WE-Spark Health Institute

10/25/2025

Dr. Alexander Daros and the MAST Lab published research showing value in interim supports for those waiting for psychological services (photo care of Alexander Daros) By Kate Hargreaves  As demand for mental health care rises in hospitals and private practice, waitlists for these essential services...

10/23/2025

TWO-WEEKS until our annual Cheers to Hope fundraiser! 🥂✨

Join us on Thursday, November 6th at the Ambassador Golf Club for an evening of community, celebration, and impact.

🎟️ Tickets are selling fast — get yours today and help us kick off another year of WE-SPARK’s Grants Program in support of local health research!

👉 https://cheerstohope.ca/registration/

10/10/2025

Every ticket, raffle, and toast helps spark new discoveries! ✨

Join us at Cheers to Hope - WE-SPARK’s annual fundraiser celebrating and supporting local health researchers and their innovative projects.

📅 Thursday, November 6, 2025
📍 Ambassador Golf Club
🕔 5:00 – 7:30 PM

🎟️ Get your tickets and help ignite discovery: https://cheerstohope.ca/

10/09/2025

🌟 WE-SPARK was proud to take part in the 2025 St. Clair College Rise Above Community Health Conference on September 26!

We hosted a panel discussion on Amplifying Lived Experience in Health Research, highlighting how personal stories and community voices can shape more meaningful and inclusive research.

👏 Thank you to our moderators, Krista Lucier (WE-SPARK Intern) and Dr. Bre-Anne Fifield, PhD (Adjunct Assistant Professor and Research Associate, University of Windsor), and to our incredible panelists:
- Dr. Kyle Jackson – WE-SPARK Core Principal Member; Professor, St. Clair College
- Dr. Jessica Kichler – WE-SPARK Core Principal Member; Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Windsor
- Dr. Onawa LaBelle – Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Windsor
- Ashley-Rae Brill – 4th Year BASJ Student, St. Clair College
- Neelu Sehgal – Chief Nursing Executive, Erie Shores HealthCare

Together, we’re continuing to bridge research and lived experience to strengthen health outcomes across Windsor-Essex. 💬💡

10/08/2025

Curious about new research ideas and local collaborations? 💭
Join us for WE-SPARK’s Virtual Think Tank on Friday, October 24 from 1:00–3:00 PM — an open space to connect, brainstorm, and help move research projects forward.

This month’s sessions include:
🔹 Co-Creating and Evaluating Mental Health Solutions for High School Students
🔹 CBCT Imaging & AI in Predicting Tumour Response
🔹 Inclusive Summer Programming for Autistic Children and Youth

Whether you’re a researcher, clinician, educator, or community partner — your perspective matters!
👉 Register now: https://www.wesparkhealth.com/conferences-and-workshops-170/think-tank-october-24th-2025

10/03/2025

🎉 Happy 1st Anniversary to the Black Scholars Institute (BSI)! 🎉

In just one year, BSI has grown from 13 to over 24 affiliated faculty from across disciplines, but it’s more than an institute. It’s a community, a refuge, and a platform.

Here, Black voices are amplified, contributions are honoured, and we uplift one another in doing groundbreaking work together. 💙

Read more about their impact at: https://brnw.ch/21wWiLv

09/30/2025

🧡 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 🧡

Today, we honour survivors of residential schools, their families, and the children who never returned home. We reflect on the lasting impacts of these injustices and recognize our shared responsibility to listen, learn, and take action toward reconciliation.

One way we support this commitment is through local research that is co-created with Indigenous communities. An example is the project: “Achieving Long-term Effectiveness of Nutrition Counselling for Indigenous Older Adults with Type 2 Diabetes in Remote Southwestern Ontario with a Culturally Safe Nutrition Plan.”

Led by Dr. Vikesh Maraj (Erie Shores HealthCare) with co-investigators Dr. Munira Sultana and Danica McPhee, and collaborator Courtney Wood (University of Windsor), this project is co-created with Caldwell First Nation to design and evaluate a culturally safe nutrition counselling program. By training peer counsellors and integrating Indigenous knowledge, the project aims to improve long-term diabetes management and strengthen sustainable health solutions.

Through research partnerships like this, we strive to advance health equity, respect Indigenous leadership, and contribute to a healthier future for all.

09/25/2025

✨ Join us at Cheers to Hope for a night of community, inspiration & impact! ✨

We’re kicking off WE-SPARK’s Grants Program, fueling innovative health research that transforms lives right here in Windsor-Essex.

📅 Thursday, Nov 6, 2025
🕔 5:00 – 7:30 PM
📍 Ambassador Golf Club

🎟️ Tickets: $150 per person
💙 $100 from every ticket goes directly to our Grants Program
🍴 Delicious apps | 🎁 Raffle prizes | 🍸 Cash bar

Your support powers groundbreaking research, new treatments & local researchers making a real difference in our community.

✨ Get your tickets today → cheerstohope.ca

09/04/2025

09/04/2025

09/02/2025

🌟 Last week we celebrated BIG wins for health research in Windsor-Essex! 🌟

We awarded $499,000 through our three grant programs:
💡 IDEA Grants – Kickstarting small but mighty projects.
🚀 Igniting Discovery Grants – Fueling early-stage innovation.
🔁 Incentive Grants – Strengthening proposals for bigger funding.

This year: 10 IDEA, 20 IDG, 2 Incentive = 32 projects funded! 🎉

Huge THANK YOU to our 22 sponsors for making this possible! 💙
Play For A Cure, Cancer Research Collaboration Fund, WindsorEssex Community Foundation, Connecting For a Cause, Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation, GreenShield,
Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER), In Honour of the Ones We Love, Katelyn Bedard Bone Marrow Association, The Black Scholar Institute, The Tayfour-Emara Excellence in Research and Education Fund, Unifor Local 444 Unifor Local 2458, Childcan, UWindsor Research and Innovation, UWindsor Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, UWindsor Faculty of Education, UWindsor Kinesiology, UWindsor Engineering, UWindsor Faculty of Science, University of Windsor Faculty of Nursing, Odette School of Business

07/11/2025

🧪👩‍🔬 60 of the top academic high school students from across Windsor-Essex came together for this year’s Science Academy!

WE-SPARK was proud to be part of the Biomedical Sciences day - sharing why local health research matters, showcasing exciting projects we’ve supported, and leading an interactive outreach activity on vaccines. 💉

Special shoutout to our incredible intern, Amal Sleiman from St. Clair College () who led the demonstration and engaged students in meaningful conversations about vaccines 🙌

These future scientists got a closer look at how research is happening right here in our community, and how they can be a part of it. 🌟