As a leading community academic hospital serving a diverse community, North York General Hospital (NYGH) has a long track record of innovation in patient safety and process improvements.
NYGH excels in applied community-based research with successful provincial and national funding. North York General essentially functions as a “Living Lab” in learning and research that matters to everyone — specifically, research impacting patient- and family-centred health care.
With every research question we are thinking beyond what we know to achieve tangible benefits for our patients and implement community-based innovation beyond our walls.
Research and Innovation (R&I) has grown considerably since its conception in 2012. More than 70 people work in a constructive, influential environment where everyone is empowered to innovate and positively impact on the delivery of care through the established presence of five strategic Research Chairs. Our aspiration is to create an institute for research and innovation to foster the creative efforts of people passionate about improving the delivery of health care. Support for this institute is led by the North York General Foundation.
R&I is helping investigators meet potential collaborators, seek funding, manage grants, agreements, and intellectual property, and gain access to the resources required to be successful.
The Research Ethics Board at NYGH ensures that research is designed and conducted with the utmost regard for the people who choose to participate in research studies.
Generous support from donors, the North York General Foundation, and NYGH led to the creation of the Exploration Fund, which allows investigators to test promising ideas and compete for research grants from external agencies.
NYGH is also transforming health care with Clinical Trials by providing patients with alternatives. Through these clinical trials, North York General is contributing to improvements in medicine and the delivery of health care beyond our walls.
Our aspiration is to create an institute for research and innovation to foster the creative efforts of people passionate about improving the delivery of health care.
Learn more about Research and Innovation
Research and Innovation supports people eager to conduct projects that will contribute to improvements in the delivery of health care. The team attempts to help investigators meet potential collaborators, obtain funding for projects and, overall, make it easier to do research.
If you have a question or an idea, please contact us.
The IA for Research at NYGH form (IA Form) is the first step to starting a funded research study here. It is prudent for R&I to confirm that the operational aspects of the project are feasible before embarking on the research ethics application. The IA Form must be filled and submitted in ARIEL (Advanced Research and Innovation Ethics and Logistics), and institutional authorization received before any other steps can be undertaken. Have more questions? See ARIEL’s Frequently Asked Questions
Note: Only online submissions through ARIEL will be accepted (no paper form)
You must be an employee or a physician with active status to undertake a project as Site Principal Investigator (PI). Those not employed by the hospital must conduct any research with an NYGH affiliated employee who will be named as Site PI on the research study. Trainees are not permitted to undertake studies without an NYGH PI.
The applications must be sent consecutively in ARIEL. You must receive Institutional Authorization from R&I before you undertake any other steps in the application process.
Remember, you will need to secure ethical approval, if applicable, before starting your study. No study related activities can be undertaken without this approval. Once you have received ethical approval, please inform R&I and forward a copy of your approval letter to research.innovation@nygh.on.ca.
If a contract/agreement is required, negotiations and review will be undertaken by our office with the named partner institution, and you will be kept updated of any developments. If you have a draft copy of the contract/agreement, we will ask you to email it to our office.
Note: The only acceptable signatory on behalf of NYGH is the Vice President of Medical and Academic Affairs.
If you are expecting funds to support the project, once all steps have been fully executed, a dedicated research account will be created, and you will be notified. Your research account is different from other hospital accounts, and you must have a separate research account for each project undertaken.
The research account will be opened by R&I once the project has received Institutional Authorization and ethical approval is secured, if applicable.
If you will be purchasing equipment/devices that require network access you must contact Information Services at NYGH.
Most projects will require some form of resources from other NYGH departments. It is your responsibility to know who to contact and you will need to fill a separate Resources Required for Research (RRR) form for each department involved and make sure to obtain signatures from the Manager/Director of said departments. The following is a list of resources which you may require:
Health Records for access to Power Chart
Laboratory Medicine for biological specimen collection
Decision Support for data collection/analysis of Personal Health Information (PHI)
Pharmacy (in-patient, out-patient, oncology) or drug storage, dispensing
There is an Intellectual Property Policy in place and the process begins with an invention disclosure. Contact research.innovation@nygh.on.ca for more information.
