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Amanda McIntyre was presented with the 2018 Leadership Award for Fellows & Students at this year’s Lawson Impact Awards, recognizing her skills as a leader, researcher, clinician and community advocate. McIntyre is a PhD candidate in nursing at Western University and a part of Lawson researcher Dr. Robert Teasell’s team at St. Joseph’s Health Care London’s Parkwood Institute.

McIntyre began her career at Lawson as a research assistant in 2011 and since then has built an impressive academic and research record, while at the same time obtaining a nursing degree from Western University. In addition to her many research obligations, she continues to take regular nursing shifts in the emergency department to build her clinical experience.

“We nominated Amanda because she’s kind of like a renaissance person. She does a lot of things and whatever she does, she does really well,” says Dr. Robert Teasell, medical director of the Stroke Rehabilitation Unit at Parkwood Institute.

McIntyre is involved in a variety of research projects in the field of neurorehabilitation and has been an author on 50 peer-reviewed publications.

She is the project coordinator and an editor of the Spinal Cord Injury Evidence-Based Review (SCIRE), an extensive and comprehensive review of the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Rehabilitation literature considered to be the leading research synthesis of SCI rehabilitation anywhere in the world. She also had an active role in the development of the Canadian Best Practice Recommendations for Stroke Care.

McIntyre is a two-time recipient of the Mary Elizabeth Horney Fellowship in Rehabilitation Research, which is funded through St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation. As part of her fellowship, she is conducting research on the transition of stroke patients from inpatient to outpatient rehabilitation, and back to the community. Her doctoral research will focus on the delivery and access of care in emergency departments and the influence this has on patient outcomes.

McIntyre has assumed a supervisory and mentorship role in Dr. Teasell’s lab. She has been instrumental to the development of many research assistants, students and volunteers.

She is also currently the graduate students’ representative on the Nursing Research Advisory Committee, and a research practicum mentor for Nurse Practitioner students at Western University, allowing her to act as an advocate for current and future nursing students.

She says, “Winning this award is a huge privilege. It represents not just my successes but our entire team’s success, so I think it’s a win for all of us.”

Lawson scientist Dr. Robert Teasell is considered a global leader in neurorehabilitation research and has been instrumental in transforming clinical care in this area across Canada by ensuring that clinical practices are informed by the best available and up-to-date research evidence. In recognition of his accomplishments, he received the Scientist of the Year Award at the 2018 Lawson Impact Awards event this past spring.

Dr. Teasell leads the Collaboration of Rehabilitation Research Evidence (CORRE) research team at St. Joseph’s Health Care London’s Parkwood Institute. He is also the Medical Director of the Stroke Rehabilitation Unit at Parkwood Institute and has an active outpatient chronic pain practice.

He has led the development of three internationally renowned evidence-based reviews for stroke rehabilitation, brain injury and spinal cord injury, which are regarded as the three most comprehensive research syntheses in neurorehabilitation in the world. Dr. Teasell has advised and helped plan stroke care for all of Ontario’s 14 Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) and six provincial healthcare systems. This is in addition to the many clinical guidelines and models of care he has helped develop and update.

Dr. Teasell also bridges the gap between research and clinical practice through collaborations between his research and clinical teams. His multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Knowledge to Action Project (REKAP) team received the 2014 Sandra Letton Quality Award for their quality improvement project designed to make Parkwood Institute a leader in stroke rehabilitation by improving care through implementation of best practices.

In addition to his neurorehabilitation research, Dr. Teasell has published extensively on chronic pain with a recent focus on the role of obsessive personality traits in determining chronic pain disability and coping abilities. 

Drawing on his clinical and research expertise, Dr. Teasell has supervised many students and has been committed to developing the next generation of medical researchers.

“Dr. Teasell has been successful in a number of areas. Certainly in terms of publications and mentorship of students who have gone on and had very successful careers of their own. Despite a busy clinical schedule, he always makes a point of engaging with his research team every day. His staff and students really appreciate the opportunity to work with him,” says Dr. Cheryl Forchuk, Beryl and Richard Ivey Research Chair in Aging, Mental Health, Rehabilitation and Recovery, and Assistant Director, Lawson Health Research Institute.

Dr. Teasell has authored 335 peer-reviewed articles, as well as many other collaborative group peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, published abstracts, posters, presentations and monographs. He has also been the editor for 14 special journal editions and is on the editorial boards for Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation, Journal of Rehabilitation, and Pain Research and Management. 

In 2016, he was invited to present the Ramon J. Hnatyshyn Lecture, the leading annual national stroke lecture at the Canadian Stroke Congress in Quebec City. In 2010, he received the Canadian Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Merit award for his many contributions to the field of physiatry. He was also awarded the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada McLaughlin-Gallie Visiting Professor in 2012.  This year he will be awarded the Post-Acute Stroke Award of Excellence from the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the National Stroke Association in the United States.

“I’ve received a lot of national and international awards but there’s nothing better than being recognized by your peers and particularly your peers in the city where you work. It’s been a nice acknowledgement of not just my work, but also the work by the whole research team and all the people who have supported me over the years,” says Dr. Teasell.

Dr. Don Richardson was recognized at the 2019 Lawson Impact Awards for his research and innovation in working with veterans with military-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  His study titled, “Predicators of Long-Term Treatment Outcome in Combat and Peacekeeping Veterans with Military-Related PTSD,” was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Throughout Dr. Richardson’s career, he has worked diligently to develop and implement best practice assessment and treatment guidelines for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and veterans. He has developed and maintained two clinical research databases  ̶  a database of self-reported health status, by working with patients at the Operational Stress Injuries (OSI) clinic, and a treatment outcomes database. Through this data, he has demonstrated that military trauma populations are complex and are at greater risk of becoming resistant to treatment than most civilian trauma populations.

“Don is extremely deserving of this award,” says Dr. Cheryl Forchuk, Dr. Richardson’s nominator. “When I think of someone who does a great job of linking together research and clinical practice, Don is always someone who comes to mind.”

The treatment outcomes database gives researchers unparalleled insight into the pharmacologic interventions best suited for CAF members and veterans. With the ability to identify when individual patients are experiencing less-than-optimal outcomes, the research team can adjust their treatment plan accordingly.

Over the past 20 years, Dr. Richardson has published over 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters on the assessment and treatment of operational stress injuries, PTSD, major depressive disorder, substance use disorders, and suicidal behaviour. He has elevated awareness for the unique mental health challenges faced by CAF members and veterans who present with operational stress injuries.

In light of Dr. Richardson’s findings, he works to assess the current treatment modalities for PTSD, their utility for treating military populations, as well as complementary therapies that may prove beneficial.

Dr. Richardson’s dedication to military mental health research is evident through his unwavering effort and has attracted the attention of many prominent figures in the field of military and veteran health. In 2017, he was granted the opportunity to build a research and innovation center for advancing military and veteran health research and clinical practice. Through a generous donation from two community peers, Dr. Richardson established and leads the Macdonald/Franklin OSI Research Centre, located at Parkwood Institute.

“It is certainly an honour to receive this award,” says Dr. Richardson. “I wish to thank all of my clients for taking the time to fill out the repeated questionnaires, as well as the research staff who support this program, and who work tirelessly to help our CAF members and veterans.”

According to Dr. Jeremy Burton, we’re in a golden age of microbiome and probiotics research.

“Thanks to advancements in next-generation sequencing, we’re learning more and more every day about the impacts of the microbiome on the human body,” states Dr. Burton. 

Effective September 1, 2020, Dr. Burton has been appointed as Research Chair in Human Microbiome and Probiotics at Lawson Health Research Institute for a five-year term. As part of the Chair’s responsibilities, Dr. Burton will also assume the title of Director for the Canadian Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotics Research, which is located at Lawson. 

Funded by an endowment through St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation, the position is responsible for leading Lawson’s Human Microbiome and Probiotics research program. The specialized research chair was established at St. Joseph’s in 2007 as a result of a significant investment by Danone International, in recognition of groundbreaking microbiome research by Dr. Gregor Reid, the inaugural holder of the Chair. 

With extensive experience in both academia and industry, Dr. Burton is a world-renowned scientist specializing in urinary microbiome research. He points to the diversity of microbiome research at Lawson as a strength to be leveraged.

“Our program is conducting a diverse array of microbiota-related research from probiotic studies to fecal transplants to the investigation of drug-microbiome interactions,” explains Dr. Burton. “There’s a lot of interest in conducting microbiome research as it’s become clear how it affects so many human systems. We are also working with a number of other groups across the city – both clinical and basic sciences – to meet their microbiota-related research needs.”

There are two pillars to Dr. Burton’s vision for microbiome and probiotics research at Lawson. The first is advancing translational research that leads to improved patient outcomes, such as new microbial therapies. The second is improving our understanding of the microbiome by studying its function in real-time.

“In most studies, we collect patient samples, put them in the freezer and then analyze them later. We now want to follow people in real-time to get a better understanding of how the microbiome functions inside the human body,” notes Dr. Burton. “We hope to accomplish this by harnessing technologies already available at Lawson. For example, we’ve been collaborating with the Lawson Imaging program to look at bacteria in real-time using the Institute’s imaging technology.”

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Above: Dr. Jeremy Burton (right) in the lab with Dr. Kait Al (left), Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Burton is known for forging strong interdisciplinary relationships to enhance knowledge translation, especially within the Division of Urology.

“Dr. Burton has established a robust academic laboratory and strategic partnerships that are advancing the Institute’s scientific mandate. He is a natural leader,” says Dr. David Hill, Lawson Scientific Director. “As Research Chair in Human Microbiome and Probiotics, Dr. Burton will further Lawson’s reputation in the field.”

Dr. Burton will build on a 30-year legacy of microbiome research.

“There’s a long history of microbiome research at Lawson and St. Joseph’s,” he says. “We were lucky to have visionaries like Dr. Gregor Reid – my predecessor in this position – who have helped revolutionize the field.”

For Dr. Burton, this is the next step in an illustrious career with Lawson. He first joined the Institute and Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 2001 after completing his BSc, MSc and PhD at the University of Otago in New Zealand.

“I had a very productive time as a Fellow, publishing something like 15 manuscripts in two years. It was an amazing experience and a time that I really relished.” 

He was then recruited to industry in 2003 where he developed a strong background in clinical trials and global business development.  

“Working in industry helped shape me into the principal investigator that I am today. But there were so many questions about the microbiome that I wanted to answer and I ultimately found myself back in academia.”

Dr. Burton rejoined Lawson as a Scientist in 2011. Prior to his appointment as Lawson Research Chair in Human Microbiome and Probiotics, he held the title of Deputy Director of the Canadian Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotics Research since 2011 and Miriam Burnett Chair in Urological Sciences since 2013. He is also an Associate Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Microbiology and Immunology at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry. 

“What brought me back to London is the people and the collaborative environment. Researchers cross departmental and divisional borders with ease. As a scientist, I can walk from my lab to a clinic, and clinician-researchers can do the same in reverse. Everyone has a ‘can do’ attitude and they are willing to test big ideas with one another.”

Learn about recent microbiome and probiotics research at Lawson:

• Gut microbiome may influence how cancer patients respond to oral therapies, study suggests
• New urinary microbiome study could be first step in providing personalized care to patients with ureteral stents
• Fecal transplants show promise as treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
• Café Scientifique: The invisible world inside us
• Using probiotics to protect honey bees against fatal disease
• Could microorganisms in poop help treat the deadliest form of skin cancer?
• Researchers find gut microbiome plays an important role in atherosclerosis
• Probiotics for respiratory tract infections could save Canada nearly $100 million a year

With an aging population, neurological conditions like stroke, brain injury and multiple sclerosis (MS) are on the rise in Canada. Those living with neurological conditions face many long-term challenges that can affect both their physical and cognitive functioning. They are also at an increased risk for mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety.

“While mental health challenges are common for those with neurological conditions, they often go untreated for a number of reasons,” says Dr. Swati Mehta, Scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute. “For example, those living in remote areas often do not have access to specialized services and many patients are concerned about stigma.” 

Yet seeking mental health care is critically important for patients with neurological conditions. “Research suggests that depression among these patients can impair recovery, leading to decreased quality of life and increased health care costs.”

To improve patient outcomes, Dr. Mehta and a collaborative research team are developing an internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) program.

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Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a specialized type of therapy that involves patients learning strategies and skills to self-manage mental health symptoms. It’s one of the most widely used therapies for the treatment of depression and anxiety. 

A panel of researchers, persons with lived experience of neurological conditions and community organizations are working collaboratively to develop an accessible ICBT program that meets the needs of persons with neurological conditions and mild cognitive impairment who are also experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety. The program, called The Neuro Course, will be a modified version of an existing course developed in Australia by the eCentreClinic.

“Through co-development with patients and experts in the field, the ICBT program will meet the specific needs of persons with neurological conditions who are also experiencing mental health challenges,” explains Dr. Mehta. “With online delivery, it can provide personalized treatment while being flexible and easily accessible.”

The Neuro Course will be piloted with a small group of research participants, including patients from Parkwood Institute, a part of St. Joseph’s Health Care London. Eligible participants can sign up to be notified of the course’s availability at https://www.onlinetherapyuser.ca/neuro. 

The free online course consists of six easy-to-understand CBT lessons and will take approximately 10 weeks to complete. In addition to the six lessons, participants will be encouraged to work through various activities during the week.

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Participants will also receive regular support from a designated online guide. Guides will be health educators who are certified providers or graduate students working under the supervision of certified providers. All guides will have training in psychology or social work. The participant’s guide will review the participant’s progress and answer any questions or comments through a secure messaging system.  

Participants in the study will be asked to complete brief questionnaires before they begin the course, on a weekly basis throughout the course and then again three months after treatment ends. The research team will use the questionnaires to assess patient outcomes and improve future versions of the course.

The goal of the program is to overcome barriers to face-to-face therapy, such as limited access to specialized care and concerns about stigma related to seeking care, by providing an effective online alternative. By reaching those in need, the research team hopes to improve patient outcomes and overall wellbeing. 

“The long term goal would be to implement the ICBT program into clinical practice to provide increased access to mental health services among this population,” says Dr. Mehta. “The program could be used to provide care to those with mild to moderate mental health concerns or those waiting to access face-to-face programs.”

The team is being funded for this project through Lawson’s Internal Research Fund (IRF) competition. “As an early career researcher, receiving funding from Lawson’s IRF is a great honour. It’s a great opportunity to help researchers obtain funding for small feasibility studies to develop evidence for larger grants that can be used to translate knowledge across the community,” states Dr. Mehta.