Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont Research Centre: 5 things to know
8 July 2021
Did you know that the Hôpital Maisonneuve Rosemont (HMR) has a research centre known to researchers from all over the world?
It is within the walls of the l’Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont Research Centre (CR-HMR) that great discoveries are made and the medicine of tomorrow is prepared. Find out why the Research Center has gained such international recognition and why it attracts researchers from around the world.
1- How many researchers are based at the Research Centre?
There are about forty researchers. In addition to these specialists, some 134 students and 114 research professionals make up the teams.
The Center, like the Hospital, is affiliated with the Université de Montréal (UdeM).
What is an affiliated center?
A center affiliated with a university, as the CR-HMR is with the University of Montreal, is an institution that has an affiliation contract with the institution, which facilitates the exchange of services, teaching, and research and allows for major advances. As such, many HMR researchers teach at UdeM, and many students choose the HMR for their internships. They work alongside renowned researchers and have access to the latest equipment.
2- What are the research areas of the Research Centre?
The CR-HMR research teams specialize in three areas of excellence:
- immunology-oncology, in particular blood cancers and leukemia, stem cell treatments, etc.;
- nephrology, treatment of kidney disease, renal failure, kidney transplants, etc.;
- ophthalmology, vision health, including corneal transplants, vision loss, retinal problems, and muscle degeneration of the eye.
These axes are grouped around one main theme: cell and molecular therapy as well as regenerative medicine, i.e., the replacement of diseased organ cells with stem cells.
The HMR is recognized worldwide for its expertise in this field and has been designated as a Hematology-Oncology and Cellular Therapy University Institute in 2019.
Other areas of research
In addition to these areas of excellence, for which the expertise of the HMR is recognized worldwide, CR-HMR teams focus their work in various sectors, notably on problems of the musculoskeletal system (orthopedic oncology, rehabilitation, etc.) as well as in several clinical research groups, particularly in anesthesia, multiple myeloma, and microbiology, to name just a few.
Dre Sylvie Lesage, directrice scientifique du Centre de recherche de l’Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont
3- Who is the Director of the Research Centre?
Dr. Sylvie Lesage is the Scientific Director of the CR-HMR since June 2021. She is responsible for setting the research directions and priorities of the Research Centre.
She succeeded Dr. Mike (Przemyslaw) Sapieha, a specialist in vision health and, Dr. Denis Claude Roy, who is now Scientific Director of the University Institute of Hemato-oncology and Cellular Therapy at Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont.
Specializing in immunology, Dr. Lesage joined the HMR research team in 2005. Today, she is responsible for the Cellular Immunogenetics Research Unit.
Her research projects aim to develop therapeutic approaches to prevent autoimmune diseases such as diabetes or to improve cancer treatments.
4- How many research chairs does the Centre have?
CR-HMR researchers hold 10 research chairs. All of them are concentrated around the three areas of excellence. The table below lists them, with the name of the holder in brackets:
What is a research chair?
Supported financially by various funds, a research chair allows a specialist to concentrate on his work without having to worry about the remuneration of the members of his team.
It is a sign of excellence that researchers hold such chairs. It is a testament to the expertise, talent, and reputation of the teams, but also to the quality of the research and discoveries made here at Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont.
5- Who funds the Research Centre?
Companies, governments, foundations and organizations fund and encourage research. However, one of the main partners of the HMR Research Centre is the Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont Foundation. In 2019, the latter donated $7.8 million to support research projects at the HMR.
In particular, the financial contribution of the HMR Foundation allows:
- The awarding of scholarships to encourage the best students to come and develop their skills with our specialists. (Read Cherbaka Scholarship: Congratulations to Billy Vinette)
- The financing of state-of-the-art equipment. (Read Purchase of equipment and support for researchers)
- The recruitment of world-renowned researchers such as Dr. May Griffith.
It is also thanks to you, dear donors, and to the participants of the À Votre Santé! and Montréal Passion Vin fundraising events that major projects, such as the construction of a new Research Centre, can see the light of day.
You too can contribute to the medicine of tomorrow by supporting the teams and researchers at the Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont Research Centre. It is thanks to your donations that we can equip the premises with the best tools and facilitate research.
Thank you for being a source of healing.
1 Source: Website of the Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont Research Center.
