RI-MUHC Annual Report

RI-MUHC ANNUAL REPORT 2024

EXECUTIVE MESSAGES

MESSAGE FROM DR. RHIAN TOUYZ, RI-MUHC
MESSAGE FROM DR. LUCIE OPATRNY, MUHC
MESSAGE FROM LESLEY FELLOWS AND DOMINIQUE BÉRUBÉ, MCGILL UNIVERSITY

Cellular imaging from the laboratories of RI-MUHC researchers Charles Bourque, PhD (“effector” neurons in dehydration-induced anorexia, at left); Jesper Sjöström, PhD (brain plasticity study: neocortical layer-5 pyramidal cells in red with other neurons tagged in green, centre); and Gustavo Duque, MD, PhD (geroscience research: myoblasts treated with tryptophan metabolites showing higher myogenesis, at right). Realized at the Molecular Imaging Platform, RI‑MUHC, these images represent work by trainees Mary LaPierre, Kalenga Lubembele and Sabine Rannio and by research associate Daniel Rivas.

MESSAGE FROM DR. RHIAN TOUYZ, RI-MUHC

Advancing human health through precision medicine

Rhian M. Touyz, MBBCh, M.Sc. (Med), PhD, FRCP, FRSE, FMedSci, FCAHS, FRSC, Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer, RI-MUHC

At the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), we remain unwavering in our mission to create clinical impact through interdisciplinary science. Our vision of advancing precision health throughout the life course echoes the enduring wisdom of Hippocrates, who recognized that “every human is distinct, and this affects both the disease prediction and the treatment.”

Our community is united in its commitment to driving scientific breakthroughs and improving patient care. We are dedicated to building a future where the RI-MUHC is globally recognized as a leader in transformative discoveries that enhance human health, ensuring every patient receives personalized, precise, and optimal treatment for the best possible outcomes.

I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to our Board of Directors and to our close partners at the MUHC and McGill University, especially to Dr. Lucie Opatrny, Dr. Lesley Fellows and Dominique Bérubé, for their leadership and steadfast support. Their unwavering dedication to research, innovation, and the pursuit of excellence inspires us all as we work together to create a healthier future.

This 2023-2024 annual report highlights our achievements over the past year, anchored in our ambitious strategy and newly launched “2030 Vision.” As we move forward, this Vision will serve as a comprehensive roadmap, guiding our efforts and propelling us toward our shared goals over the next six years. Together, we will continue to push the boundaries of research and innovation, making a lasting impact on human health both locally and globally.

I am very excited to collaborate with all of you as we embark on this journey toward a bright, bold, and visionary future at the RI-MUHC.

MESSAGE FROM DR. LUCIE OPATRNY, MUHC

A healthier future for all

Lucie Opatrny, MD MHCM, FRCPC, M.Sc., President and Executive Director, MUHC

Every year, the healthcare professionals at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) strive to provide world-class compassionate care to people of all ages. As a leading academic health centre, our teams’ impact is visible not only through innovative clinical care, but also through education and research that have local to global implications. This annual report provides an opportunity to celebrate the scientific achievements of the Research Institute of the MUHC (RI-MUHC) in 2023-2024. It also allows us to highlight the important efforts of the MUHC/RI-MUHC to align strategic priorities and achieve even greater impact.

I would like to commend the RI-MUHC’s executive director and chief scientific officer, Dr. Rhian Touyz, as well as her leadership team and managers for supporting an exceptional group of researchers. Whether we are talking about world firsts and international collaborations or the myriad discoveries that advance our understanding of rare and common conditions and diseases, the RI-MUHC should be an immense source of pride for Montrealers, Quebecers and Canadians.

I also wish to express gratitude to Dr. Sarah Prichard, chair of the Board of Directors of the RI-MUHC, and the entire Board for sharing their expertise in governance and ethics, information technology, human resources, finance and audit. Your contributions are vital to our success.

Everyone at the RI-MUHC is determined to change lives, indeed to save lives. The accomplishments cited within this annual report reflect a sense of purpose and dedication to creating a healthier future for those in our community and for people around the world.

It has been exciting this past year to hone in on areas of excellence and potential to encourage and grow, and I look forward to seeing our strategic planning efforts take shape in 2024-2025.

MESSAGE FROM LESLEY FELLOWS AND DOMINIQUE BÉRUBÉ, MCGILL UNIVERSITY

Pooling expertise for better health outcomes

Lesley Fellows, MDCM, DPhil, Vice-President (Health Affairs) and Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (at left), and Dominique Bérubé, ing., PhD, Vice-President (Research and Innovation)

The long and fruitful partnership between our institutions continues to produce impactful discoveries in a range of fields. As this report demonstrates, in areas from cancer to infectious disease to diabetes, our scientists and clinicians are working closely together, applying fundamental breakthroughs to advance diagnosis and treatment, and improving health for the populations we serve, in Quebec and globally.

Simply put, our vision is to make the world a healthier place.

Collaboration and interdisciplinarity are at the centre of what we do. Understanding and improving the care of complex diseases requires multitalented research teams, able to pool expertise and translate new knowledge into better health outcomes. McGill students and trainees, future leaders in their respective disciplines, are fortunate to work alongside colleagues in the RI-MUHC’s world-class labs, where they are learning from some of the brightest minds in the health sciences.

Our institutions are also committed to addressing social inequities and biases in research and in the delivery of healthcare by actively seeking out the contributions of groups traditionally excluded from research and study design and purposefully increasing the diversity of our teams. Through our partnerships with community members and patients, we will continue to expand our wealth of perspectives, which will enrich our understanding and inspire new and exciting avenues of investigation. Congratulations to the RI-MUHC – to the scientists and team members supporting these efforts – on another impressive year of groundbreaking research.

By continuing to work together, we can realize our vision of a healthier world through inclusive, innovative research.