{"id":60811,"date":"2025-12-05T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=60811"},"modified":"2025-12-05T09:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T13:30:00","slug":"donation-of-2-million-from-dr-margaret-oulton-will-transform-women-health-research-at-the-iwk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=60811","title":{"rendered":"Donation of $2 million from Dr. Margaret Oulton will transform women+ health research at the IWK"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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HALIFAX:<\/strong> Dr. Margaret Oulton\u2019s innovative research decades ago ensured the safe delivery of thousands of babies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, she\u2019s expanding her impact even further with a $2 million gift that will transform the future of women\u2019s health research at IWK Health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a research scientist with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Grace and then the IWK, I really valued the collaborative and supportive environment we had that enabled us to turn my
research into meaningful procedures to improve outcomes for infants in high-risk pregnancies\u2014truly a
\u2018from bench to bedside\u2019 collaboration,\u201d said Dr. Oulton. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis experience opened my eyes to the need for more focused research into the specific needs of women\u2019s healthcare. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“My hope is that this gift will be a spark that will truly impact the future of women\u2019s health research at the IWK.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In Canada, research focused on women\u2019s health accounts for only seven per cent of total research
funding. Even when women+ are included in health research, sex and gender variables are not always
considered, putting women+ and gender-diverse individuals at greater risk for misdiagnosis,
ineffective treatment, and health risks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent survey by the IWK Foundation saw an overwhelming response from over 27,000 Maritime women+ who were eager to share their health care stories, further highlighting a need for coordinated research and care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These stark statistics and her own experience as a researcher inspired Dr. Oulton\u2019s incredible generosity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key component of Dr. Oulton\u2019s gift is a research chair that will help address long-standing gaps by bridging clinical teams, community needs, and emerging research trends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chair is named after Dr. Oulton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Justine Dol has been named the inaugural Dr. Margaret Oulton Accelerate Chair in Women+ Health
Research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with her ongoing research to improve women+ health and to create and improve digital health solutions, one of Dr. Dol\u2019s first priorities as the Oulton Chair is to work with patients, clinicians, researchers, and the public to identify the gaps and the top research priorities for women+health in the Maritimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I want to see more evidence generated about women+ health, better care informed by that evidence,
and ultimately improved health outcomes,\u201d said Dr. Dol. \u201cCreating this Chair is an important step in
shifting that narrative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It\u2019s about ensuring that women+ health is seen, valued, and advanced through focused research and meaningful change. Dr. Oulton is helping to make this happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Starting her research career at the Grace Maternity Hospital in the 1970s, Dr. Margaret Oulton blazed a
trail over the next three decades, earning accolades like the IWK Grace Award of Distinction and the
Dalhousie Golden Eagle Lifetime Achievement Award. Her groundbreaking discovery that helped
determine if unborn infants\u2019 lungs were developed enough to withstand induced premature birth led
to the safe delivery of over 10,000 infants in Atlantic Canada across a 20-year span. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charlie is one of
the many patients who benefited from Dr. Oulton\u2019s research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be here today if it weren\u2019t for the care I received at the IWK and the research done by Dr.
Oulton and her team,\u201d said 21-year-old Charlie, who was born more than four months prematurely and
weighed only one pound five ounces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am so grateful that Dr. Oulton helped babies like me, and I\u2019m excited to see how her gift will help even more women and children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jennifer Gillivan, President & CEO, IWK Foundation, echoes this sentiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDr. Oulton is an absolute inspiration for her generosity, and for the amazing work she did as a researcher when there were not a lot of women researchers in the field,\u201d said Gillivan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDr. Oulton\u2019s gift adds another important element to her ongoing legacy in health research and will support critical research for women\u2019s health, creating a better future for us all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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HALIFAX: Dr. Margaret Oulton\u2019s innovative research decades ago ensured the safe delivery of thousands of babies. Now, she\u2019s expanding her impact even further with a $2 million gift that will transform the future of women\u2019s health research at IWK Health. \u201cAs a research scientist with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Grace and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60812,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[9864,9865,30,31,1077,9866],"class_list":["post-60811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-2-million-donation","tag-dr-margaret-oulton","tag-iwk","tag-iwk-foundation","tag-nova-scotia","tag-womenhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/60812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}