Centres and programs

The Labarge Centre for Mobility

The Labarge Centre for Mobility in Aging (LCMA) launched in 2016 to direct focus on initiatives that mitigate the risk and consequences of declining mobility with age. Built on the groundwork of the Labarge Foundation, the Labarge Optimal Aging Initiative, and the generosity of Suzanne Labarge, the LCMA uses an interdisciplinary approach to examine the biological, behavioural, technological and environmental factors that can affect individual and community mobility in older adults.

Labarge Optimal Aging Initiative

Since its launch in 2012, the Labarge Optimal Aging Initiative has been the financial backbone of the McMaster Optimal Aging Portal, a free website that offers informative blog posts, resource ratings, and evidence summaries drawn from high-quality research articles and intended for a general audience.

MIRA | Collaborative for Health & Aging

Funded by CIHR Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR), the MIRA | Collaborative for Health & Aging was established in 2019 by Parminder Raina, MIRA, and Maureen Markle-Reid, Aging, Community, and Health Research Unit (ACHRU), with the aim of supporting research on aging and building capacity in patient-oriented research on aging.

MIRA | Dixon Hall Centre

MIRA, in partnership with Toronto’s Dixon Hall, a multi-service agency that focuses on issues of poverty, social injustices and isolation, has formed MIRA’s newest centre. The MIRA | Dixon Hall Centre will be nested within the Institute in order to extend and expand on its reach. The aim of this collaborative work is to improve quality of life and enable older adults to live with dignity through purposeful initiatives planned over the short and long term. This new partnership was made possible thanks to the generosity of Suzanne Labarge.

Mobility Measurement Co-op

Dr. Marla Beauchamp, Rehabilitation Science

In 2020, MIRA researcher Dr. Marla Beauchamp (Rehabilitation Science) established the Mobility Measurement Co-op at the McMaster Innovation Park in Hamilton to assess the mobility of older adults. The lab is situated in a community-based setting that offers easy access for older adults. It will expand its scope and breadth through opportunities for a detailed assessment of gait biomechanics, balance, and fall risk in study participants. The Co-op is envisioned to serve researchers at McMaster University as well as others in the community with interests in state-of-the-art mobility measurement.