The Lakeridge BLUSH study has received a new $50,000 grant from the J.P. Bickell Foundation, adding support for Durham-led research into care for patients with septic shock.
Lakeridge Health announced the Medical Research Grant on October 30. The health system says the additional funding will help more of its patients participate in the study as the research moves beyond its initial community-hospital setting.
The new award is separate from the previously announced $543,150 Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant. Lakeridge says that federal application ranked among the top 10 per cent nationwide.
New funding and an updated trial timeline
BLUSH stands for Adjunctive Methylene Blue in Septic Shock. The researchers are examining whether adding the existing medication methylene blue to usual treatment can improve outcomes for critically ill patients with septic shock.
The October 30 announcement places expansion into a multi-centre trial involving hospitals across Ontario in early 2027. Additional Canadian sites could eventually join. The Canadian Critical Care Trials Group is supporting the work.
This is a study of a possible treatment approach, not an announcement that a benefit has been demonstrated. The hospital has not announced results establishing improved recovery or survival in this release.
From a local pilot to a broader study
Critical-care physician Dr. Shannon Fernando is the BLUSH principal investigator and Lakeridge’s critical-care research lead. He led the successful funding application with co-principal investigator Dr. Karim Soliman.
According to Lakeridge, seed funding from the Ajax Pickering Foundation and Lakeridge Health Foundation through the Research & Education Fund helped develop the initial pilot in 2024.
The health system describes BLUSH as a Health Canada-approved, investigator-led randomized critical-care trial launched from a Canadian community hospital site. The new funding is intended to help the team test its bedside research question across more than one hospital.
What has changed since the earlier report
All About Durham previously reported the federal award for the septic-shock research programme. The new development is the Bickell Foundation’s additional $50,000 commitment, together with the hospital’s current early-2027 expansion timeline.
Earlier coverage described an expected fall expansion. The latest responsible-source announcement now gives early 2027; it does not explain the change. The two timelines should not be presented as if they describe the same confirmed schedule.
Lakeridge says the programme reflects its effort to build research around questions raised in community-hospital care. The Lakeridge BLUSH study remains an investigation into whether the added medication helps patients, with wider participation intended to produce the evidence needed to answer that question.
