Health Sciences North and its affiliate, the Health Sciences North Research Institute, have been ranked among Canada’s top 40 research hospitals.

Health Sciences North and its affiliate, the Health Sciences North Research Institute, have been ranked among Canada’s top 40 research hospitals for a seventh consecutive year by Research Infosource.

“HSN, HSNRI and its researchers have secured more than $9 million, including external grants and contract funding, for studies to support our key goal of enhancing HSN’s academic and research impact,” Dr. Greg Ross, VP academic and research impact, said in a release. “With 43 active clinical research projects and eight new clinical trials started within the past year, our researchers are working directly toward improving health outcomes for our patients.”

HSN said it is committed to research focused on finding solutions to the health care issues facing the people of northeastern Ontario. As an academic health science centre, HSN is committed to enhancing research across its 13 medical departments. Also, the 2019-24 strategic plan commits to advancing collaborative research in cancer solutions, healthy aging, cardiovascular health and Indigenous health.

Dr. Robert Ohle is an emergency department physician at HSN. He’s also an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and has been recognized internationally for his research on acute aortic syndrome (AAS), a condition caused by a tear in the aorta, the largest blood vessel in the body.

Ohle recently received a grant from the Northern Ontario Academic Medical Association to adapt and improve existing American and European guidelines for AAS.

“AAS is a rare but very serious and potentially lethal heart condition,” Ohle said. “Many guidelines designed to diagnose AAS are created by surgeons or physicians in large urban centres who have easier access to medical imaging.

“It was important that we bring that Northern Ontario lens to these guidelines and make them into something local doctors could use in their regular practice. For patients, this means they will be diagnosed sooner and receive the best possible care, whether they are seen, for instance, in Timmins, Sudbury or Toronto.”

HSN is a member of Northern Ontario’s innovation health cluster, which includes Laurentian University, Lakehead University, NOSM, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute and HSNRI.

Originally published at The Daily Press