The Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation serves as virtual hub, bringing together the best and the brightest minds from across the globe to address the growing challenge of complex chronic disease.
The Collaboratory contributes on several critical levels. First and foremost, an understanding of Bridgepoint's complex patient population will help others to understand similarly complex populations elsewhere. Our research will contribute to the body of knowledge on complex chronic disease from a health services, health policy, clinical, and health promotion perspective. Secondly, our efforts will guide evidence-informed practice guidelines for clinicians to deliver the most appropriate and efficient care, by shedding light on the impact that one chronic disease has on another. Finally, at a systems and policy level, our research will serve to guide policy and practice by supporting not only the effective treatment and management of complex chronic disease, but also its prevention.
Our research teams combine researchers, practitioners, and other relevant contributors to the issues we are studying. Members of the Collaboratory come from many disciplines such as primary care, social science, pharmacy, health policy, public health, architecture, epidemiology, aboriginal and inner city health.
The Collaboratory's broad-based team approach to research in the specialized area of complex chronic disease will improve health, not only for the patients at Bridgepoint, but for the rapidly growing number of people living with complex chronic disease in Canada and worldwide.
The Bridgepoint Chair in Complex Chronic Disease and TD Financial Group, Scientific Director
With financial support from our Foundation, Bridgepoint, jointly with the University of Toronto, established the first Canadian Chair in complex chronic disease research.
In the fall of 2009, Dr. Renée Lyons was appointed as the inaugural Chair and the TD Financial Group, Scientific Director of the Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation. In this joint capacity, Dr. Lyons provides leadership to Bridgepoint in the development of the Collaboratory and its areas of research focus. She is responsible for growing the culture of inquiry within Bridgepoint; developing the Collaboratory through local, national and international partnerships; creating inter-disciplinary research teams; developing grant proposals; and, contributing to the body of knowledge required to prevent and manage complex chronic disease.