Parkwood Institute Research Newsletter

2019 - Volume 15, Issue 3

Message from the PIR Ivey Research Chair

Greetings! I hope you had an enjoyable and restful holiday and feel ready to start 2020!

I will be Interim Chair for PIR while Dr. Cheryl Forchuk is away completing the last portion of her sabbatical over the winter and spring. Please do not hesitate to connect with me over the coming months on PIR matters.

Parkwood Institute Research had a very busy and monumental fall.

At the St. Joseph’s Tribute Dinner in October it was announced that Parkwood Institute received a historic $7.5 million gift from donors, Bill and Lynne Gray, to establish the Gray Centre for Mobility & Activity – a new interdisciplinary clinical, research and teaching centre aimed at promoting people’s capacity to remain mobile throughout their lives, and live in good health. The Gray Centre will be poised to become a national leader in the assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of patients with musculoskeletal and neurological diseases, older and frail adults as well as those living with mental illness for whom mobility is challenged.  Congratulations!

PIR hosted a highly successful Open House that included a fun internal activity for our research teams to meet each other and learn about our exciting work as well as an external event that showcased PIR's impactful research to hundreds of guests from the public through interactive presentations. Local MP Karen Vecchio, Elgin-Middlesex-London, attended the Open House and was able to speak to the participating research teams. She was incredibly impressed and excited about the work happening at both Parkwood Institute and Southwest Centre. 

On October 24, the PIR – Mental Health theme co-hosted with the Lawson Mental Health group the 2019 Mental Health Research and Innovation Day at Parkwood Institute drawing over 200 attendees (a new record!) to hear the internationally renowned keynote speaker, Dr. Aimee Van Wynsberghe speak on the role of artificial intelligence in mental health care as well as learn about the impactful and exciting research being performed locally.

Please stay tuned for the upcoming call for the PIR-SE awards!

Thank you and all the best for the New Year,

Dr. Arlene MacDougall