A
commitment to work together to “enhance tomorrow’s
cancer care“ was made this morning by the
leadership teams at the Thunder Bay Regional Health
Sciences Centre (Regional Health), Lakehead University
(Lakehead U), and the Northern Ontario School of
Medicine. The three senior executives announced
today the creation of a new institute of cancer
research in Thunder Bay. The new research partnership,
ICR Discoveries, will bring together the best cancer
research talent of the three institutions. Ultimately,
the partnership will grow the critical mass of cancer
researchers in the city and attract new dollars
to Thunder Bay for cancer care clinical trials,
medical physics and imaging research, wet lab or
biosciences research, health outcomes research,
and supportive care or psychosocial research.
The three organizations are currently
the major players in health services research in
Thunder Bay. To date, millions of dollars have been
raised by Lakehead U and Regional Health’s
Integrated Cancer Program researchers, collaborating
under the auspices of an informal agreement.
The implementation of a jointly managed
cancer research institute will open doors to new
sources of research funding, opportunities, and
recruitment that otherwise might be unavailable.
“Cancer is now the number one health problem
facing the residents of our region,” stated
Michael Power, Vice President of Regional Cancer
Services at Regional Health. “One in three
residents of Northwestern Ontario will be diagnosed
with cancer at some point in their lives. To effectively
reduce this growing burden, we must be active in
the cancer research arena. Our commitment to this
portfolio will enable us to offer tomorrow’s
care today as well as to recruit and retain the
brightest lights in the business, individuals who
will ensure we are offering cutting edge and state-of-the-art
therapies to our patients.”
A new brand and logo was launched
in support of the Institute and the public can source
additional information by going to the new website
at icrdiscoveries.ca.
For
the full Media Release please click here or the
icon below.
