[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":398},["ShallowReactive",2],{"{\"version\":\"draft\",\"resolve_links\":\"url\",\"resolve_relations\":\"featured-events.events,featured-news.news\"}/global/footer":3,"{\"version\":\"published\",\"resolve_relations\":[\"news.related_news\"]}news-items/introducing-the-st-michael-s-hospital-research-institute/":70,"{\"version\":\"draft\",\"resolve_links\":\"url\",\"resolve_relations\":\"featured-events.events,featured-news.news\"}/global/header":336},{"data":4,"headers":45},{"story":5,"cv":42,"rels":43,"links":44},{"name":6,"created_at":7,"published_at":8,"updated_at":9,"id":10,"uuid":11,"content":12,"slug":31,"full_slug":32,"sort_by_date":33,"position":34,"tag_list":35,"is_startpage":36,"parent_id":37,"meta_data":33,"group_id":38,"first_published_at":39,"release_id":33,"lang":40,"path":33,"alternates":41,"default_full_slug":33,"translated_slugs":33},"Footer","2024-05-22T05:42:54.552Z","2025-03-25T15:44:22.591Z","2025-03-25T15:44:22.608Z",500647255,"aa467ff3-d7e8-4224-a30c-158a6238f664",{"_uid":13,"email":14,"tel_no":15,"twitter":16,"youtube":17,"address1":18,"address2":19,"facebook":20,"linkedin":21,"component":6,"copyright":22,"instagram":23,"location1":24,"location2":25,"tel_label":26,"social_label":27,"location_label":28,"mailing_address_label":29,"_editable":30},"6a70eac0-8a42-45fe-8958-be43990a0ba6","","4163604000","https://twitter.com/UnityHealthTO","https://www.youtube.com/c/UnityHealthToronto","30 Bond St","Toronto, ON M5B 1W8, Canada","https://www.facebook.com/UnityHealthToronto/","https://www.linkedin.com/company/unityhealthtoronto/?originalSubdomain=ca","© 2025 Unity Health Toronto. All rights reserved.","https://www.instagram.com/unityhealthto/","209 Victoria St","Toronto, ON  M5B 1T8, Canada","(416) 360-4000","Social Links","Location","Mailing Address","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"Footer\", \"space\": \"282001\", \"uid\": \"6a70eac0-8a42-45fe-8958-be43990a0ba6\", \"id\": \"500647255\"}-->","footer","global/footer",null,-100,[],false,500647197,"04c5a689-ad14-437c-8c58-4ab38629c4ed","2024-05-22T05:39:24.843Z","default",[],1793728100,[],[],{"cache-control":46,"connection":47,"content-encoding":48,"content-type":49,"date":50,"etag":51,"referrer-policy":52,"sb-be-version":53,"server":54,"strict-transport-security":55,"transfer-encoding":56,"vary":57,"via":58,"x-amz-cf-id":59,"x-amz-cf-pop":60,"x-cache":61,"x-content-type-options":62,"x-frame-options":63,"x-permitted-cross-domain-policies":64,"x-ratelimit":65,"x-ratelimit-policy":66,"x-request-id":67,"x-runtime":68,"x-xss-protection":69},"max-age=0, private, must-revalidate","keep-alive","gzip","application/json; charset=utf-8","Tue, 03 Nov 2026 17:48:55 GMT","W/\"5755d1546a8006ac48b9b1570cea3939\"","strict-origin-when-cross-origin","5.996.4","nginx","max-age=31536000","chunked","Origin,Accept-Encoding","1.1 87d7664d4d5a16632f7453ca9cc45a74.cloudfront.net (CloudFront)","fYB4wHoRdhicj-5S2rA-GDkHqjZY6imJPoRa-JY0u-C-Egy4CYb14g==","CMH68-P4","Hit from cloudfront","nosniff","SAMEORIGIN","none","\"space-concurrent-requests\";r=26","\"space-concurrent-requests\";q=30","e7a1635d-ffa5-4ecb-8503-361c63f61de5","0.026151","0",{"data":71,"headers":328},{"story":72,"cv":42,"rels":326,"links":327},{"name":73,"created_at":74,"published_at":75,"updated_at":76,"id":77,"uuid":78,"content":79,"slug":319,"full_slug":320,"sort_by_date":33,"position":321,"tag_list":322,"is_startpage":36,"parent_id":323,"meta_data":33,"group_id":324,"first_published_at":75,"release_id":33,"lang":40,"path":33,"alternates":325,"default_full_slug":33,"translated_slugs":33},"Introducing the St. Michael’s Hospital Research Institute","2026-11-03T17:41:32.880Z","2026-11-03T17:44:42.446Z","2026-11-03T17:44:42.465Z",237724028465011,"be528bee-af20-43de-96e1-63f747c413f1",{"_uid":80,"date":81,"blurb":82,"image":87,"title":93,"content":94,"component":317,"description":14,"related_news":318},"d2ac4a04-9b3e-4d08-8797-fd1ef6bf9ac9","2026-11-03 00:00",{"type":83,"content":84},"doc",[85],{"type":86},"paragraph",{"id":88,"alt":14,"name":14,"focus":14,"title":14,"source":14,"filename":89,"copyright":14,"fieldtype":90,"meta_data":91,"is_external_url":36},237724471324785,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/282001/1350x900/664c252b75/ori-rotstein_smh.png","asset",{"size":92},"1350x900","Introducing the St. Michael’s Hospital Research Institute and a new era for innovation at Unity Health Toronto  ",{"type":83,"attrs":95,"content":96},{"backgroundColor":33},[97,103,108,113,118,123,133,138,164,169,174,179,193,198,203,211,216,221,226,234,239,244,252,257,262,267,275,280,290,298,305],{"type":86,"attrs":98,"content":99},{"textAlign":33},[100],{"text":101,"type":102},"Unity Health Toronto has a new identity for research across its three sites, launching one of Canada’s leading research institutions into a new era of innovation and discovery.   ","text",{"type":86,"attrs":104,"content":105},{"textAlign":33},[106],{"text":107,"type":102},"The St. Michael’s Hospital Research Institute unveiled its new name and logo on Tuesday, building on a 30-year legacy and reputation for research excellence and connecting innovation across St. Joseph’s Health Centre, St. Michael’s Hospital and Providence Healthcare.  ",{"type":86,"attrs":109,"content":110},{"textAlign":33},[111],{"text":112,"type":102},"While St. Michael’s serves as the intensive research hub, the community teaching environment at St. Joseph’s and the post-acute and rehabilitation expertise at Providence let us carry discovery across the full continuum of care.  ",{"type":86,"attrs":114,"content":115},{"textAlign":33},[116],{"text":117,"type":102},"Today, more than 1,500 researchers, trainees and research staff across three hospital sites are working to tackle the most pressing health challenges. Their collective goal: to develop and scale new treatments, technologies and tools that reach patients and communities; to identify and remove barriers to care; to strengthen Ontario’s health system and advance health equity in Canada and around the world.",{"type":86,"attrs":119,"content":120},{"textAlign":33},[121],{"text":122,"type":102},"As research at Unity Health begins its next chapter, Dr. Ori Rotstein, Vice President of Research and Innovation, reflects on how research at St. Michael’s Hospital grew into an internationally recognized enterprise, why the three sites are coming together and how our scientists will continue to lead in the decades ahead.   ",{"type":86,"attrs":124,"content":125},{"textAlign":33},[126,131],{"text":127,"type":102,"marks":128},"You joined St. Michael’s in 2004 more than a decade before Unity Health was created. What did research look like then, and how does that compare to the Research Institute we’re launching today across our three sites?",[129],{"type":130},"bold",{"text":132,"type":102},"  ",{"type":86,"attrs":134,"content":135},{"textAlign":33},[136],{"text":137,"type":102},"When I arrived, we had a strong cohort of scientists and clinician scientists but no dedicated spaces for research. Our researchers worked in renovated patient floors, rented spaces off site or institutes across the city. We were smaller and weren’t as purposeful about our priorities.   ",{"type":86,"attrs":139,"content":140},{"textAlign":33},[141,145,147,159,163],{"text":142,"type":102,"marks":143},"Enjoying this story?",[144],{"type":130},{"text":146,"type":102}," ",{"text":148,"type":102,"marks":149},"Sign up for the Unity Health Toronto newsletter",[150,156,157],{"type":151,"attrs":152},"link",{"href":153,"uuid":33,"anchor":33,"target":154,"linktype":155},"https://unityhealth.to/about-unity-health/media-room/newswire/","_blank","url",{"type":130},{"type":158},"underline",{"text":160,"type":102,"marks":161},", a monthly update on the latest news, stories, patient voices and research emailed directly to subscribers. ",[162],{"type":130},{"text":132,"type":102},{"type":86,"attrs":165,"content":166},{"textAlign":33},[167],{"text":168,"type":102},"A lot changed in the late nineties when St. Michael’s Hospital identified research as a strategic priority. It was in 2000, when Dr. Arthur Slutsky was recruited as the hospital’s first Vice President of Research. Art really believed St. Michael’s could be known for research, not only for clinical care. Art and our then-CEO, Jeff Lozon, with Pat and Barbara Keenan of the Keenan family, decided to make research part of our hospital’s core business, and to build a home for it. That was a significant turning point in our history.  ",{"type":86,"attrs":170,"content":171},{"textAlign":33},[172],{"text":173,"type":102},"Gifts from the Li Ka Shing Foundation and the Keenan Foundation, with government support, made that possible. By 2011, we had moved into the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science and the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute and simultaneously launched our knowledge translation research program.  ",{"type":86,"attrs":175,"content":176},{"textAlign":33},[177],{"text":178,"type":102},"Because of our hospital’s mission to care for disadvantaged populations, we committed to leading research in that area from early on. That work, which grew into MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, became foundational and a major area of distinction for the Research Institute.   ",{"type":86,"attrs":180,"content":181},{"textAlign":33},[182,186,188,192],{"text":183,"type":102,"marks":184},"Unity Health became a network of three hospitals in 2017. Why bring research at St. Joseph’s",[185],{"type":130},{"text":187,"type":102},", ",{"text":189,"type":102,"marks":190},"St. Michael’s and Providence under one name, and why now?",[191],{"type":130},{"text":132,"type":102},{"type":86,"attrs":194,"content":195},{"textAlign":33},[196],{"text":197,"type":102},"Since creating a dedicated home for research, we’ve become far more intentional about where we want to grow. In 2020, we developed our first strategic plan, built on four pillars: critical care, urban and community health, brain health and wellness, and organ injury and repair. Around them, our work runs from discovery science to translational and clinical research, and to health policy and implementation. Having defined what research we do and how we do it, a single identity became the natural next step.  ",{"type":86,"attrs":199,"content":200},{"textAlign":33},[201],{"text":202,"type":102},"The St. Michael’s name was the natural choice for many reasons. It carries more than 30 years of world-class research reputation with peers, partners and funders,  thereby sustaining and advancing our current profile of excellence, while providing a stronger platform for research across the three sites.  In our Research Institute, each site brings something unique. St. Michael’s brings a long legacy of research and innovation. St. Joseph’s offers real potential to grow clinical trials, and Providence, known for its expertise in rehabilitation and post-acute care, opens exciting opportunities in rehabilitation science. Together, under one recognizable identity, it’s easier to collaborate across sites, recruit talented people and show the full scale of what we do.   ",{"type":86,"attrs":204,"content":205},{"textAlign":33},[206,210],{"text":207,"type":102,"marks":208},"Where do you see the Research Institute going over the next five to 10 years?",[209],{"type":130},{"text":132,"type":102},{"type":86,"attrs":212,"content":213},{"textAlign":33},[214],{"text":215,"type":102},"Our pillars remain at the core of our next strategic plan, and within each, we’ve sharpened our focus on where we will lead. In critical care, that means advancing how we ventilate and manage critically ill patients. In brain health and wellness, it’s multiple sclerosis, suicide and depression, and traumatic brain injury. In organ injury and repair, it’s fibrosis, the scarring that drives organ failure, and how to prevent, detect and reverse it. In urban and community health, MAP will remain a world-leading program, increasingly harnessing AI to understand and support populations at risk.  ",{"type":86,"attrs":217,"content":218},{"textAlign":33},[219],{"text":220,"type":102},"We’re also introducing a fifth pillar of healthy aging. It explores the realities of growing older in our society, and how we prevent and respond to them. As Canada’s population ages, it’s a growing priority for health systems and policymakers, and our research can help shape how we support older adults.   ",{"type":86,"attrs":222,"content":223},{"textAlign":33},[224],{"text":225,"type":102},"With its depth in rehabilitation and caregiving, Providence is exceptionally well placed to help advance the work of this pillar. St. Joseph’s will play a growing role too. Its high patient volumes and established clinical trial programs make it a compelling site for testing new therapies.  ",{"type":86,"attrs":227,"content":228},{"textAlign":33},[229,233],{"text":230,"type":102,"marks":231},"What will it take to realize your vision for the Research Institute?",[232],{"type":130},{"text":132,"type":102},{"type":86,"attrs":235,"content":236},{"textAlign":33},[237],{"text":238,"type":102},"Our purpose is world-class research and innovation that transforms patient care and population wellness. Patients and communities are true partners in that work, helping us define the questions that matter.  ",{"type":86,"attrs":240,"content":241},{"textAlign":33},[242],{"text":243,"type":102},"Getting there comes down to people. We have to be relentless about recruiting   outstanding scientists, holding them to the highest standards and giving them every opportunity to do exceptional work. Clinicians and clinician-scientists come to us for our reputation in research and clinical care, and they stay because they see what that legacy makes possible. Our Foundations are essential partners. The most ambitious ideas and promising recruits rarely fit traditional funding streams, and philanthropy lets us move boldly.  ",{"type":86,"attrs":245,"content":246},{"textAlign":33},[247,251],{"text":248,"type":102,"marks":249},"Is there a researcher whose early contributions shaped who we are today?",[250],{"type":130},{"text":132,"type":102},{"type":86,"attrs":253,"content":254},{"textAlign":33},[255],{"text":256,"type":102},"Dr. Patricia O’Campo. She was one of our first major recruits in urban health and an early leader of what became MAP.   ",{"type":86,"attrs":258,"content":259},{"textAlign":33},[260],{"text":261,"type":102},"Pat is a world leader in social epidemiology. Her work focuses on the social determinants of health, the conditions in which people are born, live and work, such as housing, income and access to services.  ",{"type":86,"attrs":263,"content":264},{"textAlign":33},[265],{"text":266,"type":102},"Since she came here, that work has grown exponentially. Today, MAP is Canada’s largest research centre focused on health equity and has grown to a global leader, with research on homelessness, access to care and opioid-related harms. Our findings are changing policy and having an impact on population health.  ",{"type":86,"attrs":268,"content":269},{"textAlign":33},[270,274],{"text":271,"type":102,"marks":272},"What three words would you use to describe the Research Institute?",[273],{"type":130},{"text":132,"type":102},{"type":86,"attrs":276,"content":277},{"textAlign":33},[278],{"text":279,"type":102},"Excellent, impactful and exciting. Excellence is what we strive for every day. Impactful, because great research has to make a difference. And exciting, because the work here constantly produces something new and noteworthy.  ",{"type":86,"attrs":281,"content":282},{"textAlign":33},[283,288],{"text":284,"type":102,"marks":285},"As told to Zehra Goawala. This interview has been edited and condensed.",[286],{"type":287},"italic",{"text":289,"type":102}," ",{"type":86,"attrs":291,"content":292},{"textAlign":33},[293,297],{"text":294,"type":102,"marks":295},"Photo by Katie Cooper",[296],{"type":287},{"text":289,"type":102},{"type":86,"attrs":299,"content":300},{"textAlign":33},[301],{"text":302,"type":102,"marks":303},"Video by Kevin Saychareun",[304],{"type":287},{"type":86,"attrs":306,"content":307},{"textAlign":33},[308],{"text":309,"type":102,"marks":310},"Originally published on Unity Health 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