The University of British Columbia has joined the Heart and Stroke Foundation Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery, joining forces with six other hospitals, universities and institutes that are exploring new therapies for people living with stroke disability.
Along with the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery includes Baycrest, Toronto Rehab, University of Ottawa, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Sunnybrook Research Institute and Memorial University of Newfoundland. With UBC’s contribution, the partners are collectively investing $5 million a year in stroke recovery research.
“The University of British Columbia brings incredible clinical and basic biomedical strength in stroke recovery research,” says neuroscientist Dale Corbett, Scientific Director and CEO of the Partnership and a professor at the University of Ottawa.
The Partnership, based at the University of Ottawa, is a joint initiative of the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Canada’s leading stroke research centres. It was the first organization worldwide focused exclusively on stroke recovery research.
UBC is a leader in regenerative medicine, brain imaging and neuro-rehabilitation. It is home to the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, a partnership with Vancouver Coastal Health that is the largest and most comprehensive brain care and research centre in Canada. Joining the Partnership will facilitate collaboration among UBC’s researchers and those at the other member institutions, and will make UBC eligible for the Partnership’s research grants.
Brian MacVicar. Photo credit: Don Erhardt
“This is a great opportunity for the superb researchers at UBC to participate in this national effort and to help reduce the long-term disability from stroke,” says Brian MacVicar, Co-Director of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health and Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience.
A recent publication in the journal Stroke forecast an alarming 80-per-cent increase in the next two decades in Canadians disabled by stroke due to the aging population, population growth and increased lifestyle-related risk factors. To reverse the trend and restore lives, the Partnership supports innovative and collaborative research to find new approaches to recovery – for example, technologies like robotics, novel drug treatments, cell therapies, brain stimulation and tele-rehabilitation. The Partnership is seeking additional funding to mobilize large-scale clinical trials to test new technologies and therapies.
“This is great news for the stroke research community and great news for stroke survivors and their caregivers,” says David Sculthorpe, CEO, Heart and Stroke Foundation. “UBC will make our partnership stronger and will further advance world-class stroke recovery research.”