Project Overview
Brain-based disabilities, such as autism, ADHD, cerebral palsy, and rare genetic conditions, affect one in five children and often lead to lifelong challenges. These conditions are complex and vary widely from child to child, making it difficult to find treatments that work for everyone. Despite years of research, we still lack the tools to understand this diversity and provide personalized care. To address this, we propose WONDER (Whole-Child Open Neuroscience Data for Empowering Research), a new national research platform that will securely connect and analyze data from across Canada. WONDER will bring together genetic, brain imaging, and behavioural data from existing datasets including children with different brain-based disabilities, without moving the data from their original locations. This approach protects privacy while allowing researchers to work together on a larger scale than ever before. WONDER will use artificial intelligence to help identify patterns in the data that can predict outcomes like anxiety, treatment response, and long-term well-being. It will also include tools that make these methods accessible to researchers from all backgrounds, including those without technical expertise. Importantly, WONDER will be co-designed with families, clinicians, and researchers to ensure it reflects real-world needs and values. It will promote equity by including diverse populations and addressing biases in data and analysis. By unlocking the power of Canada’s existing research investments, WONDER will accelerate discoveries and help create more personalized, effective care for children with brain-based disabilities.
Partners & Donors
Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI)
Bloorview Research Institute (BRI)
Fondation CHU Sainte-Justine
