Marie Wright

Investigator, BC Children's Hospital
Physician, Division of Respiratory Medicine, BC Children's Hospital
Director, Home Tracheostomy and Ventilation (HTV) Program, BC Children's Hospital
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia

Academic Affiliations

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

Research Theme

Childhood Diseases

Research Areas

Lung Diseases

Medical Complexity

Neuromuscular Disorders

Sleep Apnea

Tracheostomy

Treatment Outcomes

Contact

marie.wright@cw.bc.ca

Phone

(604) 875-2345 ext. 6877

Mailing Address

4480 Oak Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6H3N1

Overview: I am a pediatric respirologist with an interest in clinical research and quality improvement, and director of the BCCH Home Tracheostomy and Ventilation (HTV) clinic.
My clinical work is based in the HTV, sleep, and rare lung diseases clinics, as well as inpatient care of babies and children with a wide range of acute and chronic respiratory disorders.
My postgraduate research studies (Doctor of Research, MD(Res), University College London / Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health) focused on children born with Pierre Robin sequence, and how optimal health outcomes can be achieved through different approaches to management of airway obstruction.
My current main areas of research interest include respiratory management and long-term outcomes of children with neuromuscular disorders (including spinal muscular atrophy and Duchenne muscular dystrophy) and prematurity-related lung disease (bronchopulmonary dysplasia). Examples of my quality improvement work include delivering care to HTV patients outside of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and improving the transition of HTV patients from Pediatric to adult medical services.
I have expertise in a range of study methodologies including systematic reviews and meta-analysis, active surveillance studies and reporting card systems, prospective and retrospective observational studies, and qualitative research. I have also received formal training in quality improvement methodology through the PHSA Physician Quality Improvement training program (2022-23 cohort).
I am a strong advocate of collaborative and team-based research, and have led multi-center research studies both in Canada and the UK, as well as mentoring allied health colleagues, trainees and medical students who have a desire to participate in clinical research.
My passion for clinical research is based on a desire to better understand the causes and long-term outcomes of lung and airway diseases affecting children, particularly those that are rare, complex, or under-studied. My quality improvement work is perhaps even more rewarding because it enables us to identify barriers to delivering excellent clinical care and to quickly implement sustainable and patient-focused changes.
Publications: Airway management in infants with Robin sequence in the United Kingdom and Ireland: A prospective population-based study
Pediatric Pulmonology
Marie Wright and Rachel L. Knowles and Mario Cortina-Borja and Sheila Javadpour and Felicity V. Mehendale and Don Urquhart
DOI: 10.1002/ppul.27140
06/2024
Global birth prevalence of Robin sequence in live-born infants: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society
Wright M and Cortina-Borja M and Rachel Knowles and Don Urquhart
DOI: 10.1183/16000617.0133-2023
PubMed: 38056889
12/2023
Conservative and Surgical Modalities in the Management of Pediatric Parapneumonic Effusion and Empyema
CHEST
Clara Fernandez Elviro and Bryn Longcroft-Harris and Emily Allin and Leire Leache and Kellan Woo and Jeffrey N. Bone and Colleen Pawliuk and Jalal Tarabishi and Matthew Carwana and Marie Wright and Nassr Nama and Roshan A. Ananda and Priyadharshini Ramakrishnan and Tala J. Alhejazi and Alyssa Chen and Amin Sharifan and Mohamed M. Shawqi
DOI: 10.1016/j.chest.2023.06.010
11/2023
Epidemiology of Robin sequence in the UK and Ireland: an active surveillance study
Archives of Disease in Childhood
Marie FA Wright and Rachel L Knowles and Mario Cortina-Borja and Sheila Javadpour and Felicity V Mehendale and Donald S Urquhart
DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2023-325556
09/2023
Hypersensitivity reactions to intravenous antibiotics in cystic fibrosis
Paediatric Respiratory Reviews
Wright, M.F.A. and Bush, A. and Carr, S.B.
DOI: 10.1016/j.prrv.2018.01.003
2018
Long-term respiratory outcomes following solid organ transplantation in children: A retrospective cohort study
Pediatric Pulmonology
M. F. A. Wright and T. Blydt-Hansen and M. A. Chilvers
DOI: 10.1002/ppul.25968
09/2022
Quantifying fluctuation in glucose levels to identify early changes in glucose homeostasis in cystic fibrosis
Journal of Cystic Fibrosis
Brugha, R. and Wright, M. and Nolan, S. and Bridges, N. and Carr, S.B.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcf.2017.12.004
2018
Case of paediatric neuromuscular disease with a surprising clinical outcome: Time to challenge the dogma?
Thorax
Wright, M. and Manzur, A. and Bush, A.
DOI: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2017-211058
2018
Paediatric femoral hernia - The diagnostic challenge
International Journal of Surgery
Wright, M.F.A. and Scollay, J.M. and McCabe, A.J. and Munro, F.D.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2011.05.004
2011
Acute Infections That Produce Upper Airway Obstruction
Kendig's Disorders of the Respiratory Tract in Children
Balfour-Lynn, I.M. and Wright, M.
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-323-44887-1.00023-7
2019
Investigation and management of the long-term ventilated premature infant
Early Human Development
Wright, M.F.A. and Wallis, C.
DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2018.08.015
2018
Epidemiology of Robin sequence with cleft palate in the East of Scotland between 2004 and 2013
Pediatric Pulmonology
Wright, M. and Mehendale, F. and Urquhart, D.S.
DOI: 10.1002/ppul.24038
2018
Habit-tic cough: Presentation and outcome with simple reassurance
Pediatric Pulmonology
Wright, M.F.A. and Balfour-Lynn, I.M.
DOI: 10.1002/ppul.23948
2018
An infant with congenital respiratory insufficiency and diaphragmatic paralysis: A novel BICD2 phenotype?
American journal of medical genetics. Part A
Hui-Lin Chin and Huynh S and Ashkani J and Castaldo M and Katherine Dixon and Selby K and Shen Y and Wright M and Cornelius Boerkoel and Hendson G and Steven Jones
DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.a.62578
PubMed: 34825470
11/2021
Long term respiratory outcomes following solid organ transplantation in children: a retrospective cohort study.
Marie Wright and Mark Chilvers and Tom Blydt-Hansen
DOI: 10.22541/au.163255287.73643413/v1
09/2021
Conservative and surgical modalities in the management of paediatric parapneumonic effusion and empyema: a protocol for a living systematic review and network meta-analysis.
BMJ open
Emily Allin and Nassr Nama and Michael Irvine and Colleen Pawliuk and Wright M and Carwana M
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045010
PubMed: 33762243
03/2021
Continuous positive airway pressure for obstructive sleep apnea in children.
Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien
Wang JJ and Imamura T and Lee J and Wright M and Ran D. Goldman
DOI: 10.46747/cfp.670121
PubMed: 33483390
01/2021
Impact of an Integrated Framework on Care Transition of Infants with Medical Complexity
Complex Care Journal
2021
Assessment and management of viral croup in children
Prescriber
Marie Wright and Andrew Bush
DOI: 10.1002/psb.1490
08/2016
Research: Patient, caregiver, and healthcare provider experiences of transition from pediatric to adult services for users of home mechanical ventilation: a qualitative study and quality improvement project.
“The Right Care, in the Right Place, at the Right Time”: supporting children on home mechanical ventilation during hospital admission: an interdisciplinary quality improvement project
Respiratory health in children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy treated with disease modifying therapies
Studies underway involving respiratory and bulbar function in children with SMA who were treated with disease modifying therapies before and after the introduction of newborn screening in British Columbia (2022)
Use of home respiratory support for preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia in British Columbia
A retrospective cohort study reviewing management and long-term clinical outcomes (respiratory health, growth, neurodevelopment) of infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia who were discharged from the NICU on home respiratory support (supplementary oxygen, non-invasive ventilation, tracheostomy ventilation) over a 10-year period.

Grants

BCCHR Practice Based Research Program (2023)
MASES/ Doctors of BC Facility Engagement Initiative (2023)
MASES/ Doctors of BC Facility Engagement Initiative (2023)

Honours & Awards

UBC Department of Pediatrics, Resident Teacher of The Year (2024)
3rd International Robin Sequence Consensus Meeting Abstract Award (2022)
Sir Peter Tizard Research Bursary (Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, UK) national award recipient (2014)
British Paediatric Respiratory Society travel award (2016)
Rare Diseases Foundation micro-grant award (2015)
European Respiratory Society award for best abstract in the field of Paediatric Respiratory Epidemiology (2014)

Research Group Members

Ellie Kalutycz, FLEX Research Trainee
Kudrat Mundi, Flex Summer Research Student
Charuta Saha, FLEX Research Trainee

Stories See all

Collaboration was key to discovery about newborn immunity

Investigators at the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute have made a finding that could eventually lead to therapeutic interventions for sepsis, lung disease, and other complications in premature newborns.

Continue reading Collaboration was key to discovery about newborn immunity

A safer treatment path for high-risk children to overcome food allergies

New research from BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute and UBC reveals a safe path to overcoming food allergies for older children or building resistance for those who can’t risk consuming allergens. It’s called sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), and it involves placing small amounts of food allergens under the tongue.

Continue reading A safer treatment path for high-risk children to overcome food allergies

Government of Canada invests $20 million to improve health outcomes of children living with rare diseases

The Government of Canada is providing $20 million over five years for the creation of RareKids-CAN: Pediatric Rare Disease Clinical Trials and Treatment Network. This national network, of which BCCHR will be a part, will support national and international clinical trials to advance discoveries, enable better prevention, diagnosis, and treatments, to improve health outcomes for children and adolescents affected by rare diseases.

Continue reading Government of Canada invests $20 million to improve health outcomes of children living with rare diseases

New study shows the potential of new treatment strategies for most common childhood cancer

Researchers made a key discovery about how childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) evolves and responds to targeted therapies suggesting that clinicians can start looking for precision treatments for a child’s cancer immediately after diagnosis, rather than waiting until the cancer has come back.

Continue reading New study shows the potential of new treatment strategies for most common childhood cancer

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