Page 14 - SREMI 2020 Annual Report

Research Report
Back in March, when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, I remember gathering our SREMI staff and faculty and announcing that as a precautionary safety measure, we would be asking everyone to work from home for the next two weeks. Weeks turned into months, and we all had to gure out how to remain engaged, motivated and connected. Zoom became the newest and most important member of our team. In the face of unprecedented challenges, SREMI researchers and scholars had the most productive and proli c year to date. To say that I am proud of our team would be a massive understatement.
RESEARCH IMPACT
SREMI scientists are among the top academic producers in the country and are increasingly being recognised as leaders in our discipline. Since November 2019, SREMI investigators have won eight research awards, acknowledging the important contributions we are making towards the advancement of emergency medicine. One of our Geri-EM fellows, Dr. Rebecca Schonnop, was awarded a CAEP Junior Investigator Grant to explore healthcare provider opinions and perceptions regarding factors that contribute to missed delirium in older emergency department patients. Dr. Keerat Grewal won a CanVECTOR research award for her work on the risk of venous thromboembolism (blood clots) in patients with an ankle fracture requiring immobilization. SREMI investigators were authors on three of the four CAEP 2020 plenary abstracts, and our eCTAS research team was selected as a nalist for the Grizzly Den Award.
Most impressively, Dr. Catherine Varner received the CAEP New Investigator Award and expertly presented her work virtually at the CAEP National Ground Rounds showcasing the best in Canadian emergency medicine research. She was also a nalist for the SAEM Young Investigator Award for her research comparing prescribed light exercise to standard management for emergency department patients with acute
mild traumatic brain injury. Finally, SREMI scholars published a mind-blowing 56 peer-reviewed manuscripts in high-impact journals, with another 21 manuscripts currently under review.
THE COVID PIVOT
Although COVID has presented challenges for some of our ongoing studies collecting data in the emergency department, it has also provided an opportunity to collaborate with new research networks locally, nationally and internationally. Dr. Bjug Borgundvaag and I are co-investigators on a
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