St. Michael’s Hospital is a world-renowned academic health science centre.  With more than 5,000 staff and 600 physicians, St. Michael’s Hospital teaches 1600 students each year, performs 25,000 day surgeries, treats 600,000 patients in clinics, sees 53,000 patients in the emergency room and provides round-the-clock care to 24,000 inpatients.

Fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, St. Michael’s Hospital leads the way in clinical care, education and research in: heart disease; trauma and critical care; neurosurgery; arthritis and osteoporosis, laparoscopic surgery, diabetes; cancer care; and care of the homeless and vulnerable populations in the inner city.  As the designated adult-trauma centre for downtown Toronto and a major referral centre for Ontario, the Hospital treats the most critically ill and complex patients in the province.  

The Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute

St. Michael’s Hospital is building the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, the only institute of its kind in North America.  The Knowledge Institute, which is scheduled to open in 2009, will marry research and education in a hospital setting in order to best integrate the tripartite priorities of excellence in patient care, research and education. As a 240,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility, the Knowledge Institute will be comprised of two nine-story centres: the Keenan International Research Centre and the Li Ka Shing International Centre in Health Care Education. 

The Keenan International Research Centre

The Research Centre’s goal is to improve human health and patient outcomes by generating new medical knowledge.  We will attract and motivate creative individuals who work together in a stimulating and collaborative, intellectual environment.  SMH’s research strengths and priorities lie in several well-established programs including Critical Care, Inner City Health, Global Health and Knowledge Translation.

Critical care research is comprised of a matrix which includes three cross-cutting themes in regenerative medicine, inflammation/injury and molecular and genetic determinants of disease.  These themes span clinical specializations in vascular biology, trauma/respiratory failure, diabetes/kidney and blood research, which together form a comprehensive program in basic and clinical research. 

The Centre for Research on Inner City Health is the first centre of its kind in Canada whose mission is to improve the health of urban populations through a program of clinical and policy relevant research.  Particular emphasis is placed on the needs of socially disadvantaged and economically deprived groups, including the homeless and underhoused, those suffering from mental illness and patients diagnosed with diseases including HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

The Centre for Global Health Research is focused on large scale epidemiology (i.e. the cause, distribution and control of disease in populations). At present, the largest cohort study in the world is being conducted at the Centre, encompassing a population of 6 million people in India.  Global health researchers are also focused on broader issues including international bioethics, infectious diseases in immigrant populations, HIV/AIDS intervention and prevention in Africa and health systems reform in China. 

Research expertise expanded in the fall of 2005 to include Knowledge Translation, as a result of the affiliation of the Knowledge Translation Program at University of Toronto with St. Michael’s Hospital. St. Michael’s Hospital is forging a unique niche in Knowledge Translation through innovative research and through close collaboration of research and education, by integrating an evaluative component to education and training.  Knowledge translation is the field of research and practice that develops and uses ways to increase the likelihood that patients and clinicians incorporate proven knowledge into clinical practice.

Over the last six years, overall research activity has experienced a significant growth trajectory with more than 60% growth in staff scientists and over 115% growth in external funding.  One hundred and fifty physicians and staff scientists currently work out of 7 research sites and lead approximately 400 research staff.

The Keenan International Research Centre will consolidate the Hospital's growing research community into one location. In doing so, the Research Centre will act as a catalyst for the development of synergistic relationships, and promote new methods to address complex health issues from multiple perspectives. As part of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, the Keenan International Research Centre will enable the marrying of research and education in one setting, providing fertile research and training ground to bring new research to patients at SMH and across the world.