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Dr. Arlene MacDougall has been appointed as Director of Research and Innovation for mental health care at St. Joseph’s Health Care London and Lawson Health Research Institute.

She will oversee and facilitate all mental health care research at both Parkwood Institute and Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care, working to develop strong local and global partnerships, engage patients and their caregivers in research activities, and foster trans-disciplinary approaches to research.

Her goal is to build on existing research strengths in mood disorders, suicide and smart technology. She also will look to develop research links between Mental Health and Parkwood Institute’s other major research programs, Cognitive Vitality and Brain Health, and Mobility and Activity.

Dr. MacDougall joined Lawson and the Department of Psychiatry at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University in 2013 working with the Prevention and Early Intervention Program for Psychoses at London Health Sciences Centre. Last year she was cross appointed to the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Schulich.

“I come to this new role with a great deal of optimism, energy and enthusiasm. Parkwood Institute Research has a number of established strengths in the mental health care field as well as potential for new streams of research and innovation,” says Dr. MacDougall. “I look forward to working with researchers, staff, and patients and their supporters, as well as academic and community partners, to make Parkwood Institute a leading centre in Canada for mental health research.”

Parkwood Institute Research is a Lawson program that represents inter-disciplinary clinical research and focuses on the advancement of innovations and discoveries that directly improve patient care. 

Dr. MacDougall will continue her own program of research, which includes recovery-oriented interventions for people with serious mental illness locally and in Africa. She is leading local studies on the use of mindfulness meditation and participatory video interventions to promote recovery among youth with early psychosis. She is also leading a project based in Kenya using social businesses and a low cost psychosocial rehabilitation toolkit to create meaningful employment, promote social inclusion and support the overall functioning and recovery of people with serious mental illness in low income settings.

Most recently she has been involved in developing and leading initiatives that use social innovation approaches to tackle complex mental health system challenges both locally and globally.

At Western, she is the Director of Global MINDS (Mental Health Incubator for Disruptive Solutions) @ Western, an educational and research initiative that supports students, faculty and community stakeholders to create solutions that will reduce the global burden of mental disorders. Global MINDS is focused on innovating for low and middle income countries and for marginalized communities in Canada. Another initiative, MINDS of London-Middlesex, is working with multiple local stakeholders to collaboratively establish a social innovation lab and use collective impact approaches that will lead to solutions that address complex challenges in the local mental health system.

Dr. MacDougall began her new role on February 1, 2017 and joins Drs. Michael Borrie and Tim Doherty as Joint/Acting Beryl and Richard Ivey Research Chair in Aging, Mental Health, Rehabilitation and Recovery. She also joins Lawson’s Research Executive Committee as Assistant Director (interim) for Parkwood Institute Research, Mental Health.

Dr. Cheryl Forchuk is the recipient of the 2020 Innovation Award for her work to prevent discharges from hospital to homelessness. Throughout her career, Dr. Forchuk has been investigating potential best practice approaches to prevent homelessness in our community for a wide range of people, including those with severe mental illness, veterans, families, and youth. 

Her recent project, ‘Preventing Hospital Discharge into Homelessness: No Fixed Address Version 2 (NFAv2)’ streamlines housing and income services by bringing them into the hospital, and integrating them into a coordinated system of care.  

Research shows that when someone is housed, their use of medical and social services decreases. Safe and adequate housing is required for individuals to recover from illness. 

 Version one of this program was a great success, providing direct access to a housing advocate and Ontario Works from inpatient hospital psychiatric units in London. The No Fixed Address v2 program provides individual inpatients, at risk of becoming homeless, with housing and financial assistance while in hospital. A collaborative approach which includes the local Canadian Mental Health Association, the Salvation Army Rent Stability Bank, Ontario Works, and the City of London brings community supports to the hospital. This enables patients to recover from their illness and reduces the number who may return to the hospital. Dr. Forchuk’s use of in-depth, individual, quantitative interviews, and qualitative focus groups, allows stakeholders to voice their experiences with the program as well as capture traditional outcomes. 

“This innovative program has been so successful in London’s hospitals that the City of London has integrated the NFAv2 service within its municipal housing support programs,” explains Dr. Arlene MacDougall, Lawson Scientist and Dr. Forchuk’s nominator. “It also has the potential to be integrated across the province as the best practice in reducing homelessness in communities. Her efforts have been recognized by multiple funding agencies, and it will soon be the model for the rest of the nation to follow. Dr. Forchuk’s commitment to improve the lives and of those in our community makes her truly deserving of this award.” 

“The No Fixed Address research project is the first evaluation anywhere of a strategy that aims to reduce the number of hospital patients being discharged into homelessness,” says Dr. Forchuk. “I’m really proud of our collective efforts. We have been able to help a lot of people, and have also learned a lot throughout the course of this study.” 

Dr. Manuel Montero-Odasso, Clinician Scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute and Director of the Gait and Brain Lab, has been named as one of the 10 most influential Hispanic Canadians for 2019. Presented by TD Bank, those on the list were honoured at an awards ceremony in Toronto, Ontario in November. 

A geriatrician at St. Joseph’s Health Care London, Dr. Montero-Odasso is recognized as a world expert in dementia and gait disorders. The main focus of his research is on the interaction of mobility and cognitive decline in aging. He is the team leader for the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA), a collaborative research program advancing dementia research, and leads the Mobility, Exercise and Cognition (MEC) Team in London, comprised of top researchers in the area of mobility, exercise and brain health.

Dr. Montero-Odasso says that one aspect of his career that he is most proud of is being able to collaborate with other researchers in his field and “contribute to new approaches to combat mobility and cognitive decline in aging.” This is evident through the clinical trials he pioneered by implementing an approach of “improving cognition to improve mobility.”

TD Bank’s “10 Most Influential Hispanic Canadians” is awarded to individuals from the Hispanic community across Canada to recognize their outstanding achievements. Dr. Montero-Odasso’s influence is displayed on a global scale as he has received over 100 invitations to give international lectures and has published over 200 manuscripts and book chapters. He has a close relationship with the Spanish-speaking community and has hosted visiting scientists from Argentina and Spain. 

 “I feel honoured and privileged, particularly this kind of award where you are nominated by your peers. I am also glad my work is reflecting the role that my Hispanic background plays,” says Dr. Montero-Odasso, who is also a professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics at Western University. “Additionally when you look at the other nominees, and those who have received the award in the past, it really gives you a sense of the amazing things Hispanics who live and work in this country are contributing to Canadian society.” 

Dr. Montero-Odasso emphasizes the value of diversity and learning from different backgrounds when seeking solutions. As he continues working in this important field as a physician and researcher, Dr. Montero-Odasso’s goal is to, “find effective ways to treat and delay aging disability in order to add, as they say, life to the years, and not only years to the life.” 

WORLDiscoveries, the technology transfer and business development office for Western University, Lawson Health Research Institute and Robarts Research Institute, recently announced the recipients of the 2020 Vanguard Awards. 

Vanguard Awards recognize local researchers who, through partnership with WORLDiscoveries, have achieved various market-readiness milestones. 

Lawson’s Dr. Qingping Feng was named as the Innovator of the Year. He is being recognized for his research and intellectual property related to Annexin and its use to treat inflammatory disorders. He holds patents issued in Canada, United States, Europe, China and Japan.

This award is given to individuals who demonstrate excellence in innovation within their field. It highlights the achievements of those who contribute to the culture of commercialization and entrepreneurship by creating a product or service that is beneficial to society. 

Congratulations to Dr. Feng and all of the 2020 Vanguard Award recipients. 

As the research institute of LHSC and St. Joseph’s, our researchers work in the lab and directly with clinicians, patients, families and other partners to enhance diagnostics and treatments. They also address care at a system level by improving delivery of services for people in London and beyond. 

For any pressing health question, our work does not stop once the research is done. Commercialization and business development are vital components in driving innovation and transforming health care, all while supporting Canada’s knowledge economy. 

Learn more about Dr. Feng’s research: 

• Potential sepsis treatment could be ready in 5 years thanks to London, Ont., researcher (Global News)

• Vanguard innovator may have found first-ever sepsis treatment (Western News)

Captain (Navy) Dr. Raymond Kao, a Lawson associate scientist, has been awarded the 2017 John McCrae Memorial Medal by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA).

Dr. Kao has served in various military units as a Medical Officer since 1991 and has been a member of the Canadian Armed Forces since 1977. He has served in Africa and the Middle East. In 2013, Dr. Kao was named Canada’s first Chair in Military Critical Care Research. A major focus of his research has been on improving military trauma care and developing treatments that can be brought to the battle field.

The John McCrae Memorial Medal from the CMA recognizes clinical health services personnel of the Canadian Forces who perform exemplary service and demonstrate compassion, self-sacrifice or innovation beyond the call of duty to benefit the health or welfare of fellow military personnel or civilian populations.

“Receiving this honour is very humbling because one does not achieve anything without the help of others. My work would not be possible without the support of and collaboration with other researchers. This award represents the efforts of all the military physicians and surgeons, nurses, medical technicians, allied health care providers and physicians’ assistants on my deployments who have worked to provide excellent care,” says Dr. Kao, who is also the senior critical care advisor to the Surgeon General, a critical care physician at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), and an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.

In 2014, Dr. Kao was part of a military medical team sent to Sierra Leone to help combat the Ebola epidemic. He provided care to affected health care workers and studied prognostic factors to help improve care in future epidemics.

He is currently studying the use of C-Peptide to improve organ dysfunction after traumatic hemorrhagic shock caused by blunt or penetrating trauma. Hemorrhagic shock is treated with fluid resuscitation, or fluid replacement, which can also put stress on the organs. His recent studies have shown that C-Peptide, an insulin connecting protein, has the potential to reduce gut injury and lung inflammation from hemorrhagic shock and fluid resuscitation.

Dr. Kao is also widely recognized for his research on erythropoietin, a hormone produced by the kidneys that stimulates the production of red blood cells and, in turn, haemoglobin. He found that when combined with saline, erythropoietin can improve blood flow and tissue oxygen usage after an injury. Erythropoietin can easily be administered through a syringe and can be used to help stabilize wounded soldiers in the battlefield.