June 6, 2019

Researchers brainstorm big ideas in child health and wellness

Over 350 gather to identify gaps in knowledge and care to build multidisciplinary research

Author

Laura Herperger, Alberta Children’s Hospital Children’s Institute

More than 350 scientists and clinicians are taking part in five town halls with broad-based themes, one of the largest discussions ever at the University of Calgary on improving health and wellness for children.

More than 350 scientists and clinicians are taking part in five town halls with broad-based themes.

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Researchers from every faculty across the University of Calgary are invited to participate in town halls throughout June to explore ways to advance child health and wellness.These town halls will be hosted by research thought leaders and will feature presentations by leading faculty members sharing examples of grand challenges to transform child health.The goal is to enable discovery, translation and impact for patients and families. 

Dr. Susa Benseler, MD, PhD, director of the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI), is leading the Child Health and Wellness initiative, selected earlier this year by the Office of the Vice-President (Research) as one of several emerging cross-cutting research themes.

“Our objective is to develop and implement a transformative partnership and framework to empower interdisciplinary research teams to address child health challenges at all scales. We are truly grateful for the institutional support for the Child Health and Wellness initiative,” says Benseler.

Child Health and Wellness will embrace and foster the strength, diversity, and passion of stakeholders, with children and families at the centre of this unique approach to partnerships.

The first town hall held on Tuesday, June 4 at the Alberta Children’s Hospital focused on precision child health. Each of the town halls is organized under a broad theme of research.

  • June 4: Precision child health
  • June 10: Brain development, function and mental health 
  • June 12: Maternal, newborn and child health 
  • June 18: Care transformation for child health 
  • June 25: Big data and the social determinants of child health 

For more information on all the town halls, visit research.ucalgary.ca/child-health-wellness. If you are unable to attend in person, you are welcome to join each session via Adobe Connect.

 

ACHRI Director Dr. Susa Benseler, PhD, MD opens the first town hall on precision child health at Alberta Children’s Hospital, one of five being held for the Child Health and Wellness initiative in June across the campus.
More than 350 scientists and clinicians are taking part in these five town halls, one of the largest discussions ever at the university on improving health and wellness for children.
Presenter Dr. Francois Bernier exploring critical gaps in child health and wellness, “How do we discover and harness a child’s, family’s, and community’s uniqueness to unleash prevention, diagnosis and treatment.”
Dr. Keith Yeates, PhD, Head of the Department of Psychology.
Dr. Brent Hagel and Dr. Heinrike Schmeling discussing grand challenges.
Group divides into round table discussions identifying ways to transform child health research. (from left to right) Dr. Nils Forkert, Dr. Jillian Parboosingh, Dr. Shabih Hasan.
The participants pinpoint key areas of strength to shape the strategy for the Child Health and Wellness initiative which will be developed by year-end.
From left: Dr. Carolyn Emery, Dr. Tish Doyle-Baker, Dr. Karl Klein.
Dr. Micheil Innes discussing a grand challenge. All the presentations are available by contacting Christina Hirota (chirota@ucalgary.ca).

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