Baycrest Hospital Brain Research Department Overview

•  Baycrest Hospital's brain research department is the Rotman Research Institute (RRI).
• The Rotman Research Institute focuses on "memory and brain function, both in normal aging and in the presence of diseases and conditions that affect the brain, such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, and other dementia."
• The key themes the department conducts research on include cognitive neuroscience, neuroinformatics, aging and brain health, and Alzheimer’s and other related dementia.

Baycrest/Baycrest Foundation Donors

TD Bank Group

•  The TD Bank Group is a financial and banking service corporation headquartered in Toronto.
• The group is one of the donors to the Baycrest Foundation and donated $1 million to the foundation in 2019.

The Yogen Früz

•  The Yogen Fruz is a Canadian chain of frozen yogurt and smoothies stores.
• The Yogen Fruz organizes a Brain Project annually and the proceeds are donated to the Baycrest Foundation. In 2019, the Brain Project raised over $500,000 for the Baycrest Foundation.

The Slaight Family Foundation

•  The Slaight Family Foundation is a foundation that supports projects in the healthcare and social service industry.
• The foundation donated $1 million to support Baycrest Foundation in 2019.

Canada Foundation for Innovation

• The Canadian Foundation for Innovation is an independent non-profit that invests in facilities and equipment in Canadian research institutions.
• The organization donated $1.8 million to Baycrest Foundation in 2017.

Scotiabank

•  Scotiabank is a financial and banking service corporation headquartered in Toronto Canada.
• Scotiabank organizes a hockey charity game annually and donates the proceeds to the Baycrest Foundation.

University Health Network Brain Research Department Overview

•  The University Health Network's brain research department is the Krembil Research Institute at the Toronto Western Hospital.
•  The Krembil Brain Institute focuses on researching and confronting brain and spine related issues in patients.
• The institute is dedicated to finding new and innovative treatments and cures for "chronic neurological disorders (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, stroke, epilepsy, spinal cord injuries, dementia, concussion, pain and depression), ophthalmologic disorders (e.g., glaucoma, macular degeneration and retinopathy) and musculoskeletal system disorders (e.g., osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and ankylosing spondylitis). "

University Health Network Donors

BMO Financial Group

• The Bank of Montreal (BMO) is a financial and banking service corporation in Canada.
• The BMO announced a $21 million donation to Toronto academic hospitals and the University Health Network is one of the beneficiaries.

John and Myrna Daniels Foundation

•  John and Myrna Daniels Foundation is a charitable organization that donates to various health and social causes in Canada.
• They donated $20 million to the University Health Network in 2017.

The Slaight Family Foundation

•  The Slaight Family Foundation is a foundation that supports projects in the healthcare and social service industry.

• The foundation donated $3 million to support the University Health Network in 2019.

The Peter and Melanie Munk Charitable Foundation

• The Peter and Melanie Munk Charitable Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to providing funding for healthcare, higher education, and public policy.
• The foundation donated $100 million to the University Health Network in 2017.

Helpful Findings

• Both Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospitals are part of the University Health Network (UHN) that includes 5 institutions.

•  University Health Network (UHN) "is the largest health research organization in North America and ranks first in Canada for total research funding. It was named Canada's top research hospital by Research Infosource from 2015 to 2017. It was created in 1986 by the Government of Ontario through the merger of four major hospitals: Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, with the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute merged in with The Toronto Hospital in 1999 and the name changed to the University Health Network."

• The five institutions benefit from philanthropy organizations called the Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation (TG&TWF), Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, and Toronto Rehab Foundation. The Toronto General Hospital and Toronto Western Hospital do not conduct separate fundraising activities outside the TG&TWF.

• "Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation raises funds for research, education and the enhancement of patient care at Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals, as well as the Michener Institute of Education at UHN."

• In March 2019, the Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation (TG&TWF) Summary of operations and fund balances presented gross revenues (not including events) of $144,459,000, and Total Fund Balances, March 2019, of $690,644,000. 

• The Foundation's 2018-2019 report to donors dated March 2019 contained lists of more than 3,000 donors, organized by the amounts of the donations:

• Honorary Lifetime Patrons: those who gave more than $1 million (100+ names in list).

• Partners for Discovery: those who made cumulative gifts and pledges of over $1 million (more than 250 names in list).

• A Legacy for Life: those who have left a bequest in their will, estate, life insurance policy, or other means (lists for each year from 2007 to 2019) include several hundred names.

• Donors of $25,000 or more since 1986: 19 pages of 150 names on each page.

• Fundraising events donations in 2018-2019 that brought in donations from $25,000 to $50 million through 44 events.

• The donor lists include names of individuals, couples, families, corporations, and institutions.

• Toronto Western Hospital is the site of the neurology clinics, neurosurgeries, and neurology tests for the University Health Network (UHN). "The Krembil Brain Institute at Toronto Western Hospital (UHN) is home to one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive teams of physicians and scientists uniquely working...to prevent and confront problems of the brain and spine."

• The General Neurology Clinic, Neuro-Ophthamology Clinic, Neurophysiology Lab, Neuropsychology Clinic, Neurosurgeon's Clinic, Tourette Syndrome Neurodevelopmental Clinic, Transient Ischemic Attack and Minor Stroke (TAMS) Unit, Medical Surgical/Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (MSNICU), Neurosurgery/Neurology Inpatient Unit, Spinal/Neurosurgery Inpatient Unit, Sleep Deprived Electroencephalography (EEG), Electroencephalography (EEG), Electromyography (EMG) and Nerve Conduction Studies (NCS), Medical Surgical/Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (MSNICU), and Neurosurgery/Neurology Inpatient Unit are all housed at Toronto Western Hospital.

•  Toronto General Hospital (TGH) does not have neurology services. Toronto General Hospital is the site for "cardiac care, organ transplants and the treatment of complex patient needs." The hospital is the teaching hospital for the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. "In 2019, Newsweek ranked TGH as seventh among the top-ten best hospitals in the world. In 2019, the hospital was ranked 1st for research in Canada by Research Infosource for the 9th year in a row."

• TGH "houses the major transplantation service for Ontario, performing heart, lung, kidney, liver, pancreas, and small intestine, amongst others, for patients referred from all over Canada. The hospital is the largest organ transplant center in North America, performing 639 transplants in 2017. The hospital is also renowned for cardiac and thoracic surgery."

• In 2014, the Rogers Foundation gave $130 million to University Health Network, The Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto "to create the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research." The donation was reported to be "the largest private donation in Canadian health care history." The donation was to be matched by $139 million in additional funds from the three institutions, for a total of $269 million to fund the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research.

• A gift of art pieces by an anonymous donor in 2017 to the Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundation provided Toronto Western Hospital (TW) with art to display in the hospital. Art installations by Canadian artists were placed in both the atrium and food court on the hospital's main floor. Other pieces will be placed in "the Main Pavilion's fourth floor Day Surgery area and the East Wing's sixth and seventh floor Ophthalmology clinics."

• The University Health Network (UHN) reported in 2017 that it would receive a very large gift: $100 million "for the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, donated by the Peter and Melanie Munk Charitable Foundation."

• Also in 2017, the John and Myrna Daniels Foundation made a major donation of $20 million to University Health Network (UHN) "to help advance the face of health care in our local community, in Canada and around the globe." The gift will be used to "support three world-leading programs at UHN: Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, the Krembil Neuroscience Centre and the Multi-Organ Transplant Program."
• BMO Financial Group pledged $21 million in 2018 to Toronto academic hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine to establish "the BMO Education & Conference Centre, where global healthcare professionals gather to share the latest in medical education and research innovation."

Research Strategy

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

Overview

• The Ontario government founded The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, previously known as Ontario Cancer Institute and Princess Margaret Hospital, in 1952.
• It has 12 site groups, 26 specialty clinics, more than 3,000 employees, and receives over 400,000 patients annually.

Brain/Neuro research departments

• "The Princess Margaret Research Institute, the research arm of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, is one of the top 5 cancer research centres in the world."
• It has 857 staff members, composed of researchers and scientists, who studies "all aspects of cancer through research in stem cells, cell signalling, cell biology, structural biology, immunology and immune therapy, psychosocial oncology and palliative care."
• The institute consists of "state-of-the-art tools for research including facilities for molecular imaging, guided therapeutics, genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics."
• The researchers are grouped into seven categories, which are cancer biology and imaging, computational biology and medicine, genetics and epigenetics, immuno-oncology, protein structure and function, stem cells, and supportive care.
• The supportive care program focuses on three areas, which are cancer, advanced cancer, and the brain, survivorship and rehabilitation.
• Researchers in the supportive care program investigates "neurocognitive effects of primary and secondary brain cancers and of cancer treatment; biopsychosocial effects of cancer and of cancer treatment across the cancer trajectory; and health services, intervention and implementation research to reduce suffering, optimize health, and improve quality of life."

Donors

• After extensive research on the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre's website, as well as online research, information on specific neurology research donors were not found.
•  Eleven organizations donated more than $10,000,000, which includes Family of Michael H. McCain, the FDC Foundation, and the Slaight Family Foundation.
•  Seventeen organizations donated between $5,000,000 to $9,999,999, which includes BMO Financial Group, IBM Canada, and The Gerry and Nancy Pencer Brain Trust.
• The total organizations that donated between $1,000,000 to $4,999,999 equaled 124. These organizations include the Inmet Mining Corporation, Pfizer Canada Inc., and the TD Bank Group.
• The total organizations that donated between $500,000 to $999,999 equaled 103. These organizations include ABC Group Inc., The Kresge Foundation, and Abbott Nutrition.
• The total organizations that donated between $250,000-$499,999 equaled 192. These organizations include The Ernst & Young LLP, Under Armour Canada ULC, and McMaster University.
• The total organizations that donated between $100,000 - $249,999 equaled 458. These organizations include GE Canada, The Northpine Foundation, and Sage Investments Ltd.
• The total organizations that donated between $50,000 - $99,999 equaled 645. These organizations include Ontario Acoustic Supply Inc., Four Seasons Drywall, and Revlon Canada Inc.
• The total organizations that donated between $25,000-$49,999 equaled 1195. These organizations include Georgia-Pacific Gypsum, Zzen Group of Companies Ltd, and Gentile Contracting Ltd.

The Mount Sinai Hospital

Overview

• "The Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health care system," that encompasses "the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and eight hospital campuses in the New York metropolitan area."
• The system has over 7,200 physicians.
•  The Mount Sinai Hospital was founded in New York in 1852.
• The hospital's Mount Sinai School of Medicine opened in 1968.
• The hospital offers 53 services, which includes neurology, radiology, and cancer.
• The Mount Sinai Hospital has the most neurological surgeries in New York City.

Brain/Neuro research departments

• The inpatient neurology service opened in 1900.
• It offers clinical services along with innovative research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which looks into "the causes of neurological disorders and discover better ways to treat them."
• The neurology department utilizes "technologies for diagnostics, surgical planning, patient education, and improving outcomes."
• The neurosurgery department has six services, which are brain and cranial tumors surgery, stroke and cerebrovascular services, pediatric cerebrovascular surgery, spine disorders surgery, pain management, and neurocritical care.
•  The Friedman Brain Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is a "clinical and research hub" that conducts research in neuroscience and brain.
• Some of Friedman Brain Institute's research focuses on brain aging, brain tumors, movement disorders, stem cells, and brain injury.

Donors

• After extensive research on the Mount Sinai Hospital's website, as well as online research, information on specific neurology research donors were not found.
•  The Nash Family, Jennifer and Marc Lipschultz, as well as Hirschell E. Levine and John Cohen who are the trustees of the Beatrice and Samuel A. Seaver Foundation, have donated to The Friedman Brain Institute. These donations support the institute's neuroscience research.
•  Emily and Len Blavatnik through the Blavatnik Family Foundation donated $10,000,000 to the Mount Sinai Health System in 2018.

Alzheimer Society of Ontario

Overview

• Alzheimer Society of Ontario was founded in January 1983 as a "care and research charity" that assists "people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias."
•  Alzheimer Society of Ontario conducts research to prevent and find a cure for Alzheimer's disease.
• The society relies on donations from private donors to conduct research.

Brain/Neuro research departments

• The Alzheimer Society Research Program (ASRP) focuses on dementia research by "helping the best and brightest minds in the field spark their work from ideas to impact."
• Alzheimer Society of Ontario has six areas of research, which are aetiology, developing treatments for Alzheimer, diagnosis and detection, improving care and support, risk and prevention of Alzheimer and dementia, and therapy.

Donors

• Alzheimer Society of Ontario's "major provincial partners" are the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Ministry of Seniors Affairs from the Government of Ontario, and the Federated Health Charities Corporation.
• Alzheimer Society of Ontario received $9,447,599 through public support in 2019.
• While the specific donors for the Alzheimer Society of Ontario were not found, there were organizations who donated $50,000 and more to the Alzheimer Society of Canada. These donors include BulkBarn, Sears, and Roche.