Back (L-R): Michelle Eisner, MS Clinic & Research Group, Penny Slack, Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders Clinic, Annie Kuan, NMO Clinic & Research Group
Front (L-R): Michele Assaly, Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders Clinic, and Faydra Aldridge, VCH Research Institute
VCH Research Institute (VCHRI) understands the importance of communicating its message about the value of research to its stakeholders and the general public. In order to accomplish this task, VCHRI has created a new position – Director of Stakeholder Relations and Public Affairs – and has launched three ‘micro sites’ within our recently revamped website (www.vchri.ca).
As part of the Brain Research Centre, the MS Clinic & Research Group, the NMO Clinic & Research Group, and the Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders Clinic are leaders in research and patient care. They bring research breakthroughs from the lab bench to the patient’s bedside. The new micro sites increase awareness of the clinics to patients, researchers, and other healthcare providers looking for disease specific information and research collaborations.
New to the VCHRI team is Faydra Aldridge, the Institute’s new Director of Stakeholder Relations and Public Affairs. Faydra will be implementing VCHRI’s Stakeholder Relations Communications Plan and promoting the culture of research and innovation throughout Vancouver Coastal Health. Part of her portfolio is also enhancing the VCHRI brand working with external stakeholders to increase awareness of research and the value it has economically, socially, and to the future of health care. Stakeholders include VCHRI partners, government, granting agencies, business, general public, and community organizations.
Faydra brings with her vast experience in strategic communications with organizations such as Canadian Broadcast Company, Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, Alberta Mental Health, and the YMCA.
UBC Hospital MS Clinic & Research Group
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) affects one in a 1000 Canadians. With 5000 active patients, the UBC Hospital MS Clinic is the largest of its kind in Canada, and is a resource for 80 per cent of the province’s MS patients. Researchers with the Clinic are leaders in MS clinical trials, development of new therapies, and are at the leading edge of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) studies. The Clinic is the lead site for the first clinical trial in Canada on CCSVI and CCSVI diagnostic study.
For more information, visit ms.vchri.ca or www.vchri.ca/our-research/multiple-sclerosis-ccsvi.
NMO Clinic & Research Group
The NMO Clinic & Research Group located in Vancouver is the only centre in Canada with a clinic and research group dedicated to neuromyelitis optica (NMO). It currently serves over 150 NMO patients and continues to receive new referrals, including those from other Canadian provinces. Neuromyelitis optica is an autoimmune disease that is often confused with MS. It is less common than MS and is characterized by more severe attacks, which can include sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes (optic neuritis) as well as numbness or weakness in the legs and arms (transverse myelitis).
The NMO Clinic & Research Group functions with many specialists, including neurologists, neuro-opthamologists, medical genetics staff, rehabilitation and neuro-imaging specialists, clinical and research fellows, nurses, trainees and research staff. This NMO team collaborates with local, national, and international researchers, including Japan, China and the US, to improve the accuracy of NMO diagnostic criteria and treatment, and to provide community outreach, awareness, and education.
For more information, visit http://nmo.vchri.ca.
Clinic for Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders
More than 70,000 people in BC have Alzheimer disease or a related disorder. The UBC Hospital Clinic for Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders (UBCH-CARD) is the only clinic of its kind in the province, providing more than 3,500 assessments a year. Specialist with the clinic include neurologists, geriatricians, genetecists and genetic counsellors, social workers, geriatric psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, and other researchers and clinicians.
The Clinic is actively involved in clinical drug trials and non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as music therapy. Other research at the Clinic is dedicated to advancing early detection and disease characterization, decreasing symptoms, and improving quality of life for dementia patients.
For more information on UBCH-CARD, visit http://vchri.ca/UBCH-CARD.