Researchers at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital continue to push the boundaries of discovery, and in turn bring new insights from the laboratory bench to the patients’ bedside, helping to create The Best Medicine. We are incredibly proud to describe the accomplishments of so many Lunenfeld investigators and trainees over the past year.

In early 2009, the world learned of two great Lunenfeld discoveries poised to change the future of healthcare.

On March 1, Mount Sinai Hospital released breaking news to Canadian and international media outlets: Lunenfeld Senior Investigator Dr. Andras Nagy discovered a new method of creating stem cells that could lead to possible cures for devastating diseases including spinal cord injury, macular degeneration, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

The news of Nagy’s breakthrough generated an overwhelming response from Canadian, U.S. and international media, including front-page coverage on all three Canadian daily newspapers.

On February 1, Lunenfeld senior investigator Dr. Jeff Wrana and his team unveiled a new technology tool that analyzes breast cancer tumours to determine a patient’s best treatment options. The tool can predict with more than 80 per cent accuracy a patient’s chance of recovering from breast cancer.

Several Lunenfeld investigators also made great strides in gaining new ground in understanding the causes and future treatment of many diseases and conditions that affect so many Canadians. And many members of the Lunenfeld received awards and accolades [insert link to list of awards] for their achievements.

Mount Sinai Hospital’s Office of Technology Transfer and Industrial Liaison works with researchers and industry leaders to usher discoveries into the marketplace. For example, this year, Dr. Isabella Caniggia signed licensing agreements with Inverness Medical Innovations and Miraculins Inc. for various biomarkers that will help develop diagnostic tools for the detection and management of preeclampsia in expectant mothers. Preeclampsia is a life-threatening complication that is still one of the leading causes of maternal and infant death.

The Lunenfeld also grew in 2008/09, and we now have a team of 34 investigators. In July 2008, Dr. Rebecca Gladdy joined the Lunenfeld as Associate Scientist. Dr. Gladdy is appointed to the department of surgery at Mount Sinai where her practice is in general surgery, focusing on sarcoma. We are very pleased to have attracted Rebecca back to Toronto from New York where she was a Surgical Oncology Fellow at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Gladdy is also an Ontario Institute for Cancer Research clinical investigator.

After a global search, Dr. Kenichi Okamoto was recruited to the Lunenfeld in September 2008 to join our team of neurobiology researchers. Joining the Lunenfeld from the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Okamoto’s research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that control the birth and functions of synapses in the brain. His research is at the cutting edge of neurobiology and microscopy.

During the summer of 2008, eleven Lunenfeld laboratories migrated 200 metres west to occupy two new floors of open-plan lab space at 25 Orde St, within the Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Health Complex. This now forms the new epicenter of Canada’s premier Women’s and Infants’ Health research program as well as our renowned diabetes and regenerative medicine programs.

We’ve also enjoyed success in reaching out to the public and raising scientific literacy. Café Scientifique, the Lunenfeld’s new public outreach event series, drew capacity crowds to a downtown pub for several evenings of lively science debate and discussion. SciHigh, our youth outreach program, showed more than 4,500 kids just how cool science can be with hands-on workshops in their classrooms. The 2008 Summer Student program mentored 70 budding undergraduate researchers (one of the highest tallies ever) by giving them real lab experience over the summer term.

Lunenfeld researchers continue to excel in their scientific achievements and this is reflected in our high rates of success in attracting competitive funds from agencies such as the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Canadian Cancer Society and the Ministry of Research and Innovation. Funding from external sources totalled over $70 million in 2008/09.

The key to competitive funding success is production of the best scientific findings. Lunenfeld investigators published 37 primary papers in the top 30 biomedical journals (ranging from the New England Journal of Medicine to the Journal of Clinical Oncology). This represents over 30% of all of the papers in these journals published by Toronto-based researchers and more than any province outside of Ontario, B.C. and Quebec. This is a stunning level of accomplishment and underscores the outstanding quality of research produced by the Lunenfeld team.

The Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation also works exhaustively to raise awareness and funding for the Institute, recognizing its critical importance to the Hospital and to the future of healthcare. Indeed, it is the magnanimous and ongoing generosity of our donors who, via the Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation, enable our researchers to excel in their discoveries. It is our donors who provide the supportive and essential backbone of the Lunenfeld.  Last year, the Foundation granted $10.4 million towards the critical operations of the Lunenfeld, which the scientists were able to leverage eight-fold. In the current economic climate, such support is both remarkable and appreciated.

The Lunenfeld’s combined talent and track-record of excellence are advantageous and enviable assets in this world of uncertainty. We live in challenging times, but the rules for success haven't changed. High impact research is about excellence, hard work and fostering of the best ideas. 

It is my daily pleasure to walk alongside such incredibly talented people and to work in such an amazing Institute. Lunenfeld researchers are excelling in making discoveries that will lead to improved health for Canadians and humanity.