The Clinical Investigative Unit (CIU) at London Health Sciences Centre:
On the cutting edge of translational medicine and therapeutics research

Some of the most exciting advances in medicine are happening through the development and utilization of new drugs that are targeted and effective. However adverse drug reactions remain a serious problem. In fact, nearly 10,000 Canadians die unnecessarily from complications arising from drug therapy. We know that response to the same dose of a drug can vary widely among individuals. For example, one in 11 people don’t have the gene for a protein capable of converting the common pain-relief drug codeine into morphine, and receive little benefit from the drug. In addition, the recent withdrawal and health warnings for drugs such as tegaserod (Zelnorm) and rosiglitazone (Avandia) continue to point to deficiencies in the way new drugs are tested and studied in our patients. Researchers are now working to better understand what factors, both genetic and environmental, determine these variances – at the molecular level. The goal is to be able to give the best drug available, at the most effective dose for all of our patients. This new frontier in personalized medicine, offers enormous potential for more successful treatments. 

As a part of the overall goal of enhancing the clinical and translational research capability here in London, a state-of-the-art Clinical Investigation Unit (CIU) is slated for construction on the 5th-floor of the Legacy Pavilion at the University Hospital. The vision for the London Clinical Investigation Unit is to foster collaborative clinical research by making available citywide, intellectual and physical resources needed to conduct cutting-edge translational clinical research. Whether the topic is personalized medicine, latest promising therapies for cancer in adults or children, or chronic illnesses, to make this vision a reality, we need to invest in our clinical researchers and the infrastructure needed to carry out world-class “bench to beside and back to the community” clinical research. The goal is to place London as a globally recognized centre of excellence in translational clinical research.

“The knowledge and tools are developing very quickly but there is still a lot of work ahead of us,” says Dr. Richard Kim the inaugural medical director of the CIU. “What makes all of this exciting for London Health Sciences Centre is that there are a number of truly outstanding scientists, both at the basic and clinical levels thus the CIU will be able to serve as the hub to interlink our researchers for truly outstanding translational research.”

Dr. Kim also notes that “While there are sites in Canada, whether based in academic medical centres or in industry, capable of conducting clinical studies, here in London, we now have the unique opportunity to utilize the CIU as the building block to growing world-class expertise in clinical research where the knowledge generated by our clinical researchers will become the standard of care.” The ultimate beneficiary will be our patients. They will be the first to benefit from the new therapies that our clinical researchers pioneered.