Research at a glance

Dr. Raymond Laflamme and Dr. Ernest Osei

Dr. Raymond Laflamme and Dr. Earnest Osei

Oncology & quantum physics

Raymond Laflamme, Institute for Quantum Computing Ernest Osei, Director Medical Physics

“A review of applications of principles of quantum physics

in oncology: do quantum physics principles have any role in

oncology research and applications?”

Published in the Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice (vol. 18 (4): 1-12, 2018), the paper reviews recent studies into applications of quantum physics in biology, chemistry, biochemistry; and quantum physics in cancer research.

The ongoing relationship between Laflamme and Osei continues to explore the hypothesis that the principles of quantum physics could open new and broader understandings of the cancers and the development of new cancer treatment.

Professor Paul Stolee, School of Public Health Sciences

Professor Paul Stolee, School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo

Patient experience

Paul Stolee, School of Public Health Sciences

Jenna Merritt, Clinical Manager, Medicine Program

The study aims to determine what engagement practices facilitate or hinder patient and family engagement during care transitions. A care transition occurs when a patient is moved within the healthcare system to better facilitate their care, which includes transfers between hospital programs, transfers to different institutions, and/ or transfer to home.

The study team hopes to learn what resources and materials are needed to support engagement in care transitions and how those resources can best be implemented to enhance engagement practices. The study will be conducted in two phases, the first of which involves interviews with patients and their families following a transition during their care, and the latter which includes workshops comprised of patients, family caregivers, and health care providers.

The project was awarded $450K by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.

Dr. Adrian Batten, examines pathology slides under a microscope

Dr. Adrian Batten, GRH Pathologist, examines pathology slides under a microscope using existing technology

Digital pathology

Hamid Tizhoosh, Director of KIMIA Lab and GRH Laboratory Medicine program partner to improve pathological assessment of cancer by creating a medical image search engine.

UW Research teams are being provided with access to hundreds of medical laboratory images which will help build the pathology search engine. Hospital pathologists will then validate the results of the search engine to determine if the results are correct, meaningful, and useful.

The project was awarded $3.1m by the Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence program (ORF-RE) to conduct this work.