Health Sciences North hosts second annual ‘Catalyst’ event

A total of 17 ground-breaking medical research projects were on display Thursday night when Health Sciences North hosted its second 'Catalyst' event.

Ground-breaking medical research was on display Thursday evening in Sudbury as Health Sciences North hosted its second ‘Catalyst’ event.

There were 17 poster projects on display, connecting researchers, donors and community members.

“We are here today to connect with the people and the stories and the patients at the heart of research behind the research, doing the research, asking the questions to make an impact for Northern Ontario,” said Catherine Copley from Health Sciences North Research Institute.

The event focused on aging, cardiovascular health needs, cancers that are often found in northern Ontario and addressing access to medical care.

“When you work in a field long enough and you interact with patients as well as with colleagues, you know that there’s always room for improvement,” said Dr. Tara Leary, regarding her research project, ‘Finding Steady Ground: Specialized Care, Better Outcomes.’

“You know that there are always gaps. And you also see things that work. You see how the landscape evolves, as well.”

More access in southern Ontario

“In southern Ontario, you have much more access to funding and you have much more concentrated funding opportunities in comparison to northern Ontario,” said Dr. Mohammed Shurrab on his research project, ‘Heart of the Matter: Rural Disparities in Cardiac Care.’

“But with the resources that we have, we are able to invest those resources in a meaningful research that is able to improve the care and outcomes of patients living in northern Ontario.”

Researchers said they have big ideas on changing systemic medical practices for the better up north.

“This is a call for system-level intervention to try to bridge the gap and minimize the gap between rural and urban communities, providing more access to primary care more access to cardiology,” Leary said.

Geographic disparity

“It’s very unfortunate that in northern Ontario, we have a huge geographic disparity, and those patients who live in the Far North of Ontario and small communities have difficulty in accessing care and accessing tests that they need to have when they suffer from a cardiovascular disease.”

She said the aim of the research is to “evaluate the services that we are putting in place at the hospital to address folks that stay with us and struggle with a substance use disorder.”

Shane Gordon of Health Sciences North Foundation said most people don’t realize the extent and sophistication of the medical research being conducted in the north.

“When people think of Sudbury in northeastern Ontario, they’re thinking about mines, they’re thinking about that sort of thing, and they don’t really realize just how big a deal the medical research portion of things is here,” Gordon said.

“Every year, HSN 50/50 supports HSN Foundation, which in turn funds nine cancer research projects for northern Ontario, to the total of $300,000,” Copley added.