Inaugural recipients of Kaye Fund Competition announced

EDMONTON – Seven recipients are receiving a total of $700,000 to support research projects and quality improvement initiatives at the Kaye Edmonton Clinic, as the University Hospital Foundation (UHF) and Alberta Health Services (AHS) today announce the successful applicants awarded funding from the first Kaye Fund Competition.

The inaugural recipients and areas of research include:

• Fang Ba and Dr. Bin Zheng: Parkinson's disease.
• Linda Chui and Dr. Brendon Parsons: tracking C. difficile infections at the University of Alberta Hospital.
• Shubha De and Dr. Todd Alexander: establishing a multidisciplinary kidney stone clinic.
• John Lewis: improving the management of prostate cancer.
• Janis Miyasaki and Dr. Cary Brown: bright light therapy in persons with Parkinson’s disease suffering from excessive daytime sleepiness.
• Oleksa Rewa: renal replacement therapy.
• Frank Wuest: imaging of prostate cancer.

The Kaye Fund Competition was created following Donald Kaye’s $30-million gift in 2012 to the UHF, directed to advancing patient care and medical research to the then newly-opened Kaye Edmonton Clinic.

“Donald Kaye’s donation, the largest single gift ever given to healthcare in Alberta, has inspired researchers to look further and deeper than ever before to find cures and new treatments for some of our most challenging health conditions,” says Jim Brown, Chair of the University Hospital Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

This year’s competition received more than 80 original applicants, of which 25 projects were shortlisted and invited to submit full applications. Three peer-reviewed committees evaluated each of the programs and quality improvement projects in the following four categories:

• Prevention, maintenance or care to patients suffering from illness, disease, disability, pain or suffering.
• Medical and clinical research into the causes, prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment and cures for life-threatening illnesses or chronic diseases.
• Inter-professional collaboration of healthcare professionals to provide a multi-disciplinary approach to patient care at one location.
• Clinical learning opportunities for students or staff in all healthcare disciplines.

Each of the programs/projects was then evaluated. In May, the steering committee met to finalize award decisions, considering the highest scores, restricted program areas and the total amount of available funding.

“The Kaye Fund Competition is possible not only because of the generosity of Mr. Kaye, but also thanks to the collaboration between the UHF, the University of Alberta Hospital site, and the Kaye Edmonton Clinic,” says Cathy Osborne, Senior Operating Officer of the University of Alberta Hospital, the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute and the Kaye Edmonton Clinic. “These research, innovation and quality improvement projects will establish new approaches to patient care for Albertans in years to come.”

The University Hospital Foundation raises and manages funds to advance patient care, research and healthcare education at the University of Alberta Hospital, the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute and the Kaye Edmonton Clinic.

Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Its mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.

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