Discovery-driven, patient-focused

As the research arm and integral partner of St. Joseph’s Health Care London, Lawson Research Institute (Lawson) is one of Canada’s premier health institutes.

For more than 40 years, a culture of curiosity and innovation has propelled Lawson to become a renowned leader in work that improves the lives of people here and around the world.

Lawson’s 250 scientists and associate scientists – along with hundreds of staff members, physicians, students, patients, donors, and academic and funding partners – are moving the needle in local and global health care. Closely integrated with collaborative groups across Canada, North America and in dozens of countries around the world, Lawson researchers know what it takes to make a difference.
Their expertise and areas of focus are diverse. Their impact is profound.

Imaging
Lawson is at the international forefront of medical imaging – research that takes a deep look inside the human body and seeks to understand how tissues, bones, organs and cells work, and then guides next steps when the body doesn’t work as it should.

Lawson’s award-winning imaging scientists, trainees and staff push the boundaries of the latest in technology, which has led to a host of Canadian and world firsts in new pathways of diagnosis, treatment and care.

Quite simply, Lawson scientists see things more clearly than anyone else.

Mobility and Activity

Lawson researchers are dedicated to discovery that benefits people whose lives have been upended by spinal cord injuries, stroke, brain injuries, chronic pain, accidents, falls, trauma or degenerative disease. At The Gray Centre for Mobility and Activity within St. Joseph’s Parkwood Institute, this exciting research is translated into practice.

Lawson mobility researchers comprise one of the largest and most accomplished teams in the country and their work is transformative - helping people around the world lead active and healthy lives.

Mental Health
Lawson experts are searching for answers to persistent mental disorders experienced by youth across the life span to older adults. They do so by taking a science-based, people-driven and systems-focused approach through neuroscience, interdisciplinary clinical practice, pharmacology, psychotherapy, neurostimulation and novel therapeutics, digital technology, partnerships and policy change.

Forging partnerships unique in depth and breadth, Lawson’s mental health researchers have an unwavering commitment to better mental health for all.

Surgical Research
Every patient of the renowned Roth|McFarlane Hand and Upper Limb Centre at St. Joseph’s Hospital has benefited from research performed at Lawson. Behind the scenes of every breast care and urology procedure and each sight-saving treatment at the Ivey Eye Institute is a team of researchers whose curiosity and innovation are setting global standards of excellence.

Lawson scientists lead the way in exploring new surgical procedures, techniques, devices and medications, initiating clinical trials that inform surgical education, and improving surgical practices around the world.

Endocrinology, Metabolism and Chronic Diseases

We don’t think of chronic illness until it finds us. But for specialized Lawson research teams, solving complex chronic illness is always front of mind.

Lawson’s scientists are building upon a legacy of leadership in diabetes and endocrine research, testing new and better ways to treat debilitating arthritis, cultivating breakthrough science in probiotics and gut health, and catching the world’s attention by boosting the body’s immune system with poop – or fecal microbial transplants in scientific terms. Their goal? Discovering the deepest roots of what makes us ill and, equally importantly, what makes and keeps us healthy.

Aging
Helping people live more independent lives, and halting the rising toll of dementia, is the focus of a determined team of world-class experts at Lawson. They are seeking earlier, faster ways to diagnose and predict neurodegenerative diseases, and testing new medications that could delay or slow cognitive impairment. They explore the links between cognition and mobility, osteoporosis and bone health, falls and frailty, and they translate their findings into care.

By integrating groundbreaking science with clinical practice, Lawson is at the forefront nationally and globally of research into aging-related diseases.