PSI funding supports new clinical research projects

Congratulations to Lawson researchers Drs. Elizabeth Finger and Javeed Sukhera, and medical residents Adam (Zeke) Guy and Melissa Schorr, who have received research funding from the Physician’s Services Incorporated (PSI) Foundation. 

The PSI Foundation is a physician-centered non-profit organization that provides funding for medical research, operating grants and education.

As a hospital-based research institute, many of Lawson’s researchers are also clinicians themselves, conducting research alongside clinical care for patients and academic roles with students and trainees. 

Dr. Finger, Scientist at Lawson and Assistant Professor Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, was awarded the PSI Mid-Career Clinical Researcher Award. She specializes in frontotemporal dementia looking at different treatment options to improve quality of life for both patients and caregivers, as well as ways to better understand the illness in order to prevent it. 

The Research Trainee Fellowship was awarded to Schorr, MD/MSc Candidate at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry who is supervised by Dr. Amit Garg, Lawson Scientist. This Fellowship was also awarded to Guy, MD/PhD candidate at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry, who is supervised by Dr. George Rodrigues, Associate Scientist at Lawson.

“Supporting physicians and surgeons in research training opportunities and clinician-led studies is important in order to harness their unique perspective on research projects that would be the most meaningful to the practice of medicine and conducted in a way that can be quickly translated into care,” says Guy. “I’m thankful for the support from the PSI Foundation.” 

This grant is allowing him to focus on learning different approaches for analyzing clinical data to identify strategies that will enhance the validity and efficiency of analysis in comparative effectiveness research. “This is critical in identifying cost-effective treatment strategies,” adds Guy.

The Mental Health Knowledge Translation Fellowship was awarded to Dr. Javeed Sukhera, Associate Scientist at Lawson and Assistant Professor at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry, for his research program that looks at how patient care for marginalized populations can be influenced by stigma and bias. 

“Our approach to Knowledge Translation involves putting the products of our work directly in the hands of patients, caregivers, and those designing the system. This participatory approach shifts from translation to mobilization, turning research into action through the co-production and democratization of knowledge,” explains Dr. Sukhera. 

“The PSI Fellowship will help move our innovative work on stigma and implicit bias education forward. PSI funding will support a deeper exploration of invisible forms of stigma embedded in policy and practice within health care organizations. We are also co-designing a digital knowledge translation strategy with patients and caregivers to translate the products of our work into innovations in curriculum, policy and program design.”