• Our Speakers Bureau has reached several thousand people in interactive dialogue. We have recently added to the topic menu offered through our London Speakers’ Bureau, which serves Southwestern Ontario, and that model is now under development for the Greater Toronto area.

• We have established working chapters in Toronto, London and Ottawa to advance lay biomedical science educational initiatives.

• We initiated the Medical Miracle Movement in Canada. Its members are made up of people living a quality life today because of the miracles of medical science.

Professional Liaison Activity:

• We enjoy a collaborative relationship with the Friends of Canadian Institutes of Health Research (FCIHR), particularly in the areas of educational initiatives and joint fund-raising activities. Our two organizations collaborate annually on 16-month educational calendars, which have been sent to a number of high-schools across Canada and can be downloaded from this site.

• We maintain an active liaison with several of the larger single disease groups in Canada.

• We actively collaborate with similar educational organizations in Canada, the U.S.A. and Great Britain.

• We contribute actively to the international knowledge base of scientific facts about medical research, for the benefit of the general public.

• We are a partner in ‘The Scientific Journey’ - an annual lecture series at The University of Western Ontario, Canada, open to students and all members of the general public, featuring contemporary scientific and medical topics.

• We played an active role on the planning committees for Health Research Awareness Week(1999) and National Health Research Awareness Month (October, 2000). Partners’ involvement in these projects was in the educational sector, guiding the development of an educational calendar featuring historical and contemporary Canadian medical researchers. The calendars, available in English and French, were distributed to high schools across the country.

Educational Outreach:

• This educational website has become a comprehensive reference and a significant public resource on lay educational medical science topics. Currently under development is a “Download Gallery” which will make all of our printed materials available online. Thousands of visitors, from over 100 countries, continue to utilize the site.

• We offer a High-School Curriculum designed for teachers, as well as a Grade-School Curriculum supplement entitled “Animals Helping Animals” (the first of three segments). These curricula are available in print and online.

• Our award-winning video (Columbus Film Festival) entitled “Biomedical Research: Is It Really Necessary?” conveys historical and contemporary information about the medical sciences, and has been placed in schools across Canada. The accompanying Teacher’s Guide expands on the information provided throughout the video. The video has recently been tri-segmentized to improve its tutorial capabilities. Click here to order.

• We sponsor essay contests in the Greater Toronto Area and in Southwestern Ontario. This educational initiative is offered under the banner of “Pathways to Discovery: The Role of Biomedical Research in Canadian Society.”

• We have produced and distributed several thousand copies of “Let’s Visit a Research Laboratory” – a lesson plan and colourful poster kit for grades two through five. This kit was designed by the U.S. National Institutes of Mental Health, and PIR was granted permission to modify it for Canadian schools. The kit, also featured online, is available in print in both French and English.

• In response to ongoing student requests, we maintain a resource library to supply a wide variety of educational materials to Canadian students.

• Our grade school curriculum will soon include a package in three segments: Grades 2-3 (“The Lucky Puppy”); Grades 4-6 (“Animals Helping Animals” – now online); Grades 7-8 (“The Challenge: Treating Sickness and Diseases in Animals and People”).

• We produce a biannual newsletter, ‘The Partner,’ featuring educational articles and updates.