In December 2012, North York General Hospital launched the Exploration Fund, a competitive granting competition designed to provide initial funding for staff and physicians to develop new ideas for the delivery of care. Among the first of its kind in Canada, the Exploration Fund was seeded with a donation by Brad and Kathy Badeau, and their contribution has been augmented by the hospital, the North York General Foundation and the Sellors Family.
The Sellors Family Research Grant is a designated time-limited fund within the Exploration Fund, to support research in the areas of autoimmune disease, neurology, and quality of life.
Awards have been made to a wide range of promising investigators, from a surgeon studying the effects of music on children undergoing elective surgery, to a geriatric emergency nurse trying multisensory interventions to help calm patients with dementia. Already, Exploration Fund recipients have leveraged the support to submit proposals for external funding, make presentations at conferences, and publish findings in peer-reviewed journals.
There are normally two competitions per year – fall and spring. For more information about the Exploration Fund, please contact the Research and Innovation.
Awards from the Exploration Fund
The Spring 2021 Fund Recipients:
Small grant category – The Sellors Familly Research Grant:
Dr. Monika Kastner
Evaluation of a virtual, arts-based program (Art Your Service) to alleviate the social isolation and loneliness of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic
Small grant category – COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund:
Ms. Stephanie Robinson
Using human-centered design to understand the experiences and challenges of patients who have tested positive for COVID-19