Posted on Oct. 7: Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation contributes $1 million to create neonatology research chair

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/jack_sinclair.jpg” caption=”NICU”]A pioneer in the care and treatment of critically ill newborns is being honoured today with the creation of an endowed research chair in neonatology at McMaster University.

The Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation has contributed $1 million to create the Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation – Jack Sinclair Chair in Neonatology. The University will match the endowment.

“We are proud to make this contribution,” says Liz Newman, chair of the Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation Board. “It represents an investment in people and in the knowledge they bring to our hospital.

“By creating this position, Hamilton Health Sciences will be better able to continue to recruit the best and the brightest in neonatology. We know it will help to ensure that babies and families in this region benefit from leading-edge care.”

The research chair is named in honour of Jack Sinclair, who is renowned for establishing neonatal intensive care in Hamilton and recognized internationally as an expert in evidence-based neonatology.

Sinclair graduated in 1959 from the University of Manitoba, trained in New York and came to Hamilton in 1970 to become the founding director of the McMaster neonatal program, which has graduated numerous leaders in neonatology who practise around the world.

Sinclair is a professor emeritus of pediatrics and an associate member of the Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics. He co-edited a research text in 1992 on neonatology, Effective Care of the Newborn Infant, which is considered a seminal work in this field.

“Dr. Sinclair's leadership and vision set a very high standard for our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit – a standard that endures today,” says Murray Martin, president and C.E.O. of Hamilton Health Sciences. “It's a fitting tribute to him that this chair is named in his honour.”

McMaster University President Peter George lauded the establishment of the research chair as a generous investment in scholarship and learning.

“This gift will help to create new innovations and research discoveries to improve the quality of life of our most vulnerable – newborn children who are ill,” says George. “It fosters the strong tradition of interdisciplinary teaching and research that we've adopted with pride at McMaster.”

Sinclair noted the research chair will bolster McMaster's position as a leader in intensive care neonatology.

“Neonatal intensive care for babies with life-threatening illnesses or extreme prematurity has resulted in many wonderful successes, and there are more gains to be made,” Sinclair says.

“However, the successes have often been accompanied by some of the most difficult medical and ethical dilemmas to be found in any field of health care. The future of neonatology will be marked by an ever-increasing range of questions which need answers – biological, clinical, moral, economic, social. It is extremely gratifying to know that through the creation of this research chair, a foundation has been laid for McMaster to continue its leading role in tackling these challenges.”

The University and the hospital will conduct an international search to find the inaugural chairholder.

Photo caption: Jack Sinclair shares a moment with nine-day-old Ty Cotter in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Children's Hospital, Hamilton Health Sciences. Photo credit: Chantall Van Raay