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What is IMPACTS & what is our objective?

The Innovative, Multicentre, Patient-centred Approach to Clinical Trials in Surgery (IMPACTS) Program was established in 2017 to address uncertainty in surgical and perioperative care through the conduct of high-quality, patient-centred pragmatic randomized-controlled trials that are integrated into routine care.

All IMPACTS trials compare simple, standard-of-care interventions and examine patient-centered, short-term outcomes. They also incorporate several novel design elements (e.g., enrollment using an integrated consent model, and leveraging of existing data collection registries) to maximize feasibility, efficiency and applicability. By integrating IMPACTS trials into routine practice, we will rapidly generate high-quality evidence to improve the quality of surgical and perioperative care. 


Where is IMPACTS based?

We are housed at the Sunnybrook Research Institute and are affiliated with the University of Toronto and Best Practice in Surgery. We have received support from CIHR (SPOR Innovative Clinical Trials Catalyst Grant).  

          


Research Team

  • Paul Karanicolas, MD, PhD, FRCSC, FACS (Principal Investigator, Chair of IMPACTS steering committee): Dr. Karanicolas is a surgical oncologist and the co-director of the Centre for Clinical Trial Support (CCTS) at Sunnybrook Hospital. He is also an associate professor in the department of surgery and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on designing and leading clinical trials in surgery.
  • Erin Lillie, MSc: Erin is a senior project manager at CCTS with graduate-level training in epidemiology and extensive experience in health research and knowledge synthesis methods.
  • Rachel Roke, BSc (Hons.), CCRP: Rachel is a certified Clinical Research Coordinator working in surgical oncology with a focus on start-up and day-to-day management of clinical trials. She is currently pursuing a MSc in Health Services Research and has completed a BSc (Hons.), clinical research graduate certificate.
  • Previous contributing members: Jonah Shiroky, Hala Muaddi, Woo Jin Choi, Marika Sevigny, Jori-Lee Cross, Stephanie Silva Vela

Steering Committee

The IMPACTS Program is overseen by a steering committee that includes a diverse group of stakeholders. Members include patients, researchers, physicians and policy makers and represent several hospitals within the Greater Toronto Area:

  • Ahmed Kayssi
  • Melanie Tsang
  • Amit Atrey
  • Mary-Anne Aarts
  • Nancy Baxter
  • Mark Clemons
  • Michael Schull

  • Dean Ferguson
  • Erin Kennedy
  • Avery Nathens
  • John Marshall
  • David Mazer
  • Jonah Shiroky
  • Andy Smith

  • Michael Calderone
  • Tim Jackson
  • Robin Mcleod
  • Judith Herriot
  • Ed Voltan

AFFILIATIONS

PARTNERS

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