Welcome Message
As we reflect on the past year at the CHEO Research Institute, I am filled with deep gratitude and tremendous excitement about the future. This has been a year of transformation—of growing up, growing stronger, and growing together with our partners at CHEO and the CHEO Foundation.
We marked the successful completion of our 2021–2024 strategy, “Oh, the Places We’ll Explore 2024”; a plan that guided us through a period of great uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among our many achievements tied to that strategy, we launched the Research Connection permission to contact program, recruited and hired new scientists, introduced a research mentorship program, and greatly expanded our patient and family engagement in research program. We further established Core Innovation, the CHEO Research Institute’s unique health innovation and commercialization program, which includes the 8-80 Collaborative with Bruyère Health and is funded in part by the Federal Development Agency of Southern Ontario. We also continued to find innovative ways to better leverage the incredible data we have at CHEO and created an artificial intelligence cluster in our Research Informatics Core to help fuel research and discoveries.
Over the past few years, we have also seen research become more integrated across CHEO. This is reflected in the Bright Future branch of CHEO’s new strategy — affirming that research, innovation, and quality improvement need to intersect to achieve the “best life” for all children, youth and families.
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In December 2024, we launched our new CHEO Research Strategy, “Where Discovery Takes Root”, which came into effect on April 1, 2025. This strategy will serve as our roadmap over the next four years. Grounded in the principles of being innovative, inclusive, engaging and collaborative, the new research strategy identifies four ambitious root pillars that span the organization to drive meaningful results and impact and underpin the “tree” central to CHEO’s strategy.
We have so much to celebrate and highlight in this annual report. I encourage you to explore the CHEO Research Institute “By the Numbers” section below and read through the highlight reel to get a glimpse of the incredible work happening at the CHEO Research Institute. From making international headlines with ThinkRare – a world-first artificial intelligence search algorithm that identifies kids who may have an undiagnosed rare genetic disease – to establishing the Precision Child and Youth Mental Health Collaboratory to transform mental health research and care – there is so much to be proud of.
None of this would be possible without the steadfast support and leadership of the CHEO research community. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the CHEO Research Institute Board of Directors, the CHEO Executive leadership team, including outgoing President and CEO, Alex Munter and incoming President and CEO, Vera Etches, and to Steve Read, CHEO Foundation President. I am also deeply grateful to the leadership team at the CHEO Research Institute, whose dedication and hard work continue to drive our mission forward, and to the entire research community for your commitment to research excellence.
With my renewed five-year term as CEO and Scientific Director of the CHEO Research Institute, I am inspired by, and eager to keep leading what we are building together – a future where every discovery is rooted in purpose, partnership, and the promise of better outcomes for children, youth, and families at CHEO and beyond.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
Dr. Jason Berman
CEO and Scientific Director, CHEO Research Institute
Vice-President Research, CHEO
“Being able to support and guide the continued growth and success of the CHEO Research Institute is an incredible privilege for the Board of Directors. The groundbreaking and innovative work being done each day by the talented researchers, staff, trainees, and volunteers at the CHEO RI is inspiring and impactful. Thank you to my Board colleagues for your dedication and vision, and to the CHEO Research Institute leadership team for driving the strategy as we all work toward a bright future at CHEO and beyond.”
Chris Dyrda, Chair, CHEO Research Institute Board of Directors
“The world-class research and innovation that the CHEO Research Institute fosters continues to help CHEO with new and better ways to deliver care. As a pediatric health leader, CHEO is building on its world-class clinical expertise to improve care across Canada and around the world.”
Vera Etches, President and CEO, CHEO
“The CHEO Foundation is so proud to bring the generosity of this community directly to the experts at the CHEO Research Institute, supporting work that is changing the future of healthcare for children and youth. Donors empower researchers to explore innovative solutions to the most pressing health challenges facing children today. The unwavering commitment of people who choose to make giving an expression of their values, is why we believe that transforming pediatric care is not only possible but will be achieved for the benefit of kids these days in our region and beyond.”
Steve Read, President and CEO, CHEO Foundation
2023-2024 Strategic Plan Report Card
2023-2024 was the final year of the CHEO Research Institute strategic plan ‘Oh, the Places We’ll Explore! 2024’. Here is a high-level report card on key strategic goals completed during the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
New CHEO Research Strategy 2025-2029: Where Discovery Takes Root
We are excited to introduce Where Discovery Takes Root, the renewed CHEO Research Strategy for 2025-2029.
2024-2025 Highlight Reel
World-first AI algorithm developed at CHEO leads to rare disease diagnosis for families
Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI), CHEO researchers have developed a groundbreaking search algorithm that identifies children and youth who may have an undiagnosed rare genetic disease and refers them for genetic testing – putting an end to their diagnostic odyssey.
“The ThinkRare algorithm is incredibly exciting and promising because it means we can help families find answers and get the care and support they need sooner,” said Dr. Kym Boycott, Senior Scientist at the CHEO Research Institute and Chief of Genetics at CHEO. “This algorithm is a game changer. Using AI to scour CHEO’s electronic health record based on set criteria, ThinkRare can accurately identify kids who may have an undiagnosed rare genetic disease and refer them to our clinic – something that may have never happened without it.”
CHEO breaks into the Top 25 in national ranking of research hospitals
CHEO continues to climb the ranks of the Research Infosource list of the top research hospitals in Canada. With the continued growth and ongoing success of the CHEO Research Institute, CHEO has broken into the Top 25 of the Top 40 Research Hospitals, rising two spots from the previous year and placing 24th overall.
National study on the social and economic costs of eating disorders in children and youth during COVID-19 a “vast underestimate”
Led by the CHEO Research Institute in collaboration with healthcare and academic partners across Canada, the Deloitte Access Economics report is the first of its kind in Canada and shines a light on the significant costs of eating disorders to the Canadian healthcare system during the pandemic.
Between 2020 and 2022, there was a 126% increase in emergency department presentations and a 60% increase in inpatient hospitalizations compared to one-year pre-COVID. The report indicates the incremental cost impact of children and youth with eating disorders reached $39.5 million over the course of the pandemic (from 2020 to 2022), representing a 21% increase based on the limited data available. The report’s experts say these figures are only a fraction of the true cost of eating disorders in Canada ,raising calls for better surveillance of the growing issue.
Cutting social media use back to one hour a day boosts mental health and sleep in youth
A CHEO Research Institute study confirms that for youth with emotional distress, cutting back social media use in half can have a powerful impact on improving their mental health and wellbeing. This first-of-its-kind experimental study was recently published in Psychology of Popular Media and provides compelling evidence that objectively validates the impact of time spent using social media on youth mental health.
“There is a lot of discussion about the negative impacts of social media on the mental health of young people, but very few studies have objectively shown a causal link between putting the phone away and improved mental well-being. Our study clearly demonstrates that when youth with emotional distress put their phones down for longer periods of time, they report improved mental well-being and better sleep.” said Dr. Gary Goldfield, professor of Pediatrics, Psychology and Population Health, at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Nirav Thacker leads first-ever clinical trial exploring new approaches to childhood brain cancer treatment
When a child is diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer, it marks the start of a long and arduous journey as the radiation therapy and chemotherapy treatments that target cancerous cells can also cause a number of side effects.
Dr. Nirav Thacker, a pediatric oncologist at CHEO and Investigator at the CHEO Research Institute is the Principal Investigator of the first clinical trial to attempt to treat glioblastoma in a subgroup of patients – without using radiation and chemotherapy. This first-of-its-kind global trial is the result of over 15 years of effort and will reach 45 countries around the world.
2024 CHEO Bears’ Den a roaring success; winning pitch secures $25,000 investment
Four Ottawa-based start-ups pitched their groundbreaking health care solution to invest-ready judges at the 2024 edition of the CHEO Research Institute’s Bears’ Den on Nov. 20, 2024. Hosted by Core Innovation, the pitch event highlights cutting-edge med-tech solutions for today and tomorrow’s health care system.
Leynek Medical’s ReneCare Platform was awarded $25,000 as the winner of the 2024 CHEO Bears’ Den. ReneCare supports cancer patients, caregivers, and health care providers by integrating into clinical workflows and offering between-appointment care.
Trailblazing Research Connection Program
Families are at the heart of research at CHEO, which is why it launched Research Connection; a permission-to-contact program that will enhance recruitment for studies at the CHEO Research Institute.
As of February 1, 2025, children and youth who receive services at CHEO are automatically included in Research Connection, which uses an “implied consent” model.
This program links more children, youth and families to valuable research opportunities, and it improves equity and access to research, which ultimately improves the quality of research findings.
CHEO Research Institute to help position Canada as global leader in precision health through genomic data generation
Two CHEO Research Institute projects have secured more than $30 million in funding from Genome Canada as part of Canada’s ambitious genomics data initiative to drive precision health and economic growth.
Receiving $20 million over four years, Care4Rare’s latest initiative C4R-EXPAND will generate and share 17,650 diverse rare disease datasets—including short-read genome, long-read genome, transcriptome, and methylome data— and aims to provide new genetic diagnoses for thousands of families.
With $12 million from Genome Canada’s CPHI, the INFANT project run at Newborn Screening Ontario (NSO) based out of CHEO, will triple the number of infants detected and treated for rare diseases using genomic newborn bloodspot screening (gNBS). As part of the project, NSO will collaborate with gNBS pilots in England, Australia and the United States, building on their success, to establish a Canadian gNBS pilot.
New study is first step in bringing precision child and youth mental health care to the clinic
A research team from the Precision Child and Youth Mental Health (PCYMH) Collaboratory at the CHEO Research Institute, recently published a study in the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology demonstrating that a precision mental health intervention in the CHEO Outpatient Mental Health Service was feasible, well-accepted by patients, families, and providers, and did not disrupt the flow of care. The results are foundational in supporting the launch of a full-scale study to examine clinical outcomes of this innovative approach to improving mental health care through greater precision in treatment.
Financial Reporting
Related annual reports
CHEO Research Ethics Board 2024 Annual Report
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