Tc-99m), can now be produced in meaningful quantities on the world’s most popular cyclotrons, many of which are already installed across Canada and around the world as well as at St. Joseph’s.
2014 - Lawson announces a licensing agreement with Yabao Pharmaceutical Group in China to develop and test a new life-saving drug to treat sepsis, a leading cause of death, using Annexin A5.
2015 - Lawson scientists, in collaboration with Ceresensa Inc., produce a novel PET-transparent MRI head coil, a world first in imaging technology.
2015 - Lawson announces partnership with STEMCELL Technologies for commercialization of tools for Parkinson’s disease research.
2015 - Novare Pharmaceuticals and Lawson announce issuance of a U.S. patent for the composition-of-matter and use of RHAMM-binding peptides with a wide range of potential therapeutic uses. The patent also has claims for the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer, and for prescribing a course of treatment for the diagnosed cancer.
2016 - Lawson researchers at Parkwood Institute are the first in Canada to develop clinical practice guidelines for managing neuropathic pain with patients who have experienced a spinal cord injury.
2016 - Researchers at Lawson are the first in Canada to use a Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) probe in Positron Emissions Tomography (PET) scans to provide improved and highly specific images used for better diagnosis and management of prostate cancer.