On December 30, 2012, Dr. David Scheifele was named an Officer of the Order of Canada for his contributions to improving health care through the prevention of infectious disease. The Order of Canada is one of the nation’s highest civilian honours and is awarded to recognize a lifetime of achievement and contribution to society.

Preterm infants who grow more slowly as they approached what would have been their due dates also have slower development in an area of the brain called the cerebral cortex, report Canadian researchers in a new study published today in Science Translational Medicine.

Canadian researchers are seeking 8666 teenage girls across the country for a new national study opening this month that will determine whether two or three doses of the vaccine Gardasil provide similar protection against human papillomavirus (HPV).

Risk can be useful training for children, recent scientific articles assert. In a report in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, CFRI researcher and UBC Psychologist Dr. Mariana Brussoni and colleagues suggest risky play ultimately keeps children safer by allowing them to learn how to take and manage risk.

A project aimed at finding and treating women at risk of succumbing to pre-eclampsia – the often-fatal onset of high blood pressure during pregnancy – will receive an additional $17 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Vancouver researchers have discovered the cellular pathway that causes lung-damaging inflammation in cystic fibrosis (CF), and that reducing the pathway’s activity also decreases inflammation. The finding offers a potential new drug target for treating CF lung disease, which is a major cause of illness and death for people with CF.

CFRI researcher Dr. Dina Panagiotopoulos is interviewed by The Globe and Mail for comment on a U.S. study that found that puberty among boys is starting six months to two years earlier than previously documented.

Dr. Peter von Dadelszen, a Clinician Scientist at CFRI and a world authority on diagnosing and treating pre-eclampsia, has received the 2012 Knowledge Translation Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Maternal depression and a common class of antidepressants can alter a crucial period of language development in babies, according to a new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia, Harvard University and the Child & Family Research Institute at BC Children’s Hospital.

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation has awarded funding to six of the province's brightest minds in cancer research. CFRI researcher Dr. Christopher Maxwell was one of the six medical grant recipients.

Congratulations to Dr. Jan Friedman and Dr. David Speert on receiving the 2012 Distinguished Medical Research Lecturer Awards, in clinical sciences and in basic sciences, from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

CFRI researcher Dr. David Speert gives expert advice to Today's Parent on hand washing practices for preschoolers and the use of hand sanitizer.

The Diabetes Research Program recently ran its third internal grant competition for the “Canucks for Kids Fund” Diabetes Catalyst Awards.

Men can differ greatly from women in how they parent, especially during playtime. Lead investigator Dr. Mariana Brussoni and her team are compiling data about father’s attitudes towards safety and injury prevention during play in an effort to provide recommendations for community and parenting programs.

Three CFRI cluster directors or co-directors have recently taken on more senior administrative positions at the University (Dr. Geoff Hammond), hospital (Dr. Erik Skarsgard) or CFRI (Dr. Stuart Turvey).

Vancouver Sun story describes Dr. Mark Ansermino's research to develop a phone oximeter, which uses a cell phone to measure blood oxygen levels.

Preterm babies who've had more skin-breaking medical procedures have slower brain development as they grow to their due dates, shows new research published this week in the Annals of Neurology.

Canada’s ranking in international child health indexes would dramatically improve if measurements were standardized, according to a new study by researchers from the University of British Columbia, Dalhousie University, McGill University, the University of Calgary, and the Public Health Agency of Canada, working with the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System and funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

While Dr. Hammond’s departure is a loss for CFRI, I am pleased to announce we will continue to benefit from strong scientific leadership through the appointment of Dr. Catherine Pallen as Acting Deputy Director starting February 1, 2012.

Scientists have found a gene that causes Weaver syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that typically causes large size at birth, tall stature, developmental delay during childhood, and intellectual disability.