Researchers at Sixth Annual Northern Health Research Conference Address Questions Relevant to the Health of Northern Ontarians

On June 10 – 11, 2011, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held its sixth annual Northern Health Research Conference (NHRC) at the Active Living Centre in Huntsville.  With 28 oral presentations and 45 poster presentations, the research presented ranged from the molecular to areas specific to the people and communities in Northern Ontario. 

This is the first time NOSM has hosted the NHRC in Huntsville – a community that supports the School by welcoming medical students, residents, and dietetic interns into their local hospital, health centres, and family practices.  “The Northern Ontario School of Medicine has a very valuable partnership with Huntsville, so it was particularly exciting for us to host the Northern Health Research Conference in their community this year,” said NOSM Dean, Dr. Roger Strasser.  “The success of the School is very much a reflection of partnerships with communities across Northern Ontario, such as the one we have with Huntsville.”  

Conference Highlights

• The keynote address was delivered by Dr. David Henry, the President and CEO of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) in Toronto. The title of his presentation was The Development of ICES North – An Important Resource for Clinical, Health Services and Population Health Research.  
• A special session was organized for high school students from Huntsville, Bracebridge, and Parry Sound.  Hosted by NOSM’s Francophone Affairs Unit, the session provided youth with an opportunity to learn about health research from a NOSM researcher, and health careers and the NOSM M.D. program from a NOSM medical student.  Students also sat in on conference presentations and heard presentations from a Sudbury family physician, graduates of NOSM’s Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program (NODIP), and researchers from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay. 
• Conference participants had the opportunity to hear presentations from a wide variety of organizations, including: researchers based at NOSM; universities across the North, including Laurentian University, Lakehead University, and Algoma University; partner organizations; and, hospitals in Thunder Bay, Sudbury, and North Bay.  It was particularly exciting to see a number of presentations from current or former NOSM learners.  

Dr. Greg Ross, NOSM Associate Dean of Research added, “The vision of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine is Innovative Education and Research for a Healthier North.  The goal of the Northern Health Research Conference is to provide a forum for local researchers to present topics touch on the needs of people and communities in Northern Ontario.  Very few conferences span a broad range of topics as we have seen here.”  

A detailed list of presentations can be found at www.nosm.ca/nhrc.  The next Northern Health Research Conference will be held in Thunder Bay in the spring of 2012.