Matthew Carwana

Investigator and General Pediatrician, BC Children's Hospital
Faculty, Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP), UBC School of Population and Public Health

Academic Affiliations

Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia

Research Theme

Evidence to Innovation

Research Group

Implementing Knowledge for Equity and System Change

Research Areas

Homeless Health Concerns

Infant and Newborn Care

Substance Use

Contact

matthew.carwana@cw.bc.ca

Mailing Address

4480 Oak Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6H 3V4

Overview: My research program aims to generate high-impact evidence, innovate new models of health delivery, and change public health policy to eliminate the current adverse health gradient experienced by structurally marginalized children and youth due to the social and structural determinants of health. I work in partnership with patients and families, community organizations and community members to design and implement research projects.
Research: Developmental Health for Marginalized Children:
I am interested in promoting the early developmental health of structurally marginalized children. This includes combining population-level health data with community-based participatory action approaches. My work acknowledges that there are many diverse world views and ways of knowing about this topic, and always seeks to include many perspectives in the generation of evidence.
Substance Use:
My work supports children, youth and families that are impacted by substance use, with an emphasis on harm reduction and overdose prevention. I also seek to design and amplify trauma-informed and relational approaches to supporting this population.
Inpatient Care:
Working in partnership with families, I am committed to contributing to improving the experience of inpatient care, particularly for families that travel a great distance for treatment.

Grants

Michael Smith Health Research BC Convening and Collaborating (C2) Grant (2023-2025)
Vancouver Foundation Participatory Action Research Investigate Grant (2023-2026)
Vancouver Foundation Participatory Action Research Convene Grant (2023-2026)
CIHR Covid-19 Pediatric Platform Grant - Pediatric Outcomes Improvement through Coordination of Research Networks [POPCORN] (2022-2025)

Honours & Awards

American Academy of Pediatrics - BC Chapter Special Achievement Award (2023)
UBC Department of Pediatrics - Ivory Tower Award (2023)
UBC Department of Pediatrics - Undergraduate Medical Education Teacher of the Year (2021)
UBC Department of Pediatrics - Rookie of the Year (2019)

Research Group Members

Laura Best, Research Assistant
Clea Bland, Family Nurse Practitioner, RICHER Initiative, BC Children's Hospital
Shalaka Dixit, Resident
Ethan Fong, Research Assistant
Armaan Jaffer, Research Assistant
Emma Kuntz, Project Coordinator
Dami Mabadeje, Research Assistant
Saina Nemati
Elizabeth Suberu, INSPIRE TRAINEE
Asia van Buuren, Pediatrics Resident

Stories See all

Studies highlight the impact of the pandemic on children and youth’s mental health

The Pediatric Outcome ImProvement through COordination of Research Networks — which involves BCCHR — has published their latest research findings on mental health hospitalizations of children and youth throughout the pandemic. These findings led the team to a second study where they evaluated the relationship between hospital admissions for eating disorders and public health restrictions.

Continue reading Studies highlight the impact of the pandemic on children and youth’s mental health

Congratulations CIHR Fall 2023 Project Grant recipients

Congratulations to the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute (BCCHR) and Women’s Health Research Institute (WHRI) investigators and their teams who were awarded $11 million in funding through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Fall 2023 Project Grant competition.

Continue reading Congratulations CIHR Fall 2023 Project Grant recipients

BC Children’s Hospital part of new pediatric COVID-19 research network

BC Children’s Hospital is part of a new cross-Canada network called the Pediatric Outcome Improvement through Coordination of Research Networks (POPCORN). The overall objective of POPCORN is to further understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to prepare child health researchers and their networks for the next pandemic or public health issue of importance.

Continue reading BC Children’s Hospital part of new pediatric COVID-19 research network

Torin Halvorson and Hebah Hussaina awarded Vanier scholarships for immunotherapy and mental health research

BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute (BCCHR) is proud to announce that two of its outstanding research trainees, Torin Halvorson, an MD/PhD student working with the Levings research team, and Hebah Hussaina, a graduate research assistant in the Brussoni Lab, have been awarded the prestigious 2024 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.

Continue reading Torin Halvorson and Hebah Hussaina awarded Vanier scholarships for immunotherapy and mental health research

Recognizing a brain injury quickly can save lives

Knowing how to recognize brain injury as early as possible and what to do is crucial to reduce potential long-term complications. Mild traumatic brain injuries are more prevalent in children and youth than adults, often as a result of sport- and recreation-related events.

Continue reading Recognizing a brain injury quickly can save lives

A decade of work advances care for children with cancer

Researchers at the Michael Cuccione Childhood Cancer Research Program at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute have been working for over a decade on the BC Pediatric Personalized OncoGenomics (PedsPOG) study, using genomics to identify treatments specific to an individual child’s cancer.

Continue reading A decade of work advances care for children with cancer

Donate to Research

We believe there’s nothing we can’t do with your support. It can take years to turn scientific breakthrough into new interventions and treatments. Funding helps speed the pace of change. When given the resources, we can bring transformative therapies – and hope – out of the laboratory and into the clinic to save and improve children’s lives.

Give Now