Research Themes

Brain, Behaviour & Development

We bring together neuroscience, mental health and child development researchers through basic, clinical, population and public health research. We care for children with complex medical, physical, developmental and mental health needs, and lead national initiatives such as Networks of Centres of Excellence.

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Childhood Diseases

Childhood Diseases includes Groups that are focused on studying childhood diseases and disorders. There is a specific focus on understanding mechanisms of health versus disease, as well as identifying and testing new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

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Evidence to Innovation

We are health care innovators. Our team of clinicians and scientists are developing new health care technologies, improving patient care, advancing the safe and effective use of drugs, developing new methods of health data analytics, and shifting health system attitudes and behaviours to improve the health care and well-being of children and families. Together with the patients we serve, we are leading initiatives to inform health care policy and practice.

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Healthy Starts

Our overarching goal is to keep children and families healthy and out of the hospital by preventing lifelong health challenges and chronic diseases that are rooted in early childhood. We are passionate about furthering research into how a child’s family life and environment impact their health, shedding light on healthy childhood development before and after birth, and improving child health worldwide through innovation, advocacy, education, and capacity building.

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Recent News See all

Congratulations CIHR Spring 2025 Project Grant recipients

Congratulations to the investigators and their teams who were awarded funding through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Spring 2025 Project Grant competition.

Continue reading Congratulations CIHR Spring 2025 Project Grant recipients

OPTIMISE trial seeks to personalize cancer treatment for children with high-risk tumours

Dr. Rebecca Deyell will be leading the OPTIMISE trial — short for Optimal Precision Therapies to CustoMISE Care in Childhood and Adolescent Cancer — at BC Children's Hospital. The trial is designed to match children, adolescents and young adults with high-risk cancers to targeted therapies based on the genetic makeup of their tumours.

Continue reading OPTIMISE trial seeks to personalize cancer treatment for children with high-risk tumours

Bringing Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Ceremony to child health research

To enact BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute's commitment to grow and invest in Indigenous child health research and adapt its research practices through Indigenous partnerships, the Institute has created a network of researchers, clinicians, and Indigenous advisors called the Indigenous Child Health Knowledge Super Hub.

Continue reading Bringing Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Ceremony to child health research

Redefining self-care for a more communal and inclusive experience

Self-care is the ability to promote health, prevent diseases, and cope with illness, with or without the support of health-care workers. If expanded into more communal and equitable activities rooted in joy and connection, it could feel more inclusive and realistic, especially for children and youth experiencing tough circumstances.

Continue reading Redefining self-care for a more communal and inclusive experience

Smart Triage program supports children’s health in Uganda and Kenya

The Institute for Global Health (IGH) at BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre is helping address inequities impacting care in low- and middle-income countries. With collaborators in Uganda and Kenya, IGH evaluated Smart Triage — a digital platform that helps prioritize care for seriously ill children — in low-resource settings.

Continue reading Smart Triage program supports children’s health in Uganda and Kenya

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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.

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