#IamMGHresearch – Meet Kristen Currie

#IamMGHresearch tells the stories of our researchers. Meet Kristen Currie, Director of Research Operations and Business Development at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH). 

“From a young age, my parents registered me in sports – practically every sport our town offered!  This ignited a passion for health and wellness, which led me to pursue a Master of Arts in Kinesiology.  I was particularly interested in understanding the human body and contributing to research designed to improve health outcomes. 

After graduate school, I was fortunate to work with two highly respected research professionals. We conducted novel clinical trials and built survivorship programming which addressed significant gaps in the healthcare system. Creating programs to meaningfully engage patients and families in their care was an extremely rewarding experience.  

In order to grow my professional skills, I moved to a provincial healthcare agency to work in quality reporting. This role helped me understand healthcare at the system level, and deepened my appreciation for the role of data in improving patient care.  

My transition to Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) seemed like an obvious next step. I started at MGH in February 2020 in a role managing the Department of Research and Innovation, which combined my passions for research and quality improvement.  

A month later, the COVID-19 pandemic was declared and we had to pause the majority of our research program. This was a really interesting experience because I was still very new to my role and was learning about our program. I worked with the team to review every study we were conducting to make recommendations to our Research Ethics Board regarding which studies should be suspended or remain open. It was an unpredictable time across the health system, but for someone starting a new role, it was a quick orientation to all the great work that happens at the hospital!  

In my new role as Director of Research Operations and Business Development, I don’t conduct research, but I have a front-row seat to the amazing innovation that happens at MGH. I play a part in assessing the feasibility of new projects at the hospital. Through this, I learn about the studies we are undertaking, I meet the teams collaborating on these studies, and I gain an understanding of why they are exploring a particular topic or challenge. Being able to see all the great work that happens here is an incredible privilege.   

At MGH, our people are invested in providing excellent care to our patients. Our research efforts exemplify our commitment to improving care within our community and also globally. We have a renowned patient-oriented research program, and robust research portfolios related to infectious disease, thoracic and orthopaedic surgery, respirology and nursing, just to name a few. We have dedicated teams across the hospital, innovating care, which makes our research program a success.  

As an organization, I believe we are often humble at MGH. Looking to the future, I think it’s important to maintain our humble roots but also recognize the accomplishments of our researchers, providers and staff, in partnership with patients and our communities. The COVID-19 pandemic gave us the confidence to share more with our community about the great work happening here. I would love to see our teams continuing to share the great innovations and programs that we have. 

At MGH, our teams lead and contribute to impactful research. I’m really looking forward to celebrating the organization and having others recognize the important work we do.”