+ Expand Bio

Previously, Dr. Berman served as Associate Chair, Research, Department of Pediatrics, and Professor of Pediatrics, Microbiology & Immunology and Pathology at Dalhousie University and interim Vice President Research, Innovation and Knowledge Translation for the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has overseen the pediatric leukemia program for the Maritimes since 2005 and chairs an international clinical trial for children with Down syndrome and myeloid leukemia. He is internationally recognized for pioneering research using zebrafish to study childhood cancers and rare inherited diseases. His laboratory has served as the Atlantic node of the Centre for Drug Research and Development and a national hub for zebrafish modeling of orphan diseases. He has been co-chair of the C17 Childhood Cancer Network Developmental Therapeutics Committee and Director of the Clinician Investigator Program and Medical Research Graduate Program at Dalhousie. He is president of the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation, vice president of the Canadian Hematology Society and a founding member of the Canadian Rare Disease Models and Mechanisms Network.

+ Expand Bio

Dr. Sandra Davidge is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Alberta and the Executive Director of the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI). WCHRI was founded in 2006 as a partnership with the University of Alberta, Alberta Health Services, the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation with a shared vision “To harness the power of research innovation for a healthy future for children and women”. WCHRI’s membership is made up of over 400 leading researchers, clinician-scientists, academics, health-care professionals and service providers from academic and community settings who are focused on improving health outcomes from women and children.

As a leader in pregnancy research, Dr. Davidge is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC), Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (FCAHS) and the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (FRCOG London). Dr. Davidge is an international leader in pregnancy research. Her research program encompasses studying cardiovascular function as it relates to complications in pregnancy (preeclampsia and maternal aging) and mechanisms for developmental origins of cardiovascular disease (DOHaD). With her team of trainees, for whom she has mentored numerous undergraduate and graduate students along with postdoctoral fellows, Dr. Davidge has published over 300 original peer-reviewed manuscripts and review articles in these areas. Davidge serves on many national and international advisory panels and serves on the editorial board for the American Journal of Physiology, Hypertension and Biology of Sex Differences. She is a past President of the Society for Reproductive Investigations (2018), the foremost international organization in reproductive health research. Dr. Davidge also has had many advisory and leadership roles that includes being a past Board Chair for the Maternal, Infant, Children, Youth Research Network (MICYRN), along with many continuing roles as one of their Board members since 2015. In addition, Dr. Davidge is an international Advisory Committee Member for the Center of Excellence in Perinatal Research for the University of Mississippi Medical Center and is on the Medical Advisory Board Member for the Preeclampsia Foundation Canada.

+ Expand Bio

Dr. Quynh Doan is an associate professor in Pediatric Emergency Medicine, a Health Services Research scientist at the University of British Columbia (UBC), and the Señor Executive Director of BC Children's Hospital Research Institute. In this role, she has been leading initiatives to integrate Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion principles to the work we do in child health knowledge creation and dissemination. She is also championing the development of the Clinical Trial Superhub at the BC Children's Hospital, to bring expertise, resources, infrastructure, and capacity to bring novel therapeutic options through clinical trials to children and families of BC and the Yukon.

Quynh graduated from McGill medical school and completed her pediatric and pediatric emergency training at UBC. Interspaced with her post-grad clinical training, she completed a degree in the Masters of Health Sciences program and PhD at the School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) at UBC. Her research program evaluates pediatric emergency department patterns of use and the value of emergency care provided to children and families. In recent years, as mental health related presentations surged in Emergency Departments, she has focused her investigations on improving our approach to and outcomes in youth mental health emergencies, by developing, evaluating, and implementing digital support tools (HEARTSMAP, MyHEARTSMAP, and HEARTSMAP-U). This work has been supported by operating research operating funds from the Canadian Institute for Health Research, Health System Redesign funds from the Specialist Services Committee (a partnership of the Doctors of BC and BC Ministry of Health), and Strategic Innovation Funds from UBC.

She is now returning to her research training roots in paediatric emergency medicine workforce by leading the work around the development, evaluation and implementation of workload metrics.

+ Expand Bio

Dr. Darryl J. Adamko completed medical school (1989-1993) and then specialty training in Pediatrics at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada (1989-1997). He went on to become a Pediatric Pulmonary specialist with a strong bench research background after training in a Pediatric Pulmonary Fellowship at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland (1997-2001). He was an Associate Professor of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at the University of Alberta from 2001-11. He moved back to Saskatoon at the University of Saskatchewan in 2011 in a similar position that is focused on clinical, teaching and research in aspects of pediatric pulmonary diseases. Dr Adamko teaches undergraduate courses in the College of Medicine, Residents in clinical settings and students in his lab. He was promoted to full Professor in 2015.

Dr. Adamko’s research focuses primarily on asthma. He has studied the mechanisms of virus-induced asthma attacks and those underlying the development of asthma from infancy, using in vitro and in vivo models in humans and animals. In recent years, he has been developing a novel urine‐based diagnostic to detect and monitor asthma using mass spectrometry.

+ Expand Bio

Dr. Gantt is an infectious disease pediatrician and director of clinical research at CHU Sainte-Justine. He is also a full-time professor at the Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology at the Université of Montréal. He received an Honors BA in Evolutionary Biology from Brown University followed by a medical doctorate and a Doctor of Philosophy in Immunology from the Medical Science Training Program at New York University School of Medicine, where he worked on the development of antimalarial vaccines in the Department of Immunology. Dr. Gantt then completed a residency in Pediatrics followed by further training in infectious diseases as well as a master's degree in public health - epidemiology at the University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital on the transmission of the pathogenesis of HIV and herpes viruses. Prior to his arrival at the Université de Montréal and CHU Sainte-Justine, Dr. Gantt was Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of British Columbia and Director of Clinical Research at BC Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Gantt's research projects focus on the determinants of cytomegalovirus (CMV) transmission and the prevention of diseases caused by congenital CMV infection. These projects include baseline and translational studies on CMV transmission and immune control in humans and mice, clinical trials of CMV vaccines and diagnostic tests, and operational studies for CMV screening in newborns.

+ Expand Bio

Dr. Klassen is the Provincial Department Head of Pediatrics at the University of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Health Authority which he started on April 1, 2024. Prior to that he was the CEO and Scientific Director of the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba for 14 years.

He is a clinician scientist whose clinical base is Pediatric Emergency Medicine, and has been active in Pediatric Emergency Research Canada collaborating on a national research program involving randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews and knowledge translation. He has a consistent record of national and international peer reviewed funding, along with a publication record that has included many articles in the highest impact medical journals. In 2009, Terry co-founded StaR Child Health, an international group aimed at improving the design, conduct and publication of randomized controlled trials in children. In recognition for his lifetime contributions, he was elected into the Institute of Medicine in 2010 in the foreign associate category. He is also a Fellow in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Terry’s research has had a large impact on the practice of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, which was recognized when he received a 2011 Canadian Institutes of Health Research - Canadian Medical Association Journal Top Achievements in Health Research Award.

+ Expand Bio

Anne Monique Nuyt is neonatologist and senior clinician-scientist at CHU Ste-Justine, Montréal. Dr Nuyt’s research team studies risk of cardiovascular diseases in children and adults who were born preterm. Her translational research program spans from experimental animal work, to clinical as well as epidemiological studies. She leads the HAPI (Health of Adults born Preterm Investigation) cohort study with Dr Thuy Mai Luu. She holds the Cercle de Sainte-Justine DOHaD Research Chair and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Prematurity and Developmental Origins of Cardiovascular Health and Diseases.

She is Professor and Chair/Chief of the Department of Pediatrics at CHU Sainte-Justine/Faculty of Medicine Université de Montréal. She recently completed her mandate as chair of the advisory board to the CIHR Institute for Human Development, Child and Youth Health. She is current President of Pediatric Chairs of Canada. Dr Nuyt was awarded a number of prices for her work, is actively involved in scientific societies in perinatal as well as adult cardiovascular research, and in mentoring both clinicians and scientists.

+ Expand Bio

Dr. Charlotte Moore Hepburn is a faculty paediatrician in the Division of Paediatric Medicine at the Hospital for Sick Children, an Associate Professor of Paediatrics in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto School of Medicine and an Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (iHPME) at the University of Toronto. Dedicated to a career combining clinical care with health system advocacy, she has held several leadership roles in government and at national non-governmental organizations in both Canada and the United States, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (OS-ASPE), the Children's Caucus of the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS). She now proudly serves as the inaugural Medical Lead for the Child Health Policy Accelerator at the Hospital for Sick Children, Canada’s first hospital-based applied child and youth health and social policy initiative dedicated to closing the gap between what we know is effective in optimizing paediatric outcomes and what we do to attend to the needs of young people in the public policy space.

+ Expand Bio

Dr. Subbarao is a clinician-scientist and holds a CRC Tier 1 Chair in Pediatric Asthma and Lung Health at the University of Toronto. Trained in both epidemiology and infant and preschool lung function, she is a professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Physiology and Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children.

Dr. Subbarao’s research program focuses on disentangling preschool wheeze heterogeneity to precisely predict who will develop each type of asthma, monitor its progression and discover the risk factors, exposures and underlying biology associated with each asthma subtype.  She is the director of the CHILD study, one of the largest, most intensively characterized asthma birth cohorts in the world. This world-leading study enabled the discovery of the importance of the gut microbiome for the protection against asthma5 (cited >500). She also established the first infant lung function laboratory in Canada. Her research in early life lung function as a biomarker and risk factors in asthma have enabled the earlier, precise prediction of asthma and monitoring of its progression, thus advancing the diagnosis and treatment of children with asthma. 

Dr. Subbarao has over $20 million in peer-reviewed funding and over 178 peer reviewed journal articles. She is an international leader in lung function, co-authoring clinical practice guidelines and position statements for its use to monitor lung disease. She serves as an advisor to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to review of other asthma cohort studies.

+ Expand Bio

Suzanne Tough is a professor with the Departments of Pediatrics and Community Health Sciences in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, and a Health Scholar supported by Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions. She was the inaugural scientific director of the Maternal, Newborn, Child and Youth Strategic Clinical Network and the Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research. Dr Tough is a lead scientist on the development of a child data repository, which will enable the re-use of research data to enhance the development of new knowledge and increase research productivity. Dr Tough is a member of national and international advisory boards, including the Public Health Association of Canada and the World Health Organization Preterm Birth International Consortium. In these roles Dr. Tough has contributed to the development of research strategies and processes that inform policy and practice, and address contemporary issues in knowledge translation and applied research.

Dr Tough has been recognized for her skills in research team development and scientific innovation through a Health Region Peoples’ Choice Award, a University of Alberta Alumni Award of Excellence, and a Global YWCA Women of Vision award. She has led research teams within health care organizations and in academia, and is passionate about collaboration and team science. In these roles Dr. Tough has facilitated the development of team handbooks, governance and accountability structures. The underlying aim of her research program is to optimize birth and childhood outcomes by creating evidence that informs the development of community and clinical programs and influences policy. She leads the Alberta Births Common Data project to harmonize data collection across birth cohorts, and she is the principal investigator of the All Our Babies/Families (AOB/F) Study, a cohort with 3,200 mother-child pairs that has followed mothers from pregnancy through to when their children at eight years of age. The overall vision of the AOB/F research team is to investigate the relative impacts of the social and genetic environments on child health.

+ Expand Bio

Sarah Ahira (BSc) is a Clinical Research Project Manager for MICYRN. She joined MICYRN in 2022 and provides project management leadership to maternal-child health clinical research studies. She brings to her role many years of experience in clinical research. She began her research career working as a Research Ethics Analyst at the Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board at the University of Calgary. In this role, she helped evaluate research studies in many different areas to ensure they met the necessary ethical considerations. She also has a background in pediatric research working as a Research Coordinator at the Alberta Children's Hospital in the Rheumatology department. As part of her role, she was responsible for full cycle research project oversight from start-up to close-out. Sarah has a keen interest in research, particularly in pediatric and maternal research, and brings her energy and passion to her role at MICYRN.

+ Expand Bio

Megan Allore (BSc, MSc) is the MICYRN-CHEER Central Ethics Review Manager, providing hands-on research ethics support to child health researchers and study teams conducting multi-site pediatric studies. She has a background in agricultural animal ethics as well as human biomedical ethics. Megan joined the CHEER project in January of 2024, and MICYRN in October of 2024.

+ Expand Bio

Lori has spent the past 20+ years acting as a Health Canada Regulatory specialist working with academic institutions, researchers, and third-party groups to facilitate the submission of high quality applications to TPD, BRDD, NNHPD and the Medical Devices Directorate. She has also collaborated on submissions with national research networks and industry partners. In addition, Lori has 10 years of experience as a clinical research associate in the field of Cardiology, which has contributed greatly to her knowledge, passion, and expertise in clinical trial design, regulations, and conduct.

+ Expand Bio

Yunna is an experienced and versatile administrative professional who joined the MICYRN team in February 2023. With a background extending across both the Apparel and Music industries in Europe and Asia, she has honed her skills in project management and administration.

A dedicated team player with a passion for learning and growth, Yunna is always eager to take on new challenges and lend a helping hand. At MICYRN, she is excited to use her expertise to support the organization's mission in the field of health research. As an Executive Coordinator for MICYRN and RareKids-CAN Network, Yunna is committed to ensuring that the team operates smoothly and efficiently, enabling them to focus on making a meaningful impact.

+ Expand Bio

With over 23 years in the pharmaceutical industry, Himanshu joined MICYRN in November 2024 as Clinical Trial Monitor and Project Manager based in Eastern Canada. He has developed deep knowledge in Quality and Compliance, alongside many years of hands-on experience in Clinical Research. Recognized for his auditing skills and a sharp eye for identifying potential risks, Himanshu has successfully managed numerous clinical trials, both in project management and monitoring capacities.

As a Certified Quality Auditor (CQA), Himanshu holds a Master of Science from King’s College London (UK) and a Bachelor of Pharmacy from Manipal University (India). His career reflects a seamless integration of technical proficiency with a commitment to patient safety and regulatory compliance in clinical trials.

+ Expand Bio

Karin Kushniruk (BScN, RN, PhD, CCRP) is the associate director for clinical trials for MICYRN. Karin has a clinical background in neonatology and has cared for infants in many Level III NICUs throughout Canada and the United States. She has spent the latter half of her career supporting clinical research, both academic and industry, across many therapeutic areas. She is passionate about optimizing research processes and supporting collaborations to improve the health of little ones and their families.

+ Expand Bio

Dr. Thierry Lacaze-Masmonteil assumed leadership of MICYRN in May 2018. He received his medical degree from the University Paris 5 - René Descartes in 1993 and a PhD in biological sciences at the University Paris 7 - Pierre et Marie Curie in 1995. He completed a fellowship in Neonatology in 1997 and a Master in Epidemiology in 2000. He was appointed professor of Pediatrics at the University Paris 11 in 1997. Thierry moved to Edmonton, Alberta, in 2003 to become the inaugural director of the Women and Children Health Research Institute (WCHRI) in 2006. In 2010, He was recruited as a senior scientist at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute and was the scientific director of the Clinical Research Unit at CHEO from 2011 to 2015. From 2016 to 2021, Thierry has been the section head of Neonatology at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, and the regional program director of Neonatology at Alberta Health Services. Since May 2021, he dedicates most of his time to MICYRN, expanding capacities and providing services of an Academic Research Organization. He is also a Principal Investigator of the CIHR-funded CHEER initiative (The Canadian Collaboration for Child Health: Efficiency and Excellence in the Ethics Review of Research (https://cheerchildhealth.ca/). His areas of study include pediatric clinical trials with an emphasis on drugs and innovative methods.

+ Expand Bio

Andrea Linares (BSc, MHSc) is a clinical research project manager for MICYRN – providing management leadership to maternal-child health clinical research studies. She has a background in cardiorespiratory and pediatric research. Andrea joined MICYRN in 2022 with an eagerness to help support research teams and networks.

+ Expand Bio

Christine joined MICYRN in June 2014 as an administrative assistant. Her current role is research network administrator, responsible for overseeing the financial, human resource and technical administrative functions related to the daily operations of the MICYRN coordinating centre. Prior to her current role, she worked as an executive assistant at Little Mountain Place and as an administrative assistant at Providence Health Care. Christine received her Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration from California State University, Long Beach.

+ Expand Bio

Annabelle Pangilinan is a seasoned administrative professional specializing in administration, financial operations, project management, and human resources. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Santo Tomas and a Post-Degree Diploma in Business Administration from Langara College. With expertise in optimizing operational efficiency, driving process improvements, and providing executive support, she is committed to enhancing productivity and fostering collaboration. She joined MICYRN in February 2023, where she continues to contribute to the organization’s impact with professionalism and dedication.

+ Expand Bio

Alexandra is an experienced clinical research professional with a solid background in quality control and project coordination. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and a Certificate in Applied Clinical Research. Currently pursuing an MBA, Alexandra has a well-rounded skill set that blends scientific expertise with business acumen. In her most recent role as a Clinical Trial Coordinator, Alexandra managed multiple clinical studies, ensuring the successful delivery of key project milestones. She was recognized for her expertise in Confidentiality Disclosure Agreements and for her contributions during major process transitions. Alexandra also has extensive experience in Quality Control, where she played a crucial role in ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and contributed to the success of various clinical trials. Earlier in her career, she worked as a Laboratory Trainer and Analyst, where she developed comprehensive training programs that enhanced laboratory efficiency and accuracy.

+ Expand Bio

Kelly Sandhu (MSc, BSc) is the project manager for RareKids-CAN, providing management leadership. She has a Master's in Health Psychology and has worked in multiple specialties in paediatric research, such as rheumatology, neurology and renal. With a strong passion for research, Kelly has over ten years of experience in academic and clinical research across Europe and Canada. She was awarded the Edward Jenner Leadership Award from the National Health Service in the UK. This has contributed to her leadership approach when training and mentoring research staff, students, and volunteers.

+ Expand Bio

Breanne Stewart (BSc, BScN, RN) serves as the Network Director for RareKids-CAN: Pediatric Rare Disease Clinical Trials and Treatment Network- she provides strategic leadership, oversees operations, and drives collaboration within the network. With a focus on shaping RareKids-CAN's direction, Breanne is dedicated to fostering partnerships and ensuring the delivery of high-quality clinical trials and innovative research initiatives for individuals affected by rare diseases. Having joined MICYRN in 2018 as the inaugural Associate Director of Clinical Trials, Breanne is deeply passionate about optimizing research processes in Canada to ensure timely and efficient treatment and access to therapies for patients and their families.

+ Expand Bio

Barb Storey (BA, CFRE, CM, Acc. Dir.) is an experienced not-for-profit management and operations leader, with 15+ years’ experience across hospital, research and national healthcare organizations including Prostate Cancer Canada and Heart & Stroke. She is a graduate of York University, holds CFRE and Chartered Marketing designations and is an Accredited Director through the Canadian Governance Institute. Barb has a robust background in driving program growth and efficiencies, strategic planning, financial management and database analytics

+ Expand Bio

Wenli Xie (BEng, MSc, CCRP) is a clinical research project manager for MICYRN. She provides project management leadership to maternal-child health clinical research studies and clinical trials; and collaborates with CHEER (Canadian Collaboration for Child Health: Efficiency and Excellence in the Ethics Review of Research) leadership as an ethics streamlining consultant to Investigators and study teams across Canada, facilitating multi-jurisdiction ethics submission and approval. She has a background in pediatric clinical trials operation. Wenli started joining MICYRN as a clinical trial Nnvigator in April 2021 to support the quality improvement and performance metrics project, and she will be continue with this project as it evolves.

+ Expand Bio

Irene Yao is the Administrative Assistant for MICYRN, responsible for the financial, human resource, and administrative functions related to the daily operations of the MICYRN Coordinating Centre. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of British Columbia and her Master of Science in Finance degree from the University of Rochester.