Year 4 - Reaching New Heights - Q2 Report

Quarter 2 Highlights

A thriving and engaged research community, driving advancements in health

Executive Committee

Nicole Sbrocca (Chair)

WindsorRegionalHospital

Caroline Hamm

WindsorRegionalHospital

Alison Murray

HôtelDieuGraceHealthcare

Heather Pratt UniversityofWindsor

Chad Sutherland UniversityofWindsor

Jennifer Voth

HôtelDieuGraceHealthcare

Peter Wawrow St.ClairCollege

Lisa Porter

WESPARKHealthInstitute

Karen Metcalfe WESPARKHealthInstitute

Year 4

–

Reaching New Heights

Igniting Discovery, Living Better

In our first three years we established a strong common vision, united our strengths and accelerated our research activities. We continued to expand and build efficiencies within our health research ecosystem, made diversity and inclusion a priority and supported researchers at all stages of their career. We ended our year by hosting a celebratory event that focused on the impact of health research and what can be accomplished when we focus on succeedingtogether. The details can be found in our Year 3 Impact Report

In Year 4, we are focused on continuing to support the people that drive health research in our community and accelerate research to become successful funded projects. We are focused on growing health innovation and critical infrastructure, creating an environment that is attractive to the brightest minds and demonstrating the importance of health research for the economic development of our region. We aim to ignite discovery, reachnewheights andlivebetter

Lisa A. Porter, PhD, Executive Director

Distinguished Professor, University of Windsor

The WE-SPARK Team

Lisa Porter, Executive Director

Karen Metcalfe, Assistant Director

Emily Espinoza Lewis, Social Media & Communications

Devinder Moudgil, Medical Student Research Associate Ryan Palazzolo, Student Network Coordinator Adriana Grande, Knowledge Translation (on maternity leave)

Kyle Lago, Translational Research Associate

Christopher Ng Fletcher, Innovation Research Associate

Linda Hudson Chapman, Administrative Assistant Cathy Mombourquette, Special Projects Media Relations

Organizational Effectiveness

Build the effective organizational structures and systems we need to achieve our mission

Reporting

Year 4 Milestones

a) Continue quarterly reporting and tracking that leads to the yearly impact report b) Monitor and adapt budget reporting c) Implement a fundraising plan d) Develop MOUs between WE SPARK institutions, as needed e) Review current terms, policies and reporting mechanisms to identify and respond to changing needs f) Implement the next strategic planning cycle

HIGHLIGHTS

a) Continue quarterly reporting and tracking that leads to yearly impact report

On October 19th , over 40 members joined our virtual Town Hall. They rated our progress and provided input on where we need to focus our efforts in the coming year. Comparing responses since 2019, people rate the overall state of health research in Windsor Essex as improving.

f) Implement the next strategic planning cycle

An external consulting company is moving forward with a regional health research strategic planning process, including the completion of an asset map.

Driving Organizational Effectiveness – Governance Committee

Next Meeting: January 12, 2023 (committee meets quarterly)

Lisa Porter (Chair), WE SPARK

Alison Murray, HDGH

Heather Pratt, UW

Nicole Sbrocca, WRH

Monica Staley Liang, SCC

Karen Metcalfe, WE SPARK

Research Excellence

Create a dynamic research environment that enables, supports and promotes excellence

Year 4 Milestones

a) Host events that build collaboration, grow teams and support professional development research excellence forward

b) Continue to host the WE SPARK Grant competitions to support local researchers to elevate grant success at the national level

c) Profile and track successes of Core Members to elevate the academic profile of Windsor Essex

d) Provide opportunities for research mentorship

e) Consult and grow WE SPARK programs

f) Provide a central hub for research processes and system navigation g) Monitor the progress toward a regional Research Ethics Board (REB)

h) Provide support for external peer review

i) Initiate and continue to evolve the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) action plan

j) Bring together local experts to develop position papers that advocate for change

HIGHLIGHTS

a)

Hosted 4 Events, Planning a Conference and Coordinated Grand Rounds

In Q2 we moved forward the plans for the 2022 Health Research Conference to be held on November 11 & 12. Outcomes will be reported in Q3. WE-SPARK After Dark continued each month, an in person event that provides an opportunity for our research community to casually connect. Devinder Moudgil, our Medical Student Research Associate organized the first WRH Grand Rounds that featured SWORP project progress and we continued our Think Tank series, allowing people to make connections, presentresearch ideas and mobilize next steps.A summary of outcomes can be found on the Think Tank landing page.

Driving Research Excellence – Research Development Committee

Next Meeting: November 18, 2022 (committee meets every 6 weeks)

Caroline Hamm (co chair), WRH

Chris Abeare, UW

Jessica Bennett, WRH

Kyle Jackson, SCC

Balraj Jhawar, WRH

Jody Ralph, UW

Simon Rondeau Gagne, UW

Ingrid Qemo, UW

Jennifer Voth (co chair), HDGH Peter Wawrow, SCC

Lisa Porter, WE SPARK

Karen Metcalfe, WE-SPARK

Host events that build collaboration, grow teams and support professional development that moves local research excellence forward

Research Excellence

Think Tank Successes

Think Tanks now include a spotlight on past presenters and how their projects have progressed. This latest project was presented by Dr. Caroline Hamm at the December 2021 Think Tank and focused on solutions to challenges of managing life threatening illnesses for patient that have only limited health insurance. Since then, she has brought together a new team that successfully secured seed grant funding. The project will be presented at the upcoming conference and they have applied for additional funding.

b) Continue to host the WE-SPARK grant competitions to support local researchers to elevate grant success at the national level

A summary report of the 2022 grant competition was prepared by Dr. Ingrid Qemo, Health Research Coordinator, Office of Research and Innovation, University of Windsor to ensure transparency of the decision making process Distribution of grant funds aligned well with the distribution of membership by institution There was a 100% success rate for applicants from HDGH and WRH. St. Clair College did not submit a grant for the Igniting Discovery Grants competition but was successful in obtaining funds through the Incentive Grant program.

Success Rate

f) Provide a central hub for research processes and system navigation

Fresh tissue trials have been successfully relaunched, with patient tissue collected at WRH transported to research labs at UWindsor. WE SPARK’s Translational Research Associate, Kyle Lago is coordinating study processes and recruitment

Research Excellence

Highlighting Member Profiles, Projects and Successes

Our research activities are driven by our Principal and Core Associate Members who are actively engaged in the research field on a daily basis. Members profiles, projects and successes continue to be shared on social media, newsletters and added to the WE SPARK website. In Q2, a number of Members were successful in receiving grant funding, one, Dr. Charlene Senn received one of the highest funded CIHR ever awarded.

Members are asked to submit research activities and successes for the bi monthly newsletter. They are distributed to our research community and archived on our website The newsletters for Q2 highlighted: • $6.9 Million in new funding • 27 publications • 4 awards

Local physicians and healthcare providers need academic appointments to build their research programs. In Q2, WE SPARK facilitated 5 Adjunct Appointments in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Windsor for the following members:

Clinical Assistant Professor Appointments: Dr. Anne Marie Beaudet, Dr. Robert McKay, Dr. Abdullah Nasser and Dr. Junaid Yousuf. Professor of Practice Appointment: Sarah Mushtaq, MBA.

December, 2022 February, 2023 April, 2023

Year 4 Milestones

HIGHLIGHTS

Community Engagement

c) Maintain social media presence and engagements, while continuing to refine messaging to target audiences

@wesparkhealth continued to engage the community on all social media platforms during Q2. A shift from standard to tailored content according to the platform and type of audience, and including storytelling and personal narratives to our communications has had positive results We have added 125 new followers since last quarter.

d) Broaden community understanding of WE-SPARK through media relations and community engagements locally, provincially and nationally

Select Featured Media Stories

In Q2, WE SPARK was part of 7 local mainstream news stories, 66 stories in partner newsletters/communications and 12 in national/other media. Sample stories:

Windsor Star: WE SPARK Health Institute announces $310,000 in grants for local health research Education News Canada: Kindergarten transitions can be eased by supporting kids' social and emotional needs

CTV News: Art installation by post secondary students aims to boost COVID vaccine confidence St. Clair College News: Data Analytics for Business Graduate Earns Integral Role at Erie Shores HealthCare

WRH The Pulse: Health Research Conference Coming Up!

CTV News: Windsor researchers develop new nursing program to help prevent burnout UWindsor Daily News: Report highlights accomplishments of health institute

Community Newsletter

In Q2, we continued with our community newsletters providing a quarterly highlight in August, 2022 (engagements: 1,050)

Community Connections and Outreach

WE-SPARK supports the efforts of others by speaking at events, providing sponsorship and collaborating on initiatives locally, regionally, provincially and nationally. Some connections made in Q2:

Year 4 Milestones

a) Expand the student research network and integrate with existing student programs and services at St. Clair College and UWindsor

b) Expand, promote, and streamline management of our Health Research Resource Hub

c) Expand and promote the Knowledge Translation Toolkit, including tools for commercialization, and increase awareness to our research community

d) Support student experiential learning, novel training opportunities and professional development

e) Develop and implement a plan for increasing engagement with industry and community partners

HIGHLIGHTS

In Q2, 12 new students were onboarded to our network and they attended over 10 outreach events at the University, College and in our community. Our Student Network Coordinator implemented quarterly office hours where students can meet each other, ask questions, and interact with WE SPARK staff.

Three volunteers have moved to paid positions through Ignite and will receive course credit through service learning.

Pete

Lisa Porter, WE SPARK Karen Metcalfe, WE SPARK

Knowledge Translation

In Q2, WE SPARK completed audits on 5 of the resource hubs. This is part of our continuous improvement process.

WE SPARK staff are now being asked to share their expertise with students. In Q2, staff provided over 80 hours in student engagement, including guest lectures, consultations and novel training opportunities

Chris Ng Fletcher, Innovation Research Associate, has officially launched the WE SPARK Innovation Hub and will host the first virtual event on November 24th. Critical to this hub are the Innovation Ambassadors - researchers and healthcare workers involved in innovation projects that translate their research and/or clinical experience into products, services, programs, and/or processes that are successfully implemented and impactful. Innovation ambassadors are committed to fostering increased multidisciplinary collaboration, finding solutions to problems in healthcare, and growing an ecosystem of innovators. We have kicked off with 7 Ambassadors anyone interested in joining should contact Chris.

b) Expand, promote and streamline management of our Health Research Resource Hub

d) Support student experiential learning, novel training opportunities and professional development in health research

e) Develop and implement a plan for increasing engagement with industry and community partners

Capacity

Secure the resources needed to achieve our mission

Year 4 Milestones

a) Support and expand use of data sharing platforms for our researchers

b) Create research ecosystem maps to facilitate clear reporting and communication pathways for WE SPARK members, staff and committees

c) Facilitate joint funding plan for large infrastructure grants by creating multi institutional, multi disciplinary teams in preparation for large infrastructure grant competitions

d) Explore and evolve infrastructure planning and a capital plan, including a research infrastructure map of Southwestern Ontario

e) Implement the NUCLEUS plan, including collecting key core facility metrics and developing promotional content to inform our members and the community about research infrastructure

HIGHLIGHTS

a)

Support and expand use of data sharing platforms for our researchers

With the new installation of REDCap, additional metrics are being collected and 2 factor authentication has been implemented for improved security.

REDCap USE

Training

Next Meeting: January, 2023

Adriana Grande, WE SPARK

Renee Biss, UW

Arezoo Emadi, UW

Jackie Fong, UW

Wendy Foote, SCC

Phil Karpowicz, UW

Kyle Lago, WE SPARK

Krista Naccarato, WRH

Michelle Nevett, UWindsor

Ken Ng, UW

Ming Pan, WRH

Lisa Porter, WE SPARK

Jody Ralph, UW Chad Sutherland, UW Pete Wawrow, SCC TBD, HDGH

Build Capacity

d) Explore and evolve infrastructure planning and a capital plan

Progress continues to be made on research infrastructure planning. We are expanding our network to support our researchers in preparation for the Health Innovation Park. In addition to attending the Association of University Research Parks (AURP) conference, 7 new connections were made including Boston Niagara Medical Campus, Michigan State Foundation and Vision Loss Rehab Canada.

e) Implement the NUCLEUS plan, including collecting key core facility metrics and developing promotional content to inform our members and the community about research infrastructure

In Q2 we participated in the Life Sciences Ontario Cross Country Roadshow that showcases the life sciences and health care ecosystem in our region. The audience of over 110 attendees included academic institutions, accelerators, incubators, and community partners.

BUILDING CAPACITY - REGIONAL RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT

A key strategic objective of WE SPARK is to create efficiencies across the health research ecosystem, increase the critical mass of health researchers and create an environment that allows the health research environment to grow within organizations and as a collective. Every quarter, WE SPARK’s Executive Committee meets to report on committee progress, ensure transparency and agree on metrics to be reported. They also provide reports on institutional research progress. A few highlights are provided:

All partners reported new positions being added to their research office teams and increased engagement/excitement around research initiatives

New committees are being formed that support the advancement of research activities internally (WRH Mentorship Committee, SCC Research Committee)

Research project activity growing:

• WRH 49 current projects with involvement from more departments; $50K QI project successfully funded by Bristol Myer Squibb (Dr. Hamm & Dr. Elfiki)

• HDGH 20 Research and Evaluation projects being supported; 7 completed; 3 accepted for publication (others pending)

• SCC – NSERC Social Innovation grants are up and running, preparing for next round

• UWIN - strong applications submitted in Fall CIHR round Conference participation provides opportunities and learnings

• WE SPARK Conference providing a new opportunity for SCC students

• HDGH project presented at European Conference of Mental Health this past summer

• Research Coordinator, ORIS, UWindsor, participated in the Society of Research Administrators International Conference. Will share learnings across membership

All partners reported activity on student placements and involvement in new research projects

Reporting Timeline

Below are a few action items you can expect to see in coming months.

Organizational Effectiveness

• Finalize a budget for the next 5 years that includes plans for sustainability and grants program support

• Work with external consultants to launch a regional health research strategic planning process

• Prepare outline for Year 4 Impact Report

Research Excellence

• Report outcomes of the Health Research Conference

• Highlight outcomes and impacts of grants program to date

• Increase use and engagement of the WE SPARK App

• Launch 2023 Think Tank series dates

Knowledge Translation

• Re visit the model for the Student Network to align with existing partner programs and structures

• Host the first Innovation Ambassador Event

• Host a SWORP mixer event to connect medical students with UWindsor Supervisors

Community Engagement

• Continue to provide research presence at community events

• Expand the Engage Program

• Implement new content on social media

Build Capacity

• Streamline metrics collection across partners to better report on the growth of health research capacity in our region

• Contribute to the Research Data Management strategies being developed across the partners

REACHING NEW HEIGHTS