Year 5 - Driving Results - Q2 Report

Year 5 – Driving Results

Q2 Highlights

August 1, 2023 – October 31, 2023

Quarter 2 Highlights A thriving and engaged research community, driving advancements in health

Executive Committee Peter Wawrow (Chair)

St. Clair College

Jonathan Foster

Windsor Regional Hospital

Caroline Hamm

Windsor Regional Hospital

Alison Murray

Hôtel Dieu Grace Healthcare

Year 5 – Driving Results 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 new heights. The details can be found in our Year 4 Impact Report:

Heather Pratt

University of Windsor

Neelu Sehgal

Erie Shores HealthCare

Chad Sutherland

University of Windsor

Jennifer Voth

Hôtel Dieu Grace Healthcare

Lisa Porter

WE-SPARK Health Institute

Karen Metcalfe

WE-SPARK Health Institute

In Year 5, we are focused on listening to our health research community and implementing our new strategic plan. Our mission is to elevate regional health research and to advance the translation of findings into evidence-based interventions and policies that positively impact the health and well-being of communities throughout the Windsor-Essex region and beyond. We aim to ignite discovery, drive results and live better.

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 Jillian Calandra, Translational Research Associate Ryan Palazzolo, Student Network Coordinator Kristin Bradshaw, Administrative Assistant Cathy Mombourquette, Special Projects-Media Relations Year 5 – Q2

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Year 5 2023-2024

SNAPSHOT quarter two highlights

1146

MEMBERS

72 MEDIA STORIES

5 MEMBER AWARDS

19,240 VIRTUAL ENGAGEMENTS (SOCIAL MEDIA & WEB)

EVENTS/WORKSHOPS HOSTED

Q2

10 OUTREACH EVENTS

1485 EVENT ATTENDEES

258 ACTIVE REDCap USERS

5

3550 STUDENT VOLUNTEER HOURS LOGGED

3 CLINICAL ADJUNCT APPOINTMENTS FACILITATED

Q2

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

Reporting

Year 5 Milestones a) b) c) d) e)

Continue quarterly reporting that leads to the impact report Monitor and adapt budget reporting Implement a fundraising plan Develop MOUs between WE-SPARK institutions, as needed Review current terms, policies and reporting mechanisms to identify and respond to changing needs f) Complete the next strategic planning cycle g) Create research ecosystem maps to facilitate clear reporting and communication for WE-SPARK members and committees

HIGHLIGHTS Hosted a Town Hall, distributed the Quarter 1 report and produced the Year 4 Impact Report (Milestone a) On October 18th, 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.

Prepared the draft strategic plan in preparation for review by the Executive and Board (Milestone f)

Driving Organizational Effectiveness – Governance Committee Next Meeting: January, 2024 (committee meets quarterly) Lisa Porter (Chair), WE-SPARK Alison Murray, HDGH Heather Pratt, UW

Year 5 – Q2

Nicole Sbrocca, WRH Neelu Sehgal, ESHC Monica Staley Liang, SCC Karen Metcalfe, WE-SPARK Page 4

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 that 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 Finalized preparation for the 2023 Health Research Conference and Hosted 5 Events (Milestone a) In Q2, the 2023 Health Research Conference was in the final stages of preparation with over 260 people registered to date, 143 abstracts submitted, 5 plenary speakers confirmed and a focused panel on embedding people with lived experience in research. We continued our WE-SPARK After Dark and Think Tank series. On October 30th, WESPARK hosted representatives from the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) for a full day of discussions to explore future opportunities to work together.

Driving Research Excellence – Research Development Committee Next Meeting: November 24, 2023 (committee meets every 6 weeks) Caroline Hamm (co-chair), WRH Chris Abeare, UW Gina Bulcke, WRH Kyle Jackson, SCC

Year 5 – Q2

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

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Research Excellence Think Tank Metrics and Successes

Q2

Think Tanks include a spotlight on past presenters and how their projects have progressed. In October, we highlighted our new metrics tracker that captures the details of all Think Tanks since inception. You can find these regularly updated on with additional project successes on our website.

Completed a summary report on the 2023 WE-SPARK grant competition to ensure transparency; began preparation for the 2024 competition (Milestone b) A summary report of the 2023 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. A break down of grant support by funding source was provided for UWindsor as there are some funders who direct their support to UWindsor Faculty. New this year, a “Got Your Funding, Now What?” workshop was held on October 17th for all new grant recipients to support their initial steps and to be better connected to people who can support the grant process as they move their projects forward.

Year 5 – Q2

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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 1146 members (adding 225 members from Q2 last year).

Highlighting Member Profiles, Projects and Successes Our research activities are driven by our 37 Core Principal Members and 186 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.

Local physicians and healthcare providers need academic appointments to build their research programs. In Q2, WE-SPARK facilitated 3 Adjunct Appointments in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Windsor for the following members: Clinical Assistant Professor Appointments: Dr. Syed Naqvi and Dr. Munira Sultana. Professor of Practice Appointment: Kyle Shafer.

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 Q2 highlighted:

• • •

$4.7 Million in new funding 15 publications 5 awards Publishing Dates June, 2023 December, 2023 August, 2023 February, 2024 October, 2023 April, 2024

Provided a central hub and coordination for translational trials involving patients biospecimens (Milestone f) WE-SPARK’s Translational Research Associates (TRA), Kyle Lago and Jillian Calandra are coordinating projects that involve patient biospecimens including study initiation, recruitment and documenting study processes. The next step is to prepare for 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. Their mission is to improve the health and prosperity of all Canadian by championing Canada’s global leadership in health research and innovation. WE-SPARK has shared 10 local research stories this quarter through Research Canada’s Daily Digest.

Year 5– Q2

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Community Engagement Enhance understanding and build trust with the community

Q2

Year 5 Milestones a) b) c) d)

Create workshops, series and/or events that engage the community and build the profile of WE-SPARK Showcase research facilities and projects happening in the community Maintain social media engagement while continuing to refine messaging to target audiences 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 supporting fundraising for research (Milestone d) Select Featured Media Stories In Q2, WE-SPARK was part of 10 local mainstream news stories, 51 stories in partner newsletters/communications and 11 in national/other media.

Research Canada: Researchers target hypertension in Black populations CBC News: UWindsor studying how cancer care should look different for LGBTQ community Research Canada: Joint medical-policing pilot program aimed at supporting individuals struggling with substance use disorders extended CTV News: A call to young girls for help in important UWindsor study Windsorite.ca: Erie Shores HealthCare Launches Office of Research Research Canada: Sensors to help researchers study the breathing of sleeping subjects

Expanding our Network and Supporting Fundraising for Research WE-SPARK meets with groups interested in expanding research efforts, speaks at events and fundraises for local charities. In Q2 we made news connections and raised over $13,000.

Driving Community Understanding - Community Engagement Committee Next Meeting: 2024 (committee meets quarterly) Dora Cavallo-Medved, UW Stephanie DeFranceschi, SCC Allison Johnson, WRH

Year 5 – Q2

Chad Sutherland (Chair), UW Maciah Telfer, HDGH Karen Metcalfe, WE-SPARK

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Community Engagement Engaged the community at local events and showcased latest research projects (Milestone a and b) WE-SPARK staff and volunteers participated in and helped organized 10 in-person outreach events advocating for the importance of research and translating the latest statistics and projects. Over 1350 people were reached.

A sample of Community Events

Increased the WE-SPARK social media presence and reach (Milestone c)

@wesparkhealth continued to engage the community on all social media platforms during Q2 increasing our followers by over 1,370 people since Q2 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 Q2 Unique Visits

Year 5 – Q2

Most Visited Pages in Q2

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Knowledge Translation Translate research information to inspire and drive change

Q2

Year 5 Milestones 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 Supported student experiential learning and professional developed through lectures and consultation (Milestone d) WE-SPARK staff are available to share their expertise with students. In Q2, staff provided over 65 hours in student engagement, including guest lectures, consultations and novel training opportunities.

All 26 students from the UWindsor Master of Science in Translational Health Science program have been connected to supervisors and have begun their research projects. Many of them have registered to participate in the WE-SPARK Health Research Conference either as presenters or volunteers.

Sixty students are currently enrolled in the UWindsor (BIOM 3750-1) Cancer Undergraduate Research and Education (CURE) course - a hands-on learning experience that enhances knowledge about the science and directions in cancer research, exposes students to the importance of multidisciplinary research and brings students together into collaborative teams to design tools to communicate cancer research to multiple audiences. This year, students’ projects will be considered by Let’s Talk Science and if adopted, will be available as modules to teachers across Canada.

Schulich-UWindsor Opportunities for Research Excellence Program (SWORP) awards were formally announced with 10 successful recipients notified. Details of the awards can be found in the WE-SPARK October newsletter.

Driving Knowledge Translation – Knowledge Translation Committee Next Meeting: 2024 (committee meets every 6 weeks) Dave Andrews, UW Beckie Berlasty, SCC Allison Brooks, ESHC Martin Crozier, UW Mason Leschyna, ESHC

Year 5 – Q2

Dora Cavallo-Medved (Co-Chair), UW Noeman Mirza, UW Peter Wawrow, SCC Indryas Woldie, WRH Lisa Porter, WE-SPARK Karen Metcalfe, WE-SPARK Page 10

Knowledge Translation Coordinated and participated in community outreach events, providing our student network members with unique research opportunities (Milestone a) Our student volunteers 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. This term, WE-SPARK has added 1 service learning student and an intern to our team.

Event Highlights

Year 5 – Q2

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Build Capacity Secure the resources needed to achieve our mission

Q2

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. Monthly REDCap ‘tips and tricks’ and reminders regarding best practices for backing up projects are sent to all users. In Q2, WESPARK provided support to Dr. Charlene Senn, Canada Research Chair in Sexual Violence, and her team launching the first randomized control trial (RCT) on the WE-SPARK REDCap instance.

REDCap USE Training and Support

258 ACTIVE Users

Driving Research Capacity – NUCLEUS Committee Next meeting: TBD Danielle Gyemi, WE-SPARK Renee Biss, UW Arezoo Emadi, UW Jackie Fong, UW Wendy Foote, SCC

Year 5 – Q2

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 Page 12

Build Capacity Continued the development of a NUCLEUS infrastructure database, began consultations and planning of a website (Milestone d) With funding support from UWindsor VPRI, Faculty of Science and WE-SPARK, Dr. Danielle Gyemi continues to move forward the NUCLEUS plan. Updates include:

Continued development of 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 at the University of Windsor.

Two labs/research groups are currently participating in the pilot data collection: o Porter Lab o VukGroup Overall, 11 equipment records are currently undergoing the data entry process.

Addition of NUCLEUS intern to assist with implementing plan.

Ongoing consultations •

Discussions 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.

Pre-planning of NUCLEUS website •

Entering the preliminary stages of the NUCLEUS website development.

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, HDGH, WRH Mentorship, learning and workshop opportunities are available and open to all partners, examples include: • Monthly grant writing retreats offered at UWindsor, ORIS (open to adjuncts) • EDI materials Research activity continues to be reported. A few highlights: • ESHC – initiated 3 grant related projects in addition to internal projects • HDGH – Submitted 7 grants; official partner on the CAN Stroke Recovery Trials Network • WRH – new CRA as part of Accelerating Clinical Trials consortium is moving forward clinical trials related to stroke and ICU; 25 new clinician driven projects open to trainees • SCC – launched a project that brings together UWindsor Faculty of Ed students with SCC Robotic students; currently preparing for next Social Innovation Funding call • UWindsor – CIHR, NSERC and Scholarship applications being submitted

Year 5 – Q2

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Looking Forward Igniting Discovery, Driving Results, Living Better

Reporting Timeline

Q3

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

Organizational Effectiveness • • •

Develop operational action items in preparation for implementation of the new strategic plan Adapt governance structure to align with expected outcomes for the next 5 years Begin to draft the Year 5 Impact Report

Research Excellence • • • • •

Secure sponsors for 2024 Grants Competition Highlight outcomes and impacts of grants program Grow number of members with profiles created on the website Host the Fall 2023 Health Research Conference and disseminate outcomes Initiate an advocacy plan

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 • •

Showcase research facilities and projects through social media Continue to roll out research stories on national networks

Build Capacity • •

Form a NUCLEUS committee to advise on critical next steps Create a proposal for positions that will be critical to success over the next 5 years

DRIVING RESULTS @wesparkhealth

Year 5 – Q2

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Appendix: Year 5 Budget May 1, 2023 – April 30, 2024 ADMINISTRATION Salaries • Research Director Stipend/Teaching Release • Assistant Director Salary • Translational Research Associates • Knowledge Translation Research Associates • Administrative Assistant • Research Associate – NUCLEUS and Innovation • Interns Discretionary, Supplies and Consumables (meetings, office equipment, printing, software licenses, etc.)

Marketing & Website (including dissemination) WE-SPARK Grant Competitions TOTAL Operating Revenue (Partner Contributions) University of Windsor Windsor Regional Hospital Hotel-Dieu Grace St Clair Erie Shores Health Care TOTAL

Year 5 – Q2

Proposed 2023-2024 BUDGET $415,000

$75,000 $30,000 $80,000 $600,000

$200,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $600,000

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