Year 5 - Driving Results - Q1 Report

Year 5 – Driving Results

Quarter 1 Highlights

A thriving and engaged research community, driving advancements in health

Executive Committee

Peter Wawrow (Chair) St.ClairCollege

Jonathan Foster WindsorRegionalHospital

Caroline Hamm WindsorRegionalHospital

Alison Murray HôtelDieuGraceHealthcare

Heather Pratt UniversityofWindsor

Neelu Sehgal ErieShoresHealthCare

Chad Sutherland UniversityofWindsor

Jennifer Voth HôtelDieuGraceHealthcare

Lisa Porter WE-SPARKHealthInstitute

Karen Metcalfe WE-SPARKHealthInstitute

Year 5 – Driving

Igniting Discovery, Living Better

In our first four 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. Local funding for health research has grown significantly. We ended our year by hosting Cheers to Hope, a fundraising event that focused on the impact of health research and what can be accomplished when we focus on reaching newheights. The details can be found in our Year 4 Impact Report:

In Year 5, we are focused on listening to our health research community and implementing our new strategic plan. 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, drive resultsandlivebetter.

Lisa A. Porter, PhD, Director Distinguished Professor, University of Windsor

The WE-SPARK Team

Lisa Porter, Director

Karen Metcalfe, Assistant Director

Genesis Flores, Knowledge Translation Research Associate

Kyle Lago, Translational Research Associate

Danielle Gyemi, Research Associate – NUCLEUS & Innovation Ryan

Ryan Palazzolo, Student Network Coordinator

Jillian Calandra, Translational Research Associate

Niklas Pizzolitto, Administrative Assistant

Cathy Mombourquette, Special Projects-Media Relations

Organizational Effectiveness

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

Year 5 Milestones

a) Continue quarterly reporting that leads to the 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) Complete the next strategic planning cycle, including a plan for long term sustainability

g) Create research ecosystem maps to facilitate clear reporting and communication for WE-SPARK members and committees

HIGHLIGHTS

Compiled metrics for Quarter 1 and prepared the report focused on ‘Driving Results’ (Milestone a)

Quarterly and year end reporting for year 4 has been fully implemented and available on the WE-SPARK website WESPARK’s Year 5 will be focused on ‘ DrivingResults’.

Completed the information gathering phase for the strategic plan (Milestone f)

• Over 250 survey responses submitted

• 4 committee focus groups complete

• Strategic planning session complete (June 19th)

• Asset map creation in progress

Driving Organizational Effectiveness – Governance Committee

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

Lisa Porter (Chair), WE-SPARK

Alison Murray, HDGH

Heather Pratt, UW

Nicole Sbrocca, WRH

Neelu Sehgal, ESHC

Monica Staley Liang, SCC

Karen Metcalfe, WE-SPARK

Research Excellence

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

Year 5 Milestones

a) Continue to host events that build collaboration, grow teams and support professional development moves local research excellence forward

b) Continue to host the WE-SPARK Grant competitions. Collect metrics and assess outcomes to better understand the impact of the research on our local community

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) Develop and implement a plan that advocates for change in areas of interest to our partners

HIGHLIGHTS

Formally launched the 2023 Health Research Conference and Hosted 4 Events (Milestone

a)

In Q1 we launched the 2023 Health Research Conference with a dedicated website that includes our sponsors. We continued our WESPARK After Dark and Think Tank series, providing unique opportunities for our researchers to make connections, present/share research ideas and drive results. A summary of all events can be found on the Think Tank landing page.

Driving Research Excellence – Research Development Committee

Next Meeting: August 18, 2023 (committee meets every 6 weeks)

Caroline Hamm (co-chair), WRH

Chris Abeare, UW

Jessica Bennett, WRH

Kyle Jackson, SCC

Balraj Jhawar, WRH

DJ MacNeil, HDGH

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

Research Excellence

Think Tank Successes

Think Tanks include a spotlight on past presenters and how their projects have progressed. In June, we highlighted a project presented by Dr. Caroline Hamm at the December 2021 Think Tank. On-going news on project successes can now be found on our website

Adjudicated and notified applicants of decisions for the 2023 WE-SPARK grant competition (Milestone b)

Decisions have been made in the 2023 grant competition. Members of the Multidisciplinary Research Assessment Committee (MRAC) were asked to declare any conflicts of interest and indicate areas of expertise. Each grant was assigned a primary, secondary, and tertiary reviewer. Reviewers attended an onboarding session, were assigned to a panel and met for the designated online review panel where the Chair, Co-Chair, Scientific Officer and score keeper ran the meeting. All grants were discussed and scored. Consolidated scores were calculated and grants were ranked against scores, priority streams and partner institutions. Grants were recommended for funding and approved. A formal announcement will be made on August 31st and details of all projects can be found on the WE-SPARK website in September. Outcomes and impacts of the grants program will be highlighted in Q2.

Thank you to the 2023 Grant Sponsors

Research Excellence

Tracked membership growth and profiled successes of Core Members (Milestone

c)

We continue to add new members to our research ecosystem with a total of

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.

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 newsletter for Q1 highlighted:

• $3.7 Million in new funding

• 22 publications

• 6 awards

Publishing Dates

June, 2023

August, 2023

October, 2023

December, 2023

February, 2024

April, 2024

Provided a central hub and coordination for translational trials involving patients biospecimens (Milestone

f)

Projects involving patient biospecimens continue to move forward. WE-SPARK’s Translational Research Associate (TRA), Kyle Lago is coordinating study initiation, recruitment and documenting study processes. WE-SPARK has added a new TRA, Jillian Calandra to the team to take over the support of biospecimen related projects that involve large external funding.

Began to implement a health research advocacy plan (Milestone j)

As an initial step in creating a regional health research advocacy plan, UWindsor has become a member of Research Canada and Dr. Lisa Porter was appointed to the Research Canada Board. 14 local research stories have been shared this quarter through Research Canada’s Daily Digest.

Community Engagement

Enhance understanding and build trust with the community

Year 5 Milestones

a) Create workshops, series and/or events that engage the community and build the profile of WE-SPARK

b) Showcase research facilities and projects happening in the community

c) Maintain social media engagement while continuing to refine messaging to target audiences

d) Broaden community understanding of WE-SPARK through media relations, our community newsletter and speaking engagements, locally, regionally and provincially

e) Continue to evolve our website capabilities and reach

f) Continue to develop the purpose and plan for the WE-SPARK Engage program to invite the community to join our research efforts

HIGHLIGHTS

Elevated our research profile by sharing local research stories, expanding our network and creating new resources for distribution (Milestone d)

Select Featured Media Stories

In Q1, WE-SPARK was part of 5 local mainstream news stories, 42 stories in partner newsletters/communications and 12 in national/other media.

Research Canada: First Cohort of Students to Graduate with Masters of Science in Translational Health Science Degree

Kingsville Times: Survivors, Families, Others Tour Windsor/ Essex Brain Tumour Research Lab

Research Canada: Grant to fund research into improving care for pediatric diabetes

iHeart Radio: $300,000 donated towards Tayfour-Emara Research & Education Fund

WRH The Pulse: WE-SPARK Seeking Input on Next Strategic Plan

Expanding our Network and Making Connections

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 Q1:

Driving Community Understanding - Community Engagement Committee

Next Meeting: August 8, 2023 (committee meets quarterly)

Dora Cavallo-Medved, UW

Stephanie DeFranceschi, SCC

Allison Johnson, WRH

Chad Sutherland (Chair), UW

Maciah Telfer, HDGH

Karen Metcalfe, WE-SPARK

Community Engagement

About WE-SPARK - New Resource

A new ‘About Us’ resource was created that highlights WE-SPARK’s history, governance structure, our strategic overview, our members and key programs and services. To view or download your copy, visit our website. Please share with your networks so more people can learn about WE-SPARK Health Institute.

Increased the WE-SPARK

social media presence and reach (Milestone

c)

@wesparkhealth continued to engage the community on all social media platforms during Q1 increasing our followers by over 1,200 people since Q1 last year. We are focusing on highlighting events and successes of our research community and promoting knowledge translation around relevant health topics. Below are a few of our posts with the highest engagement this quarter.

Expanded our reach by engaging more people through the WE-SPARK website (Milestone e)

WESPARKHEALTH COM

Total Q1 Unique Visits

Most Visited Pages in Q1

Knowledge Translation

Translate research information to inspire and drive change

Year 5 Milestones

Q1

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

b) Promote, update and streamline management of our Health Research Resource Hub

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

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

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

HIGHLIGHTS

Audited and began to redesign the Research Navigation and Knowledge Translation Toolkit (Milestone c)

The Knowledge Translation Committee is guiding our Research Associates and student interns to create a user-friendly web-based toolkit to support current and new researchers to find the tools they need to conduct research and achieve their goals. Progress to date includes:

Created a master list of all research tools located on the WE-SPARK website

Consulting with Research Offices at partner organizations to include critical internal tools and navigation pathways

Identifying gaps in current tool kit

Integrating the KT toolkit with the research navigation toolkit coordinated under the Research Development Committee

Driving Knowledge Translation – Knowledge Translation Committee

Next Meeting: August 9, 2023 (committee meets every 6 weeks)

Linda DiRosa (Co-Chair), HDGH

Dave Andrews, UW

Beckie Berlasty, SCC

Allison Brooks, ESHC

Martin Crozier, UW

Mason Leschyna, ESHC

Dora Cavallo-Medved (Co-Chair), UW

Noeman Mirza, UW

Peter Wawrow, SCC

Indryas Woldie, WRH

Lisa Porter, WE-SPARK

Karen Metcalfe, WE-SPARK

Knowledge Translation

Coordinated and participated in community outreach events, providing our student network members with unique research opportunities (Milestone a)

In Q1, Genesis Flores joined our team as the Knowledge Translation Research Associate working closely with Ryan Palazzolo, Research Network Coordinator. Genesis is a recent graduate of the UWindsor Masters of Science in Translational Health Science and in addition to the student network, Genesis is leading the WE-SPARK conference, social media plan and cheers to hope event.

Our student network participated in outreach events showcasing to the public: the value of health research, member’s latest research successes and the importance of critical infrastructure to the health of our region.

Community Events

Volunteers provide reflections on the WE-SPARK experience. This is what a few of them had to say:

Science Academy

Discovery Camp Recruitment Event

Build Capacity

Secure the resources needed to achieve our mission

Year 5 Milestones

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

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

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

d) Implement the NUCLEUS plan, including the development of a centralized database to collect key metrics on the current research infrastructure in Windsor-Essex; and a ‘go-to’ online resource that increases access to and promotes the work of our core research facilities

HIGHLIGHTS

Supported and expanded the use of REDCap for our researchers (Milestone a)

REDCap continues to be a popular data sharing platform for our health researchers. Two factor authentication has been implemented and a Mock Disaster REDCap Instance Recovery has been scheduled. In Q2, a joint WE-SPARK/ITS workshop around RDM will provide updates on REDCap, backup systems and processes, security of data and answer questions from participants.

REDCap USE

Training and Support

Driving Research Capacity – NUCLEUS Committee

Next Meeting: To be determined (committee meets every quarter)

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

213 Active Users

Ming Pan, WRH

Lisa Porter, WE-SPARK

Jody Ralph, UW

Chad Sutherland, UW

Pete Wawrow, SCC

TBD, HDGH

Build Capacity

Initiated the development of a NUCLEUS infrastructure database (Milestone d)

With funding support from UWindsor VPRI, Faculty of Science and WESPARK, Dr. Danielle Gyemi was recently hired to oversee NUCLEUS and drive coordination, expansion and sustainability. Danielle has a research background in biomechanics and has gained exposure to a variety of equipment and core facilities through her work on inter-disciplinary research projects involving academic, industry, and healthcare professionals at the University of Windsor, University of Waterloo, and Wayne State University. In just 3 months, significant progress has been made:

Completed an Environmental Scan

A scan was completed of online resources for core facilities across academic institutions in North America to embed best practices in NUCLEUS.

Developing the NUCLEUS equipment inventory database

REDCap is being used to construct and pilot test the database, focusing on existing health research infrastructure in the Faculty of Science, UWindsor

Initiating Consultations

Consultations with core facility managers and technicians are ongoing to optimize the data collection platform and identify metrics that will support a coordinated effort with standardized facility reporting and a sustainability plan.

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:

New positions/appointments directly related to health research reported at UWindsor, ESHC, HDGH, WRH

New health research committees, reports and websites launched/updated

• Academic Research Committee created at ESHC, appointed Chair - Dr. Patrick Cervini

• Research websites launched at ESHC and SCC (HDGH coming soon)

• Health research activity annual reports completed at UWindsor and HDGH

Research activity continues to be reported. A few highlights:

• HDGH – 19 ongoing projects, 4 conference presentations/manuscript submission and a research lunch and learn series created

• WRH – won a bid to become a member of Accelerating Clinical Trials; received a significant research donation from Tayfour-Emara

• SCC – received a Mobilize Grant

• UWindsor – Major partner in Canadian Hub for Health Intelligence and Innovation in Infectious Disease (HI3); Health Innovation Park planning session underway

Looking Forward

Reporting Timeline

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

Organizational Effectiveness

• Share the results of the strategic planning process and prepare for implementation of the plan

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

Research Excellence

• Support new grant recipients to initiate projects

• Highlight outcomes and impacts of grants program

• Grow number of members with profiles created on the website

• Promote the Fall 2023 Health Research Conference

• Re-design the research navigation tool-kit

Knowledge Translation

• Update the model for the student research network that provides a navigation tool to direct researchers to pathways for including students in research projects

• Re-visit the health research resource hub taking into account the results of the strategic plan

Community Engagement

• Provide a WE-SPARK presence at Fall community events

• Continue to roll out research stories on national networks

Build Capacity

• Pilot the NUCLEUS equipment inventory database in preparation for the creation of an online resource

• Launch a Research Data Management workshop series

DRIVING RESULTS

Appendix: Year 5 Budget

May

• Research Director Stipend/Teaching Release

• Assistant Director Salary

• Translational Research Associates

• Knowledge Translation Research Associates

• Administrative Assistant

• Student Network Research Associate

•

Associate – NUCLEUS and Innovation

Proposed 2023-2024