One of the great thinkers of the twentieth century, Bertrand Russell transformed logic and philosophy, as well as addressing numerous social and political issues of contemporary and continuing significance. Since Russell’s papers came to McMaster in the late 1960s, scores of books and hundreds of articles have been published using material from the Russell Archives. The Bertrand Russell Research Centre takes responsibility for the publication of Russell texts and for fostering Russell research. The Centre has three core scholarly activities: Russell: the Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies (now in its 48th year of publication), the McMaster Edition of The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell, and the Collected Letters of Bertrand Russell—an electronic edition of all his correspondence, of which his prison letters from 1918 are the first batch to have been edited and published.

The creation of the Bertrand Russell Research Centre in 2000 gave all three of these projects a permanent home within McMaster’s Faculty of Humanities. The McMaster University Library remains responsible for the running of the Archives and for the care and preservation of the papers.

Director: Dr. Alex Klein

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The Biointerfaces Institute (BI) is a state-of-the-art facility implementing high-throughput research pipelines to investigate the nature of the biological/material interface, or biointerface. The Institute is led by Dr. John Brennan, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Bioanalytical Chemistry and Biointerfaces. Dr. Brennan is a world leader in the development of advanced sol-gel based biomaterials, biosensor technologies and high-throughput drug screening platforms.

The Institute has ten additional core faculty members with expertise in high-throughput synthesis, surface characterization, polymer chemistry, bioassay development and opthalmic biomaterials, with backgrounds in Chemistry, Chemical Biology, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering.

The Biointerfaces Institute houses approximately $15M in advanced equipment that is primarily utilized for the development and characterization of:

1. New diagnostic sensors, assays and rapid tests
2. New biomaterials
3. Biologically modified surfaces

All equipment is arranged into “suites” that focus on:

1. Production of biological entities, including DNA, proteins and cells
2. Rapid synthesis and screening of (bio)materials using robotics and printing methods
3. (Bio)surface development and characterization
4. Evaluation of surface, material or device performance

Co-Directors: Dr. John Brennan and Dr. David Latulippe

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The BIMR plans for and operates sophisticated infrastructure for the production and advanced characterization of materials. It also both disseminates and celebrates research achievement covering a wide range of scientific and engineering interests, related to materials.

The BIMR is an interdisciplinary research organization with the mandate to develop, support and co-ordinate all materials research-related activities at McMaster. The facilities of the Institute and its pool of expertise are also available to industry and organizations that require assistance with materials research and development or material analysis. Its membership of 123 faculty members is drawn from 13 departments in the Faculties of Science, Engineering and Health Sciences and several Canadian and International Universities.

Founded by Howard Petch in the 1960’s, the IMR is the foundation on which McMaster’s internationally recognized, comprehensive programme in Materials Research has been built.

Director: Dr. Alex Adronov

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The Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy (CCEM) provides world-class electron microscopy capabilities and expertise to Canadian researchers and industry working in a broad range of fields. Our vision is to be one of the leading electron microscopy facilities in the world for the quality of the scientific research, to be the go-to provider of electron microscopy services to Canadian industry and to play a leading role in promoting interactions amongst researchers in various fields nationally and internationally.

Located at McMaster University and operated by the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research, the CCEM features a state-of-the-art suite of instrumentation and experienced, dedicated staff capable of getting the best out of each instrument. We are happy to work with you to find solutions to your materials research and development questions.

Scientific Director: Dr. Nabil Bassim

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CanChild is housed within the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University and is the hub in an academic network of international scientists that conduct applied clinical and health services research concerning children and youth with a variety of developmental conditions.

CanChild is a non-profit research and educational centre located within the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Our research is focused on improving the lives of children with a variety of developmental conditions and their families over the lifecourse.

Founded in 1989, CanChild is a world leader in the field of childhood disability. Our cutting-edge research and active strategies for making findings easily accessible to a wide range of audiences make CanChild the premier source for childhood disability information. CanChild has developed strong collaborative research partnerships, creating an alliance between families, world-class scientists, and established research organizations in Canada and internationally. These partnerships are vital to CanChild’s future growth and success.

CanChild’s multidisciplinary team includes researchers from pediatrics, rehabilitation medicine (physiatry), occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language pathology, kinesiology, social psychology, epidemiology and biostatistics.

Co-Directors: Dr. Olaf Kraus de Camargo and Dr. Briano Di Rezze

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ARiEAL is an innovative and interdisciplinary research centre that brings together researchers around the world versed in experimental and applied methods, behavioural and neurophysiological approaches to linguistics, language, cognition, and cognitive neuroscience.

ARiEAL, the Centre for Advanced Research in Experimental and Applied Linguistics, is an interdisciplinary research centre housed within the Department of Linguistics and Languages, Faculty of Humanities at McMaster University. Recently founded in 2016, our goal is to investigate language, cognition and brain function by fostering collaboration across theoretical and applied disciplines. ARiEAL’s members represent demonstrated expertise in a number of areas from cognitive neuroscience and brain imaging to linguistics and speech language pathology (see laboratories).

Director: Dr. Ivona Kucerová

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ARMS aims to lead the way for mental health research in the social sciences for a safer and healthier tomorrow. Our innovative approach to mental health focuses on the structural and societal aspects of mental health. Our goal is to underscore that a social science perspective should be prioritized in the effort to address the burden of mental health problems.

Our research addresses the societal and environmental contributors to individuals’ mental health and well-being. We concentrate on research projects that highlight the social dimensions of mental health experiences across all segments of society.

Director: Dr. Marisa Young

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The Centre for Ancient Numismatics (CAN) creates a platform for hands-on, interactive learning and dynamic research focused on ancient coinage. The study of Greek and Roman coins encompasses the intersection of diverse academic areas including material sciences, economics, and Classical Archaeology, and as it is interdisciplinary by nature, so is the Centre: we are structured to build bridges between these separate fields to create a unique line of inquiry and coordinate projects across campus and with other institutions.

Co-Directors: Dr. Spencer Pope and Dr. Martin Beckmann

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The CAMC’s research focuses on materials engineering including themes like strip casting of sheet metal, light-weight material systems, material degradation and protection, and joining issues as they apply to automotive material innovations.

The Centre for Automotive Materials and Corrosion (CAMC) is located in the McMaster Automotive Resource Centre (MARC) The CAMC’s research focuses on materials engineering including themes like strip casting of sheet metal, light-weight material systems, material degradation and protection, and joining issues as they apply to automotive material innovations. The Centre is also investigating opportunities for developing magnesium-based components for lightweight fuel-efficient vehicles.

Director: Dr. Joey Kish

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The Centre for Clinical Neuroscience brings together key faculty from the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences and St. Joseph’s Health Care Hamilton and other partners from McMaster University.

It takes a societal as well as a clinical perspective and will emphasize the translation and application of new knowledge and discoveries to individual patient’s organizations (improving treatment efficacy across a system) and communities (population focus).

By understanding clinical outcomes at early stages and developing better personalized treatment plans for psychiatric patients; and towards further development and testing of risk calculators for complex outcomes such as disability.

Director: Dr. Benicio Frey

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CCENA aims to learn from the stories and narrative traditions through which communities imagine themselves and their relationships with each other.

Those of us who participate in the Centre for Community-Engaged Narrative Arts (CCENA) believe that addressing the inequities in our world depends upon widespread recognition of the inherent value of diverse communities’ everyday, experiential knowledge: their stories. CCENA aims to learn from the stories and narrative traditions through which communities imagine themselves and their relationships with each other. With this aim in mind, CCENA seeks to support and sustain art-based community listening, remembering, and story-making. We link community members with other communities, and with various media and sources of expertise in order to support them in telling their stories. CCENA works with:

• community groups, either existing or envisioned
• artists
• individual community members
• arts organizations
• public intellectuals

Co-Directors: Dr. Lorraine York and Dr. Daniel Coleman

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The Centre for Discovery in Cancer Research (CDCR) at McMaster University features basic and translational cancer researchers from across Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, working together to provide a holistic research program. The CDCR builds expertise around treatment-resistant cancers of high need, significantly impacting those suffering from the disease in Canada and worldwide.

Director: Dr. Sheila Singh

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Centre for Emerging Device Technologies (CEDT) is an organization that facilitates study of the optical, electrical, mechanical, and biological properties of semiconductors and related materials and promotes the development of technology based on these materials.

Today, the Centre is made up of faculty members and graduate students from the various departments under both Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Sciences:

• Engineering Physics
• Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Materials Science & Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Chemistry & Chemical Biology
• Physics & Astronomy
• Geography & Earth Sciences

The Centre’s focus has been on photonics and optical materials & devices, however, the approaches and applications are extremely diverse. Further, the research interests span a diverse area. We develop lasers, MEMS, detectors, waveguide devices, and much more. Industrial collaborations take place frequently and new initiatives are always welcome.

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Both locally and globally, the Centre for Global Peace, Justice and Health explores and applies strategies for educating for a culture of peace. Activities of the Centre for Global Peace, Justice and Health include supporting Hamilton’s annual Gandhi Peace Festival and sponsoring workshops, seminars and public lectures on campus and in the community. Students will benefit from their interactions with both local and international researchers, practitioners and activists that are regularly sponsored by the Centre and from the Centre’s extensive collaboration with both on-campus and off-campus communities.

Director: Dr. Chandrima Chakraborty

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CHEPA investigates pressing issues such as the relationship between doctors’ pay and health system costs; ethical concerns related to who gets what care and who has a say in it, and whether evidence supports the health decisions being made.

CHEPA researchers have helped shape Canada’s health system for more than a quarter-century. They continue that tradition today, investigating pressing issues such as the relationship between doctors’ pay and health system costs; ethical concerns related to who gets what care and who has a say in it, and whether evidence supports the health decisions being made.

The centre was founded in 1988 by a group of health economics and health policy analysis pioneers – Greg Stoddart, Jonathan Lomas, Roberta Labelle, David Feeny, George Torrance and Amiram Gafni – to be a multidisciplinary centre with research, teaching and service activities that provide timely and relevant evidence to inform policy-making at all levels of the health-care system.

It continues this tradition today, working at the intersection of the health and social sciences, evaluating how Ontario’s health system is performing and supporting the development of policies to enhance the system’s effectiveness and sustainability. Evidence about what works and what could be improved derives from the study of how well policies achieve their objectives and the consideration of values such as fairness and patient-centredness.

Director: Dr. Jean-Éric Tarride

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The Centre for Human Rights and Restorative Justice (CHRRJ) takes a broad approach to human rights and restorative justice. It approaches human rights not simply as legalistic entitlements, but also as ethical claims founded on cross-cultural notions of human dignity and wellbeing. Its approach to restorative justice emphasizes responsibility, redress, peacebuilding and societal repair. The work of CHRRJ is founded on the belief that collective acknowledgment of past atrocities, redress of present abuses, reflection and repair through restorative justice processes can help build more equitable and inclusive societies. This, in turn, can foster civic engagement and democratic participation.

Director: Dr. Juanita De Barros

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A world class research and development Centre that promotes hybrid technology and its transfer to Canada while working with industrial partners to enhance their global competitiveness and augment their capabilities in training and recruitment.`

Director: Dr. Saeid Habibi

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The Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research is focused on translating world leading basic science into clinical practice to improve the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of metabolic diseases in children and adults across the lifespan.

The Centre includes research teams dedicated to furthering research efforts to develop new preventative and treatment strategies for chronic metabolic diseases.

Co-Directors: Dr. Katherine Morrison and Dr. Gregory Steinberg

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1. To encourage and facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers around a shared interest in the potentials and effects of networks and networking.
2. To encourage and facilitate the participation and engagement of the widest possible range of undergraduate and graduate students, community members, independent artists, emerging scholars, and others with this research.
3. To discover, develop and support new, networked, accessible, and flexible ways of organizing both interdisciplinary research conversations and artistic activity.

Acting Director: Dr. Christine Quail

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MNSL is a unique facility in North America offering fabrication, characterization and integration of different materials, components and devices at multiple length scales.

The Micro- and Nano-System Laboratory (MNSL) at McMaster University. MNSL is a unique facility in North America offering fabrication, characterization and integration of different materials, components and devices at multiple length scales. For example, Nano-Bonding and –Interconnect System (NBIS) and Nanoimprinting Lithography System (NIL) provide fabrication and integration of nanometer scale structures and devices. Research using MNSL infrastructure spans from fundamental areas such as molecular interactions during bonding to applied relating to miniaturization of emerging systems for health and environmental applications.

Director: Dr. Jamal Deen

The Centre for Research on Community Oriented Entrepreneurship (CRCE) was born out of the Reframery initiative, a response to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on immigrant women, persons with disabilities, and minority-owned businesses. Recognizing the unique challenges and underrepresentation in entrepreneurship among these groups, CRCE aims to foster sustainable and inclusive business practices, contributing to a more equitable entrepreneurial landscape.

CRCE’s mission is to foster research that builds prosperous and resilient communities, emphasizing environmental sustainability and community focus. By supporting diverse individuals CRCE aims to spur innovative solutions to current and future challenges. CRCE’s goal is to promote economic prosperity, environmental sustainability, and social inclusion.

Director: Dr. Benson Honig

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The Centre of Excellence in Protective Equipment and Materials (CEPEM) will assist research and development needs for Canadian companies, both existing and new, so that they can meet today’s needs for Canada but also develop the next generation of personnel protective equipment to become global leaders in the future.

Our vision is to create the next generation of personnel protective equipment to become global leaders. The funding will establish the center as a core facility to assist the large number of new companies that are being setup in Canada to design and develop PPEs, choose appropriate materials and their combinations as well as develop and provide advanced technology that will make them leaders in the world.

Director: Dr. P. Ravi Selvanganapthy

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The Chanchlani Research Centre is comprised of a vibrant group of researchers who investigate the intersection of genomics and culture on human health. Thanks to a generous donation by the Chanchlani family and with support from McMaster University, we have the infrastructure both human and physical to undertake large scale genomics projects as related to chronic diseases. The Centre provides an ideal training group for students in statistics, epidemiology, and medicine and by investigating how genomics intersects with health, some of our researchers consider the socio-cultural and clinical application of such information. Further, once a year we award the Chanchlani Global Health Research Award to an outstanding scientist whose research impacts global health.

Director: Dr. Sonia Anand

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The David Braley Centre for Antibiotic Discovery, operating from the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, is home to McMaster’s leading researchers in the field of antimicrobial resistance.

Director: Dr. Matthew Miller

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The Digital Society Lab is a new interdisciplinary research facility dedicated to the study of the complex societal transformations that have accompanied the digital age.

Director: Dr. Clifton van der Linden

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ECRI will be the national leader of innovative and sustainable solutions that will put research into action for the benefit of people affected by cancer.

ECRI brings together scientists representing many disciplines, including anatomical pathology, clinical chemistry, nuclear medicine, immunology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, surgical oncology, gynecological oncology, nursing, psychology, health policy, cancer epidemiology, and biostatistics. ECRI has an integrated research agenda which encompasses translational research, clinical trials, quality health care and knowledge translation, all focused on the rapid transfer of research to patient care, system design and health care policy.

The Hamilton academic community has a rich history of innovation in education, multidisciplinary health research and a commitment to evidence based practice. ECRI scientists build on this foundation of innovation by collaborating with cancer researchers across McMaster University and around the world, with policy makers and decision makers interested in building a sustainable and transformative cancer system, and, most importantly, with patients and families challenged by cancer.

ECRI is co-located with the Juravinski Cancer Centre (JCC) at Hamilton Health Sciences, on the spectacular Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The JCC is one of the largest academic regional cancer centres in the country. Serving a regional population of 1.3 million, the cancer centre is a natural partner for ECRI, and the region it serves a natural laboratory within which to identify the most pressing cancer patient, provider and systems issues, and to design, test and evaluate solutions to these issues that will be meaningful to the community and applicable to other cancer programs provincially, nationally and around the world.

Director: Dr. Gregory Pond

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The Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute’s vision is to better understand and treat, and ultimately cure, the most common categories of intestinal illness that burden our society: inflammatory, functional and diet-induced disorders

The Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute was established in 2008 replacing McMaster University’s Intestinal Disease Research Program that had been in existence since 1984. The Institute’s vision is to better understand and treat, and ultimately cure, the most common categories of intestinal illness that burden our society: inflammatory, functional and diet-induced disorders. The Institute pursues its vision by adopting an integrated multidisciplinary approach that encompasses bench-to-bedside research and involves close collaborations between clinicians, clinician-scientists and basic scientists. The vision also mandates the provision of the best possible experience that will enable our trainees to pursue successful careers in the academic and private sectors. Knowledge translation is a key aspect of our vision, serving to inform the public of advances in our understanding of digestive diseases, and to increase awareness of the burden of these diseases on our society.

Director: Dr. Steve Collins

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The Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health (FIRH) is based out of St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and is affiliated with McMaster University. Clinical, research and educational activities are integrated and largely collaborative within the FIRH. The intent of this institute is to provide optimal patient care through clinical practice, translational research and the training of health care professionals.

Research is wide-ranging, from basic studies of animal models of lung disease (asthma, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, fibrosis) to clinical trials and epidemiological studies such as the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development Study (CHILD) birth cohort study, for which the FIRH is hosting the coordinating centre.

Specialized facilities have been established at the FIRH, such as the Sputum Research Laboratory and the Aerosol Research Laboratory. Scientists at the FIRH are performing studies of bone marrow progenitor cells, airway peptide challenges, electrophysiological studies of airway smooth muscle cells, chronic allergen challenges, preclinical models of lung injury and repair, and more. The research productivity of FIRH is attested to by the high quality and impact of the peer-reviewed publications.

Director: Dr. Dawn Bowdish

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The Gilbrea Centre is an interdisciplinary research hub that is dedicated to address issues of aging through collaborative and policy relevant research.

Based on a collaborative undertaking by outstanding researchers and educators , the Centre produces and communicates socially-relevant knowledge which helps to broaden understandings of aging, the challenges that exist, and the suggested directions for change.

Our vision is to address the needs of an aging society through research that is grounded in community partnerships, and knowledge exchange with target groups including students, faculty, community organizations, decision-makers, and older people.

Created as a major step forward in addressing contemporary issues of aging, the Centre’s work on aging extends beyond McMaster’s campus through partnerships and collaboration with National and international research teams, and partners in the public, private and non-profit sectors.

Director: Anthea Innes

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The Institute on Ethics & Policy for Innovation (IEPI) is focused on identifying and addressing ethical challenges, ethics-related risk, and policy gaps that have the potential to undermine the impact of life-saving technologies and interventions in Global Health and Development.

We help researchers, funders, sponsors, policymakers, and other stakeholders in global health navigate through ethical issues that impact work across the innovation lifecycle: discovery, development, delivery and policy & advocacy. Our aim is to:

Enable programs by emphasizing the ethical aspects that enhance their quality and efficiency
Anticipate and address ethics-related challenges and ethics-related risk, including reputational risk
Be respective and inclusive of the perspectives of those most affected by programs and interventions

We take a multidisciplinary approach and use mixed methods to understand the problems and develop solutions –conceptual and qualitative analyses, landscape, systematic and policy reviews, and syntheses. Importantly, we work collaboratively with stakeholders and decision-makers to ensure translation and uptake of our research and the solutions we propose.

Director: Dr. Claudia Emerson

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The Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition has contributed to research and teaching excellence about globalizing processes and how these come to bear upon our lives, our communities, and the environment in which we live.

The IGHC plays a crucial role in promoting research and teaching on global and international issues and themes. It will be a significant contributor to the academic and intellectual sides of the University’s internationalization mission, contributing to research excellence, student experience, and community engagement. It not only seeks to integrate students into research and creative projects on globalization and bring scholarly research into the classroom, but it also aims to examine the activist impact of globalization scholarship in the material world.

Director: Dr. Petra Rethmann

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The Labarge Centre for Mobility in Aging (LCMA) was created in 2016 to facilitate and amplify research initiatives that mitigate the risk and consequences of declining mobility with age. Situated within the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA), and built on the groundwork supported by the Labarge Optimal Aging Initiative and the Labarge Foundation, the Centre fosters interdisciplinary research approaches to all aspects of mobility in aging, including:

• Biological and physiological contributors;
• Behavioural, cognitive and psychosocial influences;
• Biomedical, clinical and technological innovations;
• Availability of prevention, rehabilitation and management strategies for mobility challenges; and
• Environmental components, such as social, economic, policy and physical/structural factors.

Through the generosity of Suzanne Labarge, McMaster’s strength in aging research has been magnified with the aim of developing evidence-based interventions that will impact the lives of today’s aging population.

Director: Dr. Parminder Raina

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The McMaster Advanced Control Consortium (MACC) was established in 1988 to promote and advance process automation and related process systems engineering technologies through academe-industry interactions. Over the years, company membership grew and also diversified, with current member companies spanning the petroleum, chemical, steel, food and control technology vendor industries. The research in the consortium is directed by five faculty members from the Department of Chemical Engineering at McMaster University, with the remaining research complement comprising of graduate students, research engineers, post-doctoral fellows at various points in time, and undergraduate research students.

MACC continues to thrive after more than 30 years, and has provided significant benefits to both McMaster University and member companies. Numerous graduate students with Ph.D. and Master’s degrees who graduated from here have high technical skills that are developed through their course work at McMaster University combined with industrially relevant research. They are highly sought-after and are valuable assets to the process industries and their technology suppliers.

Director: Dr. Christopher Swartz

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The Centre for Buddhist Studies aims to support a dynamic research environment in Buddhist Studies across the McMaster campus and beyond in order to expand scholarly understanding of Buddhist traditions past and present.

Director: Dr. James Benn

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The mission of the McMaster Centre for Climate Change is to promote and facilitate education, research activities and collaborations to study and model processes of Earth’s climate system and the impacts of climate change on the environment, ecosystems, water resources and human health.

Objectives

• Establish a multi-disciplinary collaborative research program by bringing together researchers working on climate change research at McMaster University and beyond, and to promote these research activities at national and international levels.
• Study the impacts of climate change on ecosystems, water resources, human health and society to improve our understanding of physical, biological and chemical processes and advance the predictive capabilities of Earth System models.
• To explore human perceptions of and responses to climate change and its likely impact on health and social activity.
• Promote graduate and undergraduate teaching and scholarships, focusing on the environment, climate change and their impacts.
• Enhance public outreach and provide scientific input to academic and public debates on environmental and climate change issues.
• Encourage the application of scientific knowledge for the sustainability and resilience of ecosystems, water resources, and infrastructure while developing public policies that will meet societal challenges caused by future climate change.

Director: Dr. Altaf Arain

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The Centre assists industry in the development of cost-effective products and construction processes through sponsored and collaborative research.

The basic objective of the Centre is to link research with education to produces engineers who:

• understand durability of materials
• possess advanced analytical skills
• can identify client-specific needs
• can integrate design with the construction process
• can integrate sustainability considerations including maintenance and service life
• can include building envelope and services considerations.

The Centre will assist industry in development of cost-effective products and construction processes through sponsored and collaborative research. In addition, it is a goal of the Centre to increase recognition of the value of effective design to include optimum design, including timeliness of completion of construction. Also, the Centre will focus on practices that satisfy the need for comprehensive evaluation and documentation of design to limit extra costs, delays, compromised utility, and high operating and maintenance costs.

Co-Directors: Dr. Wael El-Dakhakhni and Dr. Mike Tait

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The McMaster Centre for Research on Employment and Work (MCREW) fosters innovative interdisciplinary research on changing work, workers and workplaces. The Centre unites leading McMaster researchers who study how employees navigate, adapt to, and at times resist changing workplace demands, and how worker behaviors and expectations affect organizations.

The insights from MCREW members’ research will help to address systemic barriers to building satisfying careers, and generate innovations to help employers and governments ensure access to inclusive and equitable workplaces, through practices like training and mentorship, immigration policy reform and labour standards enforcement.

Director: Dr. Catherine Connelly

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Director: Dr. Henry Giroux

The McMaster Centre for Software Certification (McSCert) develops tools and methods to create certifiably safe, secure and dependable software. This work is urgently needed for software-intensive mission-critical systems where software failure can have devastating physical, financial or political consequences.

Software is used to control medical devices, automobiles, aircraft, manufacturing plants, nuclear generating stations, space exploration systems, elevators, electric motors, trains, banking transactions, telecommunications devices and a growing number of devices in industry and in our homes.

Software developed for critical systems must meet minimum safety, privacy, security and reliability standards, especially as these systems are becoming more interdependent and complex. Manufacturers of these systems need consistent, clear and effective guidelines as to what may be regarded as acceptable standards in these situations.

Director: Dr. Richard Paige

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The McMaster Digital Transformation Research Centre (MDTRC) is a world-class research organization bringing together top researchers from the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, and beyond.

A growing wave of technological innovations is fueling the digitization of products, services, processes, organizations, industries, and entire ecosystems. The MDTRC was established to investigate the implications of digital transformation on our professional, educational, and personal lives. This innovative facility utilizes neuroscience tools and techniques as well as more traditional approaches in information systems to provide a more complete understanding of how the use of technology impacts us.

The MDTRC focuses both on the opportunities and challenges associated with digital transformation while working to optimize the use of information and communication technologies. It examines the implications of new technologies on employees, students and personal use cases. It informs ICT design and policy development and while also investigating the impact on workers and workplaces. It enhances social equality and technological accessibility issues facing the disadvantaged.

The MDTRC is designed to facilitate collaborative multidisciplinary research, student training, and executive education. This is facilitated through collaborations with key partners and affiliates in academia as well as the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors.

Scientific Director: Dr. Milena Head

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The mission of the McMaster Immunology Research Centre is to investigate, create and implement approaches utilizing the delivery of genes as therapeutic agents in the treatment of human and animal disease.

Director: Dr. Carl Richards

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The McMaster Indigenous Research Institute (MIRI) is a world-class facility recognized for its leadership in the field of Indigenous research.

MIRI is a trusted resource undertaking and facilitating research initiatives with multiple partners by building upon and enhancing existing relationships between McMaster and community networks. MIRI supports interdisciplinary research across McMaster and serves as a gateway to partnership building with Indigenous research collaborators for the faculties of Business, Engineering, Health Sciences, Humanities, Science, and Social Sciences, as well as for McMaster’s other institutes and centres.

Systemic incompatibilities between Western and Indigenous knowledge and ethics have been a barrier to research within an Indigenous Knowledge framework. MIRI facilitates and promotes increased visibility of Indigenous Knowledge and methodologies, creating space for dialogue between Western research approaches and Indigenous research collaborations, supporting both Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers, ethics boards, and decision makers in the area of Indigenous research.

Director: Dr. Savage Bear

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The McMaster Institute for Energy Studies (MIES) is an interdisciplinary institute for the study of energy extraction, transformation, generation, transportation and end-use. Its research mission emphasizes the economic and environmental impacts of all stages in the energy process. MIES counts researchers from the sciences, engineering, social sciences and business administration among its members.

McMaster has a long and distinguished track record in energy matters. MIES was founded in 1980 in the Faculty of Engineering as an interdisciplinary institute for the study of energy extraction, transformation, generation, transportation and end-use. In the following decades the Institute also developed a focus on policy and economics.

Internally, MIES provides a forum for cooperation and interdisciplinary interactions between McMaster faculty members in the energy area and acts as a point of contact at McMaster for energy-related opportunities and to communicate them to the McMaster community. It encourages and fosters an interdisciplinary systems approach to the solution of energy problems in order to establish a credible capability for the assessment and evaluation of energy systems, thus providing authoritative advice to governments and industry.

Director: Dr. Dave Novog

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Director: Dr. Jim Dunn

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The McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind (MIMM) is an interdisciplinary group of researchers including psychologists, neuroscientists, music theorists, musicians, dancers, media artists, mathematicians, kinesiologists, health scientists, and engineers.

At the institute, scientists, researchers, and musicians study questions about the physical structure, evolution, neural processing, performance, and perception of music, dance and media arts. Specific questions concern how the auditory and motor systems interact to produce music, how performers synchronize with each other, how people encode and recognize music, and how groups in society are defined by the music they play.

Critically, the developmental neuroscience perspective informs the research community on how music induces emotional reactions, how musical experience and training affect brain development, and how musical training/exposure affects language, cognitive, and social abilities in both children and adults.

This institute brings together science and the arts in a unique and innovative way, with the goal of enhancing the scientific study of music across Canada and internationally.

Director: Dr. Laurel Trainor

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MIRA is a cross-faculty research institute for advancing the science of aging.

Aging is a social force worldwide, and the rising age of our population profoundly impacts individuals, families, communities, and health and social care systems. While the growing population of older adults in Canada should be celebrated as a success, there are also challenges in developing policies and solutions that consider the older adults and citizens who will be most impacted.

MIRA’s approach is to conduct research in cross-Faculty teams and engage the older adult community, their families, healthcare providers and other key stakeholders through every stage of our activities, from research to evaluation and implementation of interventions and technologies. The input of multiple perspectives and complementary areas of expertise will ensure that our research is, from the outset, optimized to create useable, practical, older adult-centred solutions that promote aging in place.

Director: Dr. Parminder Raina

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MITL was born from a pressing need and a desire for change by business leaders, by civic leaders at all levels of government, and by academics that specialize in the study of transportation and logistics.

MITL is designed to harness the resources of McMaster University in pursuit of our mission. There are opportunities to draw on the expertise of university faculty members from multiple faculties such as: engineering, science, business, health sciences and social sciences and many sub-disciplines. Researchers on MITL projects have access to worldwide research that has taken place on the movement of goods and people and have the opportunity to build on this work as they solve current research problems for the benefit of our stakeholders.
Research Areas

• Disruptive and emerging mobility technologies
• Vehicular emissions and health impacts
• Transportation policy
• Public transit
• Goods movement

Acting Director: Dr. Saiedeh Razavi

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The MMRI’s focus is to develop intelligent solutions to issues faced by Canada’s manufacturers in all steps of machining processes.

Nearly every industry is experiencing technological disruption. In manufacturing, developing new tooling and processes to meet shifting demands allows our partners to stay ahead of the disruption curve, and we’re proud to help them do it.

Since 1999, we’ve been a strategic partner to industry, applying our world-class expertise and cutting-edge facilities to solving manufacturers’ challenges — honing processes to maximize productivity and quality while reducing cost and facilitating product innovation.

For prospective researchers excited about the future of manufacturing, the MMRI is a leading institute, spanning many manufacturing processes, where you can grow your experience and career in advanced manufacturing.

Director: Dr. Stephen Veldhuis

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The centre will focus on research activities consistent with the Centre’s mission and vision including improving maternal child outcomes, advocating for health service provision for families and newborns, and advancing health professional education.

The Centre’s research focuses on clinical and educational topics in the field of maternal child health and midwifery. Specifically, the Centre’s research areas of focus include:

• Health Services & Access to Care
• Health Outcomes
• Midwifery Education

Director: Dr. Beth Murray-Davis

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The Physical Activity Centre of Excellence (PACE) team of researchers, staff and students help more than 500 community members stay active and healthy in their state-of-the-art exercise research and training centre.

PACE is committed to studying and improving the health and well-being of older adults and people living with chronic diseases or disabilities. Its five research-based exercise programs serve seniors and people living with cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries.

More than 200 students work alongside PACE’s team of health professionals and staff in a specialized exercise and rehabilitation centre at McMaster University. Together, they provide community members with a welcoming, safe and supportive environment. Along with achieving their health and wellness goals, community members help students gain invaluable experience through experiential education. Community members can also participate in faculty-led research studies that advance scientific discoveries and knowledge related to health and exercise, active living and optimal aging.

PACE’s first program grew out of a research study conducted 40 years ago. Participants wanted a way to stay connected with each other and the university once the study was completed. While PACE has grown significantly over the decades since, that spirit of camaraderie remains strong among their community members, students, staff and researchers.

Scientific Director: Stuart Phillips

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The SRC combines research objectives established by the steel industry with government funding supporting wealth creation through science and McMaster’s own identification of Science-based Manufacturing as a key research area. Developing exploitable technologies motivates and sustains a talented academic research team for the benefit of the steel industry, while producing a stream of knowledgeable engineers ready to make careers in steel. There are three components to the SRC’s mission:

Research leading to commercially relevant new approaches to ironmaking, steelmaking process control, waste processing, steel product design and metal forming technologies.
Training of highly qualified personnel to provide the means of transferring new technology to the steel industry.

Continuing education for steel industry engineers to enhance the receptor capacity for innovation.
Guidance from the Centre’s industrial members is an essential principle of the organization. We have built up a membership consisting of the world’s major steel producers, as well as suppliers and engineering consultants to the industry.

Director: Dr. Joe McDermid

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The Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research focuses on: curating evidence-based content, conducting cutting-edge research, and creating a network of medicinal cannabis professionals

The Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research is a multidisciplinary leader in medicinal cannabis research. The Centre is led by the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine Initiative for Innovation in Healthcare at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

This initiative leverages McMaster University’s world-renowned expertise in health research and evidence-based medicine to create a hub for evidence-based data and innovative research.

The Centre is a partnership between McMaster University, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research and the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine.

Director: Dr. James MacKillop

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The McMaster Centre for Transfusion Research (MCTR) is dedicated to advancing transfusion science through innovative methodology & collaborative research to improve patient health outcomes.

Our vision is to be a trusted leader in Transfusion Science discovery world-wide.

Our goal is to provide scientific evidence that will inform transfusion practice, guide optimal utilization of blood, and enhance the safety of transfusion for blood recipients and blood donors.

Co-Directors: Dr. Donnie Arnold and Dr. Ishac Nazy

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The Centre supports Cochrane initiatives across the country by conducting education activities, functioning as the communications and knowledge brokering lead for Cochrane Canada, and advocating for the use of evidence in decision-making within Canada.

Director: Dr. Holger Schunemann

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The Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IIDR) at McMaster University is a world-leading centre of transdisciplinary infectious disease research.

Since its inception in 2007, through an unprecedented gift from Hamilton businessman Michael G. DeGroote, the IIDR has attracted a unique group of experienced principal investigators who are engaged in life-altering work in the fields of virology, immunology, bacterial pathogenesis and population biology and epidemiology.

With distinctive strengths in basic and clinical antimicrobial and infectious disease research, the IIDR has become synonymous with innovation in the area of antimicrobial resistance. Using state-of-the-art infrastructure in drug discovery, genomics and bioinformatics, our investigators collaborate to develop novel approaches to speed the discovery of new antibiotics, and track and characterize resistance before it emerges in the clinic.

The IIDR is also home to over 300 graduate students, post-doctoral and clinical fellows, all of whom are involved in cutting-edge research in our advanced facilities, including the Centre for Microbial Chemical Biology (CMCB) – a 12,000-square-foot space that features six integrated labs, enabling chemical biology research to be conducted in one central location.

Committed to advancing the next generation of antimicrobial strategies for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases, the IIDR is bridging the laboratory and the marketplace, positioning McMaster University at the forefront of infectious disease research.

Director: Dr. Matthew Miller

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Pain is central to many medical conditions and ailments, and has a tremendous impact on quality of life, health care costs and economic productivity. However, the causes of pain, and pathways to new and more effective therapies, are still shrouded in mystery.

As a result of the DeGroote family gift, a world-class institute has been created at McMaster University to focus the clear, piercing light of science and medicine on this age-old problem. Encompassing an array of technologies, disciplines and specialties, the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care (IPRC) is exploring the causes of a number of different types of pain, developing new strategies for its prevention, diagnosis and management, and innovative care for patients.

The institute places a special emphasis is on thalamic pain. This type of pain is centred in the thalamus of the brain and may cause sufferers to experience numerous forms of discomfort. Michael DeGroote himself has suffered from a severe form of thalamic pain after experiencing a stroke.

Director: Dr. Norm Buckley

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The Michael G. DeGroote National Pain Centre (MGD NPC) was established in 2010 through a generous gift from Michael G. DeGroote. The centre draws on McMaster’s expertise in evidence-based medicine to identify, collate, review, revise, update and develop clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of chronic pain. Guidelines will then be disseminated, using best practice techniques of knowledge translation.

Director: Dr. Norm Buckley

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The Institute’s research, education and outreach activities provide future business professionals with the techniques and expertise to assess and understand businesses and their investment opportunities.

The Michael Lee-Chin & Family Institute for Strategic Business Studies is housed within the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University. Formerly known as the AIC Institute for Strategic Business Studies, the Institute was renamed when AIC’s Canadian retail investment business was sold. Its mission is to advance the state of knowledge, technical skills and discipline for performing strategic business valuation for investment purposes. It also disseminates these advances to the academic and professional communities and to students.

The Michael Lee-Chin & Family Institute for Strategic Business Studies was made possible through the generosity of Michael Lee-Chin, a Jamaican-Canadian and former McMaster University graduate. Michael immigrated to Canada in 1970 and through the tenets of his value system — commitment, discipline, perseverance, passion and others — he rose to success and prominence and became one of Canada’s most successful entrepreneurs.

He founded AIC Limited, Canada’s largest privately owned mutual fund company. In addition to providing funds for construction of the Michael Lee-Chin & Family Wing at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business, the donation also created a Chair in Investment and Portfolio Management, two professorships and a student scholarship fund.

Under the leadership of the Director of the Institute, Dr. Ronald J. Balvers, the Michael Lee-Chin & Family Institute continues its focus on investigation into the creation of value in an enterprise. This mandate strives to provide business professionals with the techniques and expertise to understand, and assess more fully, business strategies and the tangible and intangible assets that contribute to their value.

Director: Dr. Ronald J. Balvers

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Through collaboration across fields such as child psychiatry, psychology, epidemiology, pediatrics, policy development, social work, and nursing, the Centre’s aim is to better understand children’s mental health problems with the overall goal of improving the lives of children and youth.

The Offord Centre for Child Studies leads the search for solutions that enhance the mental health of children by:

• Leading scientific research that influences programs, policies and solutions that improve children’s life opportunities;
• Forging partnerships with key stakeholders and policy-makers to apply research findings through families and communities to have maximum positive impact on children’s development;
• Training the next generation of scientists and policy makers to carry on this mission.

As a recognized leader in conducting scientific research related to child development, The Offord Centre has played an important role in supporting evidence-based policies that improve the present and future lives of children, youth and families.

Centre research seeks answers about the emotional, developmental and behavioral problems children suffer from, including:

• The prevalence, nature and development of such conditions
• Factors that affect or prevent their development, and
• Promising interventions and treatment strategies to help children and youth overcome negative emotional and behavioral concerns and lead more fulfilled lives.

Director: Dr. Stelios Georgiades

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The Origins Institute focuses on some of the most-interesting and most important questions in science: how did the universe begin? how did elements form? how did stars, galaxies and planets form? how did life emerge on Earth, and has it also emerged on other planets? what processes account for the diversity and disparity among organisms? how does bioelectrical activity give rise to perception, cognition, and consciousness? These questions are multifaceted, and a transdisciplinary approach is required to address them.

The Origins Institute at McMaster University commenced operations July 1, 2004 (note the comment at this article in Science). The first Director is Ralph Pudritz (from the Department of Physics and Astronomy) and the first Associate Director is Jonathon Stone (from the Department of Biology). Current membership includes faculty members at McMaster University – from the Departments of Anthropology, Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences, Biology, Mathematics & Statistics, Physics & Astronomy, and Psychology, Neuroscience, & Behaviour, and the School of Geography and Earth Sciences; councilors at Cambridge University, the Santa Fe Institute, and TRIUMF; and fellows at the University of Toronto and Perimeter Institute.

Director: Dr. Jonathan Stone

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The Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) is Canada’s premiere global health research institute and a world leader in large clinical trials and population studies. Originally formed with a focus on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes, PHRI’s research areas have broadened to include population genomics, perioperative medicine, stroke, thrombosis, CV surgery, renal, obesity, childhood obesity, bone and trauma and implementation science.

Over the years, the PHRI has developed unparalleled expertise in epidemiology, population health and clinical trials. Examining biological and genetic determinants of health, as well as social, environmental and policy factors, the research focuses on the prevention of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other common conditions. PHRI’s capacity to conduct several international studies concurrently, with tens of thousands of participants in each, is a capability very few organizations in the world can match. To date, PHRI studies have enrolled almost 1,000,000 participants worldwide.

A core strength of the PHRI is the multidisciplinary team of world-class scientists and research support teams. The environment promotes collaboration and a multifaceted approach which allows researchers to capitalize on the wealth of collective knowledge as they each bring areas of expertise to a single study.

Director: Dr. Salim Yusuf

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Director: Dr. Susan Waserman

The Lewis and Ruth Sherman Centre for Digital Scholarship provides consulting, instruction, and technical support to faculty, staff, and graduate students with all levels of technological experience. Sherman Centre staff consult on any stage or aspect of a digital scholarship or pedagogical project to help determine the digital tools, techniques, and methods that best suit the project–whether big or small.

The Sherman Centre hosts a regular “Do More with Digital Scholarship” workshop series, a graduate residency program and colloquium, a visiting scholar series, and an undergraduate course (HUMAN 2DH3).

The Sherman Centre’s scholarly and technical research projects range from software development, 3D modeling and printing, digital pedagogy, visualization, digital storytelling, social media data ethics, and research data management.

The Sherman Centre is located on the first floor of Mills Memorial Library. More information about gaining access to the Sherman Centre, joining the mailing list, and its hours of operation can be found on the Sherman Centre website.

Director: Dr. Andrea Zeffiro

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Spark: A Centre for Social Research Innovation is a McMaster Faculty of Social Sciences research centre. We work with faculty, students and staff in any Faculty at McMaster or neighboring colleges/universities, and with researchers, governments, businesses and not for profits in the community.

We bring the best of methodology to the challenge of understanding and responding to social dilemmas in ways that are innovative and transformative. Our training supports research-oriented students and faculty as well as policymakers and practitioners wanting to integrate evidence into how they do their work. We serve the needs of social researchers with an ever-growing body of knowledge and services, curating, building, and maintaining excellent research tools and facilities, and providing custom support and services. We are a place where interdisciplinary, lived experience and the latest methods converge to spark innovative research.

We can help with any aspect of social research, including:

• The shift from, “I’m interested in X” to developing research questions
• Finding collaborators in academia or the community
• Training and support for a wide range of quantitative and qualitative methods
• Translation of research to policy and communities

Research Services

• SEAL: A secure data service where researchers can store and access highly sensitive data sets.
• Brighter Spark Applied Research: A consulting service to not for profits, government and companies seeking to measure impact or improve operations
• Qualitative Suite: Focus group and interview rooms
• Qualitative Software Pilot and Qualtrics Licenses: Access to research software
• Research Conversations: Up to 4 hours free consultation on research implementation
• Training and Implementation: paid support for faculty around training their teams or implementing parts of their research
• CoLab: A free space for researchers to work

Academic Director: Michelle Dion
Executive Director: Allison Van

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The Research Data Centre at McMaster is a member of the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN) that provides researchers with access to Statistics Canada’s microdata ‘masterfiles’. The RDC is a secure facility/computer lab on campus. To use the centre researchers with approved projects must become “deemed employees” of Statistics Canada. The master files of a large number of Statistics Canada’s population, social, and health surveys, as well as the Census and administrative databases, are housed in the RDC.

Access is free of charge to all faculty, students and staff affiliated with McMaster. All work must be conducted in the RDC and only vetted output is released. To protect the confidentiality of survey respondents, data in any form cannot be released or made accessible outside of the centre.

Director: Dr. Michael Veall

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TAARI’s objectives are:

• To carry out basic, clinical, and epidemiologic research in thrombosis, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease including venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, coronary heart disease, arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, cardiac thromboembolism, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease.
• To develop joint research programmes with scientists and clinicians based at the Hamilton Health Sciences, Cancer Care Ontario (formerly the Ontario Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation), Hamilton Regional Cancer Centre and with investigators based at other universities in Canada and abroad.
• To encourage and facilitate clinical research among members of the medical and allied health professional staff at the Hamilton Health Sciences.
• To obtain research funding from statutory granting agencies, from industry, and through partnerships with investors in the private sector.
• To patent and commercialize inventions through the Hamilton Civic Hospitals Research Development Corporation.

The scope of the research is broad, extending from the basic laboratory to the bedside and beyond into the local, national and international communities. A unique feature of TaARI is that the research is driven by clinically relevant problems which, if solved, have the potential to be translated rapidly into more efficacious and cost-effective patient care or preventive strategies.

Dino and GeoffTo act as a resource and methods centre for the design, execution and analysis of local, national and international clinical trials and epidemiologic studies in cardiovascular disease, and for other clinical programmes which are part of the strategic plan of the Hamilton Health Sciences.

Director: Dr. Jeffery Weitz

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The L.R. Wilson Institute seeks to understand Canada’s place in a global perspective and how Canada has influenced – or been influenced by – transnational phenomena.

Founded in 2008, the Wilson Institute for Canadian History (then called the Wilson Centre) is named in honour of its main donor, L.R. (Red) Wilson. It was created with a simple vision: rethink Canadian history, pre- and post-Confederation, within a transnational framework. We seek to understand Canada’s place in a global perspective and how Canada has influenced – or been influenced by – transnational phenomena.

Over the years, the Wilson Institute has encouraged and funded transnational history in Canada. The institute offers teaching and research fellowships to recent PhDs, has hosts numerous workshops, talks, and conferences, and provides grants and awards to graduate students at McMaster University. To help publish books that rethink Canadian history from transnational and global perspectives, the Wilson Institute also supports the Rethinking Canada in the World Series published by McGill-Queen’s University Press.

The Wilson Institute for Canadian History and the L.R. Wilson Chair in Canadian History are supported by a generous donation from the Chancellor, L.R. Red Wilson, and McMaster University.

Acting Director: Dr. Ken Cruickshank

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