Project Overview

The neonatal brain is exquisitely vulnerable to the biological consequences of prematurity, birth asphyxia and congenital heart defects. Brain injury and abnormal maturation in the neonatal period is associated with long-term changes in microstructure and connectivity underlying significant cognitive, motor, language and behavioral disorders.

Our understanding of clear cerebral disruptors of brain development and the extent of their impact are still limited, mostly due to the lack of robust noninvasive biomarkers with high sensitivity and high specificity, difficulties in conducting studies in newborns and the use of small isolated cohorts. A better understanding of suspected causal factors and ways to minimize their effect have yet to be addressed.

To address this challenge, the Canadian Neonatal Brain Platform brings together a unique, multidisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians to define new strategies to identify causes of brain dysmaturation and develop strategies to minimize brain injury occurring during the neonatal period.

Principal Investigator

Gregory Lodygensky , Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Centre

Team Members

Steven Miller, The Hospital For Sick Children

Tim Oberlander, BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre

Lionel Carmant, Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center

Thuy Mai Luu, Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre

Adam Kirton, Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute

Anne Synnes, BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre

Margot Taylor, The Hospital For Sick Children

Ruth Grunau, Child & Family Research Institute

Pierre Bellec , Université de Montreal 

Hilary Whyte, The Hospital For Sick Children

Julie Gosselin, Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre

Partners and Donors

Children's & Women's Health Centre (CFRI) - University of British Columbia

CHU Ste Justine Foundation

Hospital for Sick Children