Ladies and gentlemen,
It is with great pleasure that I present this website and the discoveries stemming from the work of our researchers, professionals, and students who have put forth their best efforts and determination to find solutions to various health problems, through basic and clinical research as well as population-based and evaluative research, with the ultimate goal of developing new treatment options.
To this day, our research center remains the largest French research facility in North America. Last year, its funding totaled over 91.5 million dollars and following a 2016 survey by the Toronto firm Research Infosource, that annually compiles the research earnings for 40 Canadian establishments, we have gained two spots, making us the ninth most important research center in Canada.
I am very proud of the high quality of the researchers who work within our center, and the increase in funding obtained that is a strong acknowledgement of our expertise and leadership.
Moreover, the Journées de la recherche en santé of the School of Medicine and its affiliated centers, that took place at Laval University on May 25th and 26th 2016 with the theme Viens voir ton monde!, were an excellent occasion to bring the Quebec health research community together to share their work, uncover new horizons and form new collaborations. This event brought together 665 participants, a record number since it was launched, 17 years ago. The Journées de la recherche en santé closed with an official award distribution to the participants. Over 34 Awards of Excellence, totaling $9,000 were handed out to students.
Our researchers have stood out once again this year, notably for the Canadian Research Chair Contest: five of our own became chairholders after undergoing a rigorous assessment process by their peers.
In addition, during the very competitive second contest for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Foundation, five other researchers were awarded major grants for a total of over nine million dollars. Whether established researchers or starting their career, these recipients, that you will discover by exploring the following pages, managed to stand out and highlight the excellence of their work, as well as the incidence and impact that they have in their area of expertise.
The CHU de Québec Foundation and its partner, the Mouvement Desjardins, have highlighted the excellence and importance of new researchers by awarding, in November of 2016, the Bourse Desjardins pour la recherche et l’innovation to 43 master’s and PhD students. These grants will make it possible for the recipients to continue their project within one of the seven research axes of the Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec – Laval University and focuses on encouraging them to start their career in Quebec.
The campaign theme to the researchers, students, and personnel of the research center, entitled Croire en la recherche, croire en la relève, croire en nous (Believing in research, believing in the next generation, believing in us), was launched when these grants were awarded. Focusing on the next generation of researchers, this campaign was a huge success, with a total amount of $313,478 in scholarships for several promising students. As an innovation this year, members of the research center were invited to organize their own public fund-raising efforts via Internet and social media. Nearly 40 people started personal campaigns by collecting donations from their entourage. The total amount of $46,430 went far beyond the initial goal that was set, and can be used as a scholarship, research project funding or for new equipment.
2016-2017 was thus a year of planning to increase the position of clinical research, for the research center as well as the hospital. To accomplish this, a work structure hosted by the CEO was put in place to give the CHU de Québec – Laval University a strategic clinical research plan; giving us a clear vision of what is needed to consolidate and develop the area of research, while ensuring its progress and sustainability. The suggestions and comments from researchers from various fields have been collected via discussion groups and individual interviews on subjects as varied as recruitment, the best environment for clinical research, its position within the institution, funding, performance, as well as the need to promote stronger complementarity between basic research, clinical research and the CHU’s other clinical and academic roles. The end goal of this effort is to have the CHU de Québec – Laval University executive committee adopt a strategic plan that will make promoting clinical research one of the six top yearly priorities.
The sum of our scientific and administrative efforts was realized thanks to the collaboration of numerous partners. Needless to say, the hard work from our researchers, students and research staff, as well as the support and management teams, have made it possible for the Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec-Laval University to once again finish the year with growth and development. I would like to congratulate and thank them for their constant efforts and commitment to work daily toward this collective and interdisciplinary effort to advance research.
We can all be truly proud of the work that has been accomplished and are more than ready to renew the research center’s regular funding with the Fonds de la recherche du Québec‒Santé (FRQS) in December of 2017.
Enjoy your visit!
