St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton has included Discovery as part of its Mission since the Sisters of St. Joseph’s first established their Hospital in 1890. With the formation of the medical school at McMaster University in the 1960s, the academic research endeavours at St. Joe’s expanded significantly. As the Hospital’s capacity for research grew, the need to establish a research administration team was met through the creation of the Father Sean O’Sullivan Research Centre in 1993.

More recently, Research St. Joseph’s – Hamilton (RSJH) was conceived as a separate entity that would allow further growth of research at our Hospital. Branded as The Research Institute of St. Joe’s Hamilton, RSJH became the official, autonomous administrative body for research at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton on April 1, 2014.

As a SR&ED eligible entity for third-party research investors, the newly minted Research Institute was able to pursue previously missed opportunities to directly fund research. Combined with an effective marketing campaign launched in mid-2014, The Research Institute gained prominence and steadily grew the body of research and innovation within St. Joe’s. The Father Sean O’Sullivan Research Centre became one of four original pillars of The Research Institute. Today, RSJH operates across five research pillars with annual funding exceeding $45 million.