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St. Joseph’s Health Care London is taking giant strides in the science of rehabilitation and movement, with direct benefit to patients.

St. Joseph’s is setting a long-time vision into motion.

“Five years ago, we had a vision of leveraging our long history and expertise in providing innovative rehabilitation treatments to improve the lives of people with mobility needs on a larger scale,” says Roy Butler, President and CEO of St. Joseph’s Health Care London (St. Joseph’s). “That dream has come to life.”

While experts at St. Joseph’s had the knowledge, innovative spirit and passion to achieve the vision, they needed a partner who shared the same enthusiasm.  

William and Lynn Gray answered that call. With their generosity and ground-breaking investment, The Gray Centre for Mobility and Activity was created.  

“Lynne and I are very pleased with the steady forward advancement of the centre’s mission since its establishment just a few short years ago,” says Bill Gray. “The innovative thinking and idea generation that seeks new solutions to the issue of mobility have really taken root. We hoped that The Gray Centre would have an impact on care ... and it has.”

“We’ve watched the development of The Gray Centre with enormous pride and are pleased to have our name associated with it, and the excellence it stands for,” adds Lynne Gray.

A unique concept

Established in 2020, The Gray Centre at St. Joseph’s Parkwood Institute is a regional hub focused on researching leading-edge treatments and interventions in mobility and activity. The centre’s unique model of linking research and care allows researchers to work side-by-side with clinicians, patients, and caregivers to uncover optimal methods for maintaining mobility throughout a person’s life.

“Scientists at The Gray Centre are leading the way in integrating technology and solutions in care to better understand how we can enhance each patient’s treatment plan to improve their functionality and ability to move,” says Butler.  

Pioneering Research

More than 50 ongoing rehabilitation research projects at Parkwood Institute are exploring areas such as spinal cord and traumatic brain injury rehabilitation, pain, outcomes for amputees, virtual exercise and cognitive behavioral therapy, gait analysis as a measure of dementia progression, and stroke rehabilitation and recovery.

The Gray Centre is a catalyst and connector for these projects by investing in cutting-edge technology, providing seed grants, embedding researchers from Western University, leveraging clinical expertise, attracting world-class researchers and translating new knowledge into clinical practice by training students and clinicians, and fostering sustainable practice change.

More than $1.3 million granted through St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation has advanced work at The Gray Centre over the past year. From researcher support to new equipment such as two transcranial magnetic stimulators, a portable handheld ultrasound and several sensored mats for gait assessment donors have stepped up to advance this work.  

Leadership with Purpose

At the helm of The Gray Centre is Siobhan Schabrun, PhD, a world-renowned neuroscientist and the inaugural William and Lynne Gray Research Chair in Mobility and Activity. Thanks to a partnership with Western University’s Faculty of Health Sciences and Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, donor funding for the chair made through St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation was matched, creating a $5-million endowed position.  

Schabrun’s innovative research benefits people suffering from chronic pain. With a focus on non-invasive brain stimulation techniques to enhance neuroplasticity and improve mobility and activity outcomes, she and her team are, in essence, retraining the brain’s pain response. This innovative work bridges the gap between neuroscience and rehabilitation, offering new hope for individuals with musculoskeletal and neurological conditions.  

Originally trained as a physiotherapist with a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Adelaide in Australia, Schabrun has attracted more than $15 million in competitive research funding and written or contributed to more than 140 scholarly publications.  

FLOATing Forwards

The newest advancement is a first-in-Canada and a marvel of medical engineering that is transforming options in rehabilitation research and practice. 

The Reha-Stim Medtec FLOAT system at St. Joseph’s Parkwood Institute enables patients with mobility limitations to walk, supported, without fear of falling. They "float" in a controlled environment using a combination of robotics, body-weight support and real-time feedback. The device has a harness attached to a robotic arm, which adjusts the level of support based on the patient's movements. Sensors provide continuous feedback for maximum learning and greatest benefit to physical therapists and patients alike. The FLOAT system has shown significant improvements in patients' mobility, balance and overall functional independence.

“Innovative equipment like the new FLOAT System is an example of the type of innovation that does not exist anywhere else in Canada,” says Bill Gray. “The real-life application of technologies like this are what The Gray Centre is intended to be about.”  

Through the combined efforts of dedicated professionals, cutting-edge technology and philanthropist partners, St. Joseph’s Gray Centre has combined vision with passion and is transforming lives, one step at a time.

The region’s largest celebration of emerging researchers’ work, London Health Research Day featured oral and poster presentations from undergraduates, grad students, postgraduates and trainees.

They shared their work with peers and globally renowned scientists in an array of specialized health and medical fields.

Their projects were as diverse as concussion treatment for children; large-language models to evaluate cancer diagnoses; brain imaging in people with dementia; and health system change to reduce surgical wait times.

Dozens of projects had Lawson Research Institute connections, included chronic pain’s impact on the brain; self-directed cognitive behavioural therapy for people recovering from stroke; and triaging care for people with shoulder injury.

Participants were also treated to a keynote address by Professor Francesca Ciccarelli, PhD, a global leader in cancer genomics who shared groundbreaking insights into the future of cancer research and precision medicine.  

Her presentation was part of the Lucille and Norton Wolf Health Research Lecture Series through the generosity of the Bernard and Norton Wolf Family Foundation. 

London Health Research Day is a shared project of Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, the Faculty of Health Sciences, Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's Health Care London and London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute.

All told, about 500 people took in the day’s events, including several professional- and career-development workshops.