$10M donation will support advances in stroke prevention, lifestyle medicine

The Jay and Sari Sonshine Chair in Stroke Prevention and Cerebrovascular Brain Health

*** Shared on behalf of Drs. Aleksandra Pikula and Leanne Casaubon ***

We are pleased to announce that this week, the KBI Stroke Program received a generous $10M gift, on behalf of philanthropists Jay and Sari Sonshine.

This donation will go toward establishing The Jay and Sari Sonshine Chair in Stroke Prevention and Cerebrovascular Brain Health, making KBI a Centre of Excellence in Stroke Prevention. In addition, the funds will be used to advance patient-centred care and lifestyle medicine, foster research with global reach to improve stroke prevention & treatment, and educate the next generation of leaders in the field of brain health, at UHN.

“This gift will enable us to develop an entirely new paradigm of preventative approaches to stroke and brain health for our patients and the broader community,” says Dr. Aleksandra Pikula, Research Director, UHN Stroke Program. “The long-term health benefits of preventative and lifestyle medicine are clear, and this donation will put us squarely on the leading edge of innovation, not only nationally but internationally.”

“Our Stroke Team is a leader in the field when it comes to developing research and advances in clinical care,” adds Dr. Leanne Casaubon, Medical Director, UHN Stroke Program and Toronto West Stroke Network. “The Sonshine family’s support will help us to further enhance our current program and rapidly innovate to advance stroke prevention and care, so we can better meet the evolving needs of our patients - and that will save lives.”

More than 108,000 Canadians experience a stroke each year. That is the equivalent of one stroke every five minutes, a statistic that has nearly doubled over the past two decades. There are over one million Canadians currently living with the effects of a stroke and approximately 35% are under 65 years of age.

Our goal with this gift is to invest in our future as leaders in this field, and on behalf of our patients, who will benefit greatly from these advances.

Leanne Casaubon, MD MSc FRCPC
Aleksandra Pikula, MD DipABPN DipABLM