Newsletter

June is Seniors’ Month…a most appropriate time to write a “good news” story about the Division of Geriatrics at St. Michael’s. It is a time for reflection. When I arrived at St. Michael's almost 15 years ago the strategic direction was to phase out geriatric programs. It felt discouraging and hopeless, but with great Departmental Leadership who understood the reality of the demographic imperative and the need for new care delivery models the “phasing out” plan was turned around to be part of the Strategic Plan for St. Michael’s Hospital.

The Government of Canada recently launched a review of federal support for research to understand how to optimise support for fundamental science in Canada. The panel will also survey international best practices for funding science and examine whether researchers face barriers to achieving their career goals in the current system.  The Panel will be led by Dr. David Naylor and will collect input from the research community as well as any Canadians interested in participating.

Over the last ~5 years, there have been an increasing number of programs/initiatives established within Toronto that have a mandate to support the commercialization of research. Many are targeting young entrepreneurs and are a direct result of the provincial government’s Campus Linked Accelerators program, which encourages student entrepreneurship as part of the government’s Youth Jobs Strategy. Other initiatives have been set up by institutions themselves (with support from both federal and provincial governments) to bridge the gap between academic innovation and commercialization.