Donate Now!

Heart & Stroke Foundation Research Awards

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario (HSFO) and Toronto Dominion (TD) Bank Financial Group have partnered to provide Summer Medical Student Awards for the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) since 2006.

In March 2008, Dr. Marco Di Buono, Director of Research at the HSFO said: “We are building research capacity in the North by keeping bright, young minds in the region. This will help us to meet our Mission of eliminating heart disease and stroke and reducing their impact for future generations of Northern Ontarians. It is only through effective partnerships like this, made possible in part through the support of TD Bank Financial Group, that we will meet the needs of the entire population of Ontario.”


Previous HSF Summer Medical Student Research Award Recipients

 

2016

The recipients of the 2016 HSF/TD Summer Medical Student Research Awards are:

Krista Dowhos – Prevalance and Rate of Chronic Kidney Disease in the Sioux Lookout Area (Supervisor: Dr. Sheldon Tobe)
Oksana Motalo – Understanding Aboriginal peoples experience of post-study knowledge translation: the story of Garden River First Nation (Supervisor: Dr. Sheldon Tobe)
Sean Thomas – Characterization of tissue injury in acute myocardial infarction using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (Supervisor: Dr. Aseem Kumar)

2015

The recipients of the 2015 HSF/TD Summer Medical Student Research Awards are:

Claire Burrows – Outcome of Cardiac Surgery in Aboriginal Patients in Northern Ontario (Supervisor: Dr. Rony Atoui)
Christopher Olivier – Prevalance and rate of chronic kidney disease in the Sioux Lookout area (Supervisor: Dr. Sheldon Tobe)
Meagan Roy– Lifestyle Considerations on Rates of Hypertension and Diabetes in Mattagami First Nation (Dr. Sheldon Tobe)

2014

Second-year NOSM medical student Zsolt Toth has received an award of $12,000 for his project entitled Childhood obesity and overweight rates in M’Chigeeng First Nation: Five-year trend comparison to ICES or CIHI data. Toth will be supervised by Dr. Sheldon Tobe, Heart & Stroke Foundation Chair in Aboriginal and Rural Health.

2010

In 2010, the following NOSM medical students received research awards:

  • Kathleen Anderson
  • Sheila MacIntosh
  • Matthew Piché
  • William Yates

The student projects, supported by the HSFO, include projects entitled:

  • Multidisciplinary Interventions for a Rural Primary Care Setting: Developing patient-centered strategies for improved management of the co-morbidities associated with type II diabetes;
  • Attitudinal differences and knowledge gaps in interprofessional collaboration and education between health-care professionals and health-care students;
  • Effects of Polyphenolic Compounds on Oxidative Stress-Induced Cytotoxicity in Rat Cardiac Myocytes; and,
  • Regulation of Adrenaline Biosynthesis by Reactive Oxygen Species.

2009

In 2009, the following five NOSM medical students received research awards valued at $6,000 each from HSFO:

  • Kevin Agostino
  • Pamela Felhaber
  • Yves Landry
  • Britney Parlett
  • Anna Maria Soviero

The student projects, supported by the HSFO, cover a full range of research studies including:

  • How Aboriginal patients present to Northwest Ontario Regional Stroke Program;
  • Looking at stroke mortality at the Sudbury Regional Hospital;
  • Metabolic stress and oxygen deprivation in cardiac cells;
  • Effect of cancer drugs on cardiac cells; and,
  • Looking at adverse effects of iron overload leading to heart failure.

2008

In 2008, seven NOSM medical students received research awards valued at $6,000 each from HSFO, covering a full range of research studies including:

  • Diabetic care and prevention in Aboriginal communities;
  • Atherosclerosis and hypertension;
  • Risk factors of pre-stroke and the disability of patients after stroke in Northern Ontario;
  • Prevention and awareness of childhood obesity in North Bay;
  • Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario Aboriginal Hypertension Management Program;
  • Inter-professional collaboration between different professional bodies as it relates to CVD treatment; and,
  • Role of specific proteins involved in the regulation of vital cardiac functions.

The 2008 recipients of the HSFO Summer Medical Student Awards for NOSM are:

  • Kashif Ahmed
  • Olubukunola Ayeni
  • Elizabeth Cooper
  • Meghan Garnett
  • Penny Forth
  • Marlon Hagerty
  • David Harris

2007

In 2007, six NOSM medical students received research awards valued at $6,000 each from the HSFO.  The student projects covered a full range of research studies, including:

  • The impact of cardiovascular disease on Northwestern Ontario women;
  • The impact of stroke programs in Northeastern Ontario;
  • Obesity, diabetes and hypertension in Northern Ontario communities,
  • with a focus on Aboriginal children;
  • The infrastructure of hospital settings in relation to heart disease; and,
  • Assessing timely treatment options for heart attack patients who live at various distances away from tertiary care centres.

The 2007 recipients of the HSFO Summer Medical Student Awards for NOSM were:

  • Alex Anawati
  • Abdel-Kareem Chehadi
  • Lise Mozzon
  • Marc-André Roy
  • Tracy Michano Stewart
  • Ching Yeung

2006

The 2006 recipients of the HSFO Summer Medical Student Award for NOSM were:

  • Phillip Berardi
  • Teresa Furtak
  • Tracy Michano-Stewart
  • Natalie Moreau
  • Justin Porter
  • Tracey Ross
  • Tara Spicer
  • Ella Wiebe

“Thanks to the research awards made available through the HSFO, I am able to continue my medical research training in Sudbury over the summer months. This will provide me with the unique opportunity to address an important health issue, particularly in Northern and rural communities, as well as foster the development of a growing academic sector in this region.” 

Phillip Berardi, 2006 Recipient.