10 reasons Trillium Health Partners continues to rank as one of the Top 40 Research Hospitals in Canada by Research Infosource Inc.
Launched a first-of-its-kind Learning Health System Leadership Centre
We’re studying what it takes to lead in a health system that’s constantly improving. This new centre will support and train health system leaders across Canada to build more responsive health care, so patients benefit from evidence sooner.
Learning Health System Action Framework named Article of the Year
Our nationally recognized framework is helping health systems across Canada and internationally understand how to use evidence, data, and lived experience to improve care and create better health in real time.
Kick-started a four-year caregiver-focused research study
We’re listening to caregivers about what support they truly need and turning those insights into action. This newly launched study, led by Dr. Kerry Kuluski, Scientist and Dr. Mathias Gysler Research Chair in Patient and Family Centred Care, Institute for Better Health, is helping shape a future where caregivers are recognized, supported, and integrated as essential partners in care.
Advancing AI for diabetes prevention and prediction in partnership with the community
By working side-by-side with local community members, health care providers, and policy makers, Institute for Better Health Chief Scientist, Dr. Laura Rosella, and Scientist Dr. Ibukun Abejirinde are building AI tools that reflect real-world lived experience. The goal: to predict and prevent diabetes earlier, especially in communities most affected by chronic disease.
Community-led programs shaping healthier communities
Through Catalyst grant-funding from the Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations (University of Toronto), Institute for Better Health Scientists advanced two community-rooted programs studying chronic disease prevention. A Black-led intergenerational community garden (Principal Investigator: Dr. Abejirinde) is improving access to healthy food and strengthening cultural connections; and another program supports adults with psychosis at risk for diabetes (Principal Investigator: Dr. Deborah Scharf, Senior Scientist, Mental Health and Addictions) through weekly healthy living sessions, active outings, photovoice workshops, and practical supports like grocery funds and running shoes. Another Catalyst-funded program led by Dr. Lisa McCarthy, Scientist, developed a culturally tailored program to support older immigrants with dementia and diabetes to manage their health and social needs while waiting for long-term care admissions.
Grant-funded youth-engaged study to improve transitions in diabetes care
Young people living with diabetes guide this research project—a collaboration between Dr. Ian Zenlea, Clinician Scientist at the Institute for Better Health, and the Hospital for Sick Children—from start to finish. Youth voices are helping redesign the transition from pediatric to adult care so it feels coordinated, supportive, and centred on their needs.
Co-designing a new pediatric Sickle Cell Disease Clinic for the Shah Family Hospital for Women and Children
Youth, patients, caregivers, service providers, and researchers are working together to design a clinic built around lived experience. This collaboration, led by Scientists and Co-Leads of the Family and Child Health Initiative Dr. Zenlea and Dr. Dianne Fierheller, is shaping a model of sickle cell disease care that is more compassionate, coordinated, and culturally responsive. The project also received a Leong Centre 2025 Community Engagement & Knowledge Mobilization Grant.
Released first wave of our Community Flourishing Survey results
Under the leadership of Dr. Rosella, this work provides a comprehensive picture of what our communities say they need to thrive, from support for belonging and safety to access to green space, health care, and secure housing. These findings will guide how we design health prevention programs, care, and partnerships.
Research driving real-world impact in mental health care
Through leading work such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Urgent Response Service, Dr. Scharf is helping Trillium Health Partners’ mental health team understand and advance new models of mental health care that are timely, effective, and grounded in evidence and lived experience.
Launched a first-of-its-kind equity-oriented engagement framework
The Moonshot Collaborative for Translational Health Equity led by Dr. Abejirinde introduced a new framework to help organizations embed equity and inclusive engagement into everyday system improvement. Piloted with Cancer Care Ontario, this approach is giving health systems practical tools to work with communities—not just consult them.
And so much more:
- More than 200 publications and more than 150 presentations, locally, nationally and internationally
- AMS Healthcare Fellowship in Compassion and AI for Dr. Shelley Vanderhout, Scientist
- AMS Healthcare Grant in Compassion and AI for Dr. Azza Eissa, Scientist
- Dr. Laura Rosella, Chief Scientist, Institute for Better Health, named Fellow of Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, as well as receiving a Trailblazer Award in Population and Public Health Research from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- The Institute for Better Health’s Nurturing Black Excellence program had its first anniversary. Since its inception in May 2024, the program has welcomed six scholars; this year, two have continued at the Institute for Better Health as Research Assistants
- The Institute for Better Health hosted its sixth Hazel McCallion Lecture in Shaping Healthier Communities. This year’s event focused on “Building the Future of Health Care with Patients, Families, and Communities