Letter
from the President and CEO
The
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) celebrated its third anniversary
as a newly merged organization in March 2001. Over the past three years,
we have achieved an enormous level of energy and progress within various
areas of the organization, including research. I am very happy to report
that the common thread among research initiatives in all of our sections
is the constant striving for excellence. Our researchers take great pride
in developing world-class initiatives and seeking the means for quality
clinical "bed-side" care.
Research initiatives continue to play a critical role in revolutionizing
our understanding and approaches to prevention and care in the fields
of mental health and addiction. CAMH is in a unique position to bring
together internationally recognized neuroscientists, clinical and social
scientists and to offer state-of-the-art facilities, a range of professional
training and a province-wide network of community program staff.
Over the last year, the researchers and scientists of the Centre were
successful in obtaining hundreds of grants, publishing and presenting
at scientific conferences all over the world.
We are very grateful to all our donors and supporters who continue to
champion our research efforts. Over the last fiscal year, the Centre attracted
over $24 million in research grants, which reflects a 13 per cent increase
over the previous year. In particular, we would like to express our appreciation
to the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Canadian Foundation for
Innovation, and Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
As a result of the generous support of all of our funders, we are in
a position to gain a better understanding of mental health and addiction
issues and to offer innovative new methods of treatment for our patients
and clients.
As we move toward new and exciting developments in research, our commitment
to excellence in understanding, prevention and client-centred care will
remain a foremost priority. We look forward to the continued support from
our generous donors and to additional opportunities for forming new relationships.
Paul E. Garfinkel, MD, FRCPC
President and Chief Executive Officer
From
the Vice-President, Research
In the last few years, new opportunities have emerged that will have
a positive effect on the future of research and health care at CAMH.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) brings a renewed commitment
to advancing health and health research in our country. Increased funding
and a broadening of the scope of health research funding is welcome news
for scientists at CAMH. Indeed, despite still being in its early stages,
the CIHR has already resulted in important new research directions at
CAMH. The Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and the Ontario government
have also been instrumental in providing new opportunities for infrastructure
and equipment support for our top researchers. Finally, the Canada Research
Chairs program of the federal government represents an enormous opportunity
to help Canadian universities and research institutes retain and attract
top researchers.
A key goal for this past year was to build on these opportunities. A
major success was receipt of a $19.6 million joint award by the Ontario
government and CFI for the creation of the Functional Imaging Research
Network (FIRN) in Toronto. This award provides the funds to acquire and
bring together a variety of cutting-edge technologies and establish an
integrated imaging research network linked to various teaching hospitals
in Toronto. FIRN is a unique network that will produce important new synergies
in the field and will establish Toronto as a leading centre worldwide
for imaging research. As part of the FIRN award, CAMH will be acquiring
a new state-of-the-art PET camera.
Throughout the past year, the breadth, depth and excellence of our research
program has been evidenced not only by the profile of our research activities,
but also by the organizations that partner with us in these efforts. These
partnerships are key to building strong connections locally, nationally
and internationally. Moreover, these partnerships help ensure that the
research needs of those who experience mental illness and addiction are
recognized through-out our local, national and international health research
community.
The past year focused on building on our strengths and realizing new funding
opportunities available to the research program. In addition to continuing
these efforts, in the year to come we will focus on establishing a more
prominent role for research in our educational programs as well as increasing
links with other health care initiatives. The work of our Neuroscience,
Clinical, and Social, Prevention and Health Policy Research Departments
will help our research program represent an increasingly important area
of emphasis within all aspects of the Centre's activities.
The following pages provide an overview of CAMH research, as well as highlights
of key research activities over the past year.
Franco J. Vaccarino, PhD
Vice-President, Research
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Psychology
University Of Toronto
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1-800-463-6273
