Providing Manitobans with the best healthcare possible requires having access to the most advanced and effective medical technologies available.

One of the best ways to ensure access to these technologies is to play a leading role in their discovery and development. It is for this reason St. Boniface has made research a cornerstone of its healthcare service to Manitobans, and undertaken to make Manitoba a centre for advanced medical and nursing research through the building of the St. Boniface General Hospital Research Centre, the Andrei Sakharov MRI Facility and the I.H. Asper Clinical Research Institute.

St. Boniface has also established a research partnership with the world-renowned Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. The partnership will allow the sharing of basic scientific research and clinical expertise for the mutual benefit of both institutions.

St. Boniface General Hospital Research Centre
The Asper Research Park on the St. Boniface campus includes the St. Boniface General Hospital Research Center, a first-tier research facility that has gained a world-wide reputation for excellence in medical research since its opening in 1987. It contains more than 110,000 square feet of laboratories, meeting rooms and administrative services plus a dedicated research library. The quality of the facility has helped attract some of the world’s best researchers in their respective fields to Manitoba, making Manitoba a true centre for medical and nursing research.

Linked to St. Boniface General Hospital’s patient care programs, and affiliated to the University of Manitoba, the Centre pursues research in an entrepreneurial fashion by partnering with interests in the private sector to offset research costs. Its research mandate is in three primary areas: basic and applied cardiovascular sciences, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy, and degenerative disorders associated with aging (senile dementias, Alzheimer's disease, strokes, etc.). In addition, the Centre undertakes research in a number of other important areas including nephrology, infectious diseases, sleep disorders, surgery, nursing, family medicine, epidemiology, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and anesthesia.

Dr. Andrei Sakharov MRI Facility
The first facility of its kind in Manitoba, the Dr. Andrei Sakharov Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Facility has allowed St. Boniface to become a recognized leader in the MRI field in Canada.

With three state-of-the-art scanners available patient care, the facility allows radiologists to diagnose abnormalities of the brain, spine, internal organs and joints and also offers great insights for medical investigators.

The facility also pursues research into new interventional techniques and procedures that can benefit patients through improved practices and quicker recovery.

I.H. Asper Clinical Research Institute
The new I.H. Asper Clinical Research Institute is a state-of-the-art facility that bridges the gap between the Research Centre and the Hospital by allowing clinical trials of the discoveries made at the Centre to be conducted in Manitoba for the very first time.

As such, it provides Manitobans with direct and early access to leading-edge treatments and technology without having to leave the province – something that should pay big dividends for the long-term health of Manitobans.