Search
Search
Manuel Montero-Odasso
Manuel Montero-Odasso, MD; PhD
Professor, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
Mobility, Cognitive and Brain Health
Dr. Manuel Montero-Odasso is a geriatrician at Parkwood Institute and Professor and Faculty Scholar in the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. He is also the Director of the Gait & Brain Lab at Parkwood Institute, a clinician-scientist at the Lawson Health Research Institute and serves as team leader at the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging and the Ontario Neurodegenerative Research Initiative.
Dr. Montero-Odasso leads the Gait and Brain Health Program goal of understanding mechanisms and treatments of mobility and cognitive decline in aging by focusing on the interaction between gait performance and cognition and how this increases the risk of falls. Through this work Dr. Montero-Odasso has established the use of “motor biomarkers”, like slowing of gait speed and dual-task effects on gait to predict frailty, falls, and dementia. He is also a co-PI of the Canadian Therapeutic Platform for Multidomain Interventions to Prevent Dementia, which focuses on multi-domain lifestyle interventions that include physical exercises, cognitive training, diet, self-management of cardiovascular factors and sleep, in order to reduce the risk or delay the onset of dementia in older adults.
Dr. Montero-Odasso has received more than $6 million of competitive peer-reviewed research funding, has published over 150 scientific articles, 14 books and book chapters, and has received several accolades, including the American Geriatrics Society New Investigator Award, the Schulich Clinician Scientist Award, the Premier of Ontario Excellence Research Award, and the CIHR New Investigator Award. In 2019, he was inducted as one of the Top 10 Hispanic Canadian for his contribution in Medicine and Science. He has been invited to give more than 100 international presentations as a guest speaker. He serves as associate editor for the Journal of Gerontology Medical Sciences, Geriatrics, and Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, among others. He also serves as executive member and Vice-President of the Canadian Geriatrics Society.
Mental Health Research & Innovation Day
This full-day event will be divided into two distinct components:
- 8:00 am-10:00 am: Lawson Mental Health Group Strategic Planning Workshop (open to current and prospective Lawson scientists and associate scientists)
- 10:30 am - 4:00 pm: Mental Health Research & Innovation Day (open to all students, staff, clinicians & community members interested in mental health care research & innovation)
Keynote: Aimee van Wynsberghe, speaking about the ethics related to artificial intelligence in mental health care settings.
In addition to the keynote speaker, the day will include research updates from Parkwood Mental Health Care and Lawson Health Research Institute; poster and oral presentations on topics related to mental health care research and innovation, as well as art and musical compositions by individuals with lived experience of mental illness.
View the Call for Abstracts. The Planning Committee is currently working to finalize details and will be in touch with further information.
Please click here to register and to find out more information.
Methamphetamine Harm Reduction Project Launch Event
Integrating harm reduction strategies into hospital settings for people who use methamphetamine
You are invited to attend this virtual launch event for the Methamphetamine Harm Reduction Project, being led by researchers at Parkwood Institute Research, a program of Lawson Health Research Institute.
Friday, April 23, 2021
10 - 11 a.m.
Register here
Evidence-based harm reduction strategies, for example needle exchange services, supervised injection sites and safe supplies, have been used in the community to reduce the risk of infection and overdose, and the risk of other harmful behaviour like crime.
Currently, harm reduction strategies for methamphetamine use are not used in Canadian hospitals. The standard of care does not allow the use of illicit substance in hospital, making implementation of harm reduction strategies challenging. A safe consumption of substances requires an exemption under Section 56.1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act from Health Canada.
A recent London, Ontario study found that people who use methamphethamine actually have a greater risk of infection in hospital than in the community. "This may be due to better access to harm reduction in the community compared to in hospital, and so people are using cleaner techniques," explains Dr. Michael Silverman.
With support from Health Canada, a new hospital-based research study led by Dr. Cheryl Forchuk seeks to find what harm reduction strategies are needed and whether these can be implemented in hospital. This study represents a groundbreaking shift for the health care system in Canada.
The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Health Canada.
Michael Payne
Michael Payne, MD
Assistant Professor, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry
Amputation
Dr. Michael Payne is a physiatrist at Parkwood Institute and an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University. He completed his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at Queens University followed by a Master’s degree in Sports Medicine and a medical degree at Western University, residency training in Physiatry at the University of Ottawa, and then a clinical fellowship in Australia.
Dr. Payne’s clinical practice has always focused on addressing mobility limitations across a wide range of physical impairments and has been the medical director of the Regional Amputee Rehabilitation program at St. Joseph’s Health Care London since 2009. Dr. Payne collaborates extensively with Dr. Susan Hunter from the School of Physical Therapy from Western University to address research questions centred around improving meaningful outcomes for people with limb loss or deficiencies. Specific interests include mobility outcome measurements, dysvascular amputation associated cognitive impairment, biomechanics, quality of life, gait abnormalities and falls.
Military and Veteran health research shared at Research Consortium meeting
Canadian researchers working to improve military and Veteran health met at St. Joseph’s Health Care London’s (St. Joseph’s) Parkwood Institute on December 4, 2017 for their fifth Research Consortium meeting.
The Research Consortium group, established in 2015, is led by Lawson researcher Dr. Don Richardson, Physician Clinical Lead at St. Joseph’s Operational Stress Injury Clinic (OSI Clinic). The group meets two to three times a year to provide updates on their projects and foster collaborative research partnerships, rotating between London, Hamilton and Toronto as host sites.
“Members of the military and Veterans have unique symptoms and treatment needs so it’s important that we engage in knowledge transfer with other researchers working with the same group of patients,” says Dr. Richardson. “The Research Consortium meetings are a great way to learn about recent projects from our peers and identify new avenues for collaboration with the goal of providing the best possible treatment outcomes for our patients.”
In addition to researchers from St. Joseph’s OSI Clinic, the Research Consortium group includes representatives from Defence Research and Development Canada, the Canadian Institute for Military & Veteran Health Research, the Canadian Armed Forces, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Homewood Research Institute, Western University, University of Manitoba, McMaster University, University of Toronto, Ryerson University and Queens University.
St. Joseph’s OSI Clinic provides specialized mental health services to Veterans, members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and their families who are experiencing mental health challenges as a result of service. The OSI Clinic is one of ten outpatient clinics in a national network across the country funded by Veterans Affairs Canada.
At the meeting, Dr. Richardson provided an update on recent projects at St. Joseph’s OSI Clinic, including research to enhance the understanding of moral injury.
Moral injury refers to lasting emotional distress that can occur when military men and women are exposed to events that disturb or undermine moral beliefs about how people can be expected to behave. OSI clinicians reported that exposure to these events drastically changes their patients’ views of the world; causes them to question their religion, spirituality or human nature; and often leaves them feeling disconnected from their loved ones. The researchers will now collect additional data from clinicians across the OSI national network and from the Research Consortium group. Part of their investigation will explore the relationship between different kinds of traumatic events and moral injuries, and mental well-being.