St. Michael’s Hospital introduces early career research and innovation award

The Betty and Gerald Straus Early Career Research and Innovation Award was established by the physicians of St. Michael’s Hospital Department of Medicine and St. Michael’s Foundation to recognize the contributions of Dr. Sharon Straus during her tenure as Physician-in-Chief. The award is named in honour of Dr. Straus’ parents and reflects the Department’s commitment to academic medicine and early career development. The grant, of a minimum of $20,000, will be awarded annually to an early career physician within the Department of Medicine to support their program of research and innovation. The goal is to provide seed funding to support large grant proposals. Awardees are selected following an open call for applications and a peer-reviewed competition.

The recipient of the inaugural Betty and Gerald Straus Early Career Research and Innovation Award is Dr. Matthew Lincoln from the Division of Neurology. Dr. Lincoln’s pioneering research focuses on the debilitating condition of multiple sclerosis. It is known that some people are genetically at higher risk of developing multiple sclerosis than others. Dr. Lincoln’s team are trying to understand what causes this genetic risk by examining a process called ‘epigenetics.’ Epigenetics is a new way of looking at genetic risk, focusing on how genes can be altered by ways that do not affect our DNA code. Dr. Lincoln hopes that his studies can shed new light on the causes of multiple sclerosis and that, ultimately, his team’s discoveries could lead to new treatments that improve the lives of the millions of people affected by this devastating illness.