Spreading our Wings WCHRI Annual Report 2022-2023
With support from our partners, our researchers are transforming the lives of women and children in our nearby communities and around the world.
As WCHRI grows, we are able to look up and look out even further than we have before. We are engaging more patients and communities in research, reaching out to more clinics and collaborators, and expanding our networks provincially and nationally to make more connections that will enable us to maximize impact.
We are spreading our wings!
Message from
the directors
WCHRI was established in 2006 through purposeful partnership, connecting people and organizations with a shared vision. These connections continue to expand outward and, 16 years in, we are really spreading our wings.
Sandra Davidge & Todd Alexander Women and Children’s Health Research Institute
Sandra Davidge & Todd Alexander Women and Children’s Health Research Institute
Message from the Executive Director and Associate Director
WCHRI was established in 2006 through purposeful partnership, connecting people and organizations with a shared vision. These connections continue to expand outward and, 16 years in, we are really spreading our wings.
Along with our more than 400 members, we are looking up and looking out to reach more people, partners and communities on local, provincial, national and international levels.
This year, WCHRI partnered with the Stollery Children’s Hospital to join the global Fontan Outcomes Network. This network will help advance treatment discoveries and transform research into practice to improve outcomes for children from across western Canada treated at the Stollery with single ventricle heart disease. And WCHRI continues to strengthen relationships with four other women’s health research organizations across Canada under the banner of the Partnership for Women’s Health Research Canada to coordinate and catalyze national efforts to promote women’s health research and its use.
While we work every day to provide support for women’s and children’s health research enabling it to flourish, our ultimate goal is to translate those scientific discoveries to reach beyond classrooms, labs and scientific journals. We want to make a difference for the women and children of our communities and provide them with the best quality of life.
Some examples of research by our members included in this Annual Report are:
- A partnership grant is bringing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder researchers in Calgary and Edmonton together to tackle youth mental health provincially — the grant will also position the team to be national leaders in this area.
- A former pediatric migraine patient is now a research partner and advocate in clinical studies to test new medications.
- Afghan women finding refuge in Edmonton are involved in research to determine their specific health-care needs.
- Our research trainees continue to go on to do great things. Hannah Sell and Forough Jahandideh have leveraged their WCHRI experiences into new roles in academia and government.
None of this would be possible without our founding partners — the University of Alberta, Alberta Health Services, Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and Alberta Women’s Health Foundation. Their vision and support enable us to fly further, to increase the impact and reach of our efforts and ultimately improve health outcomes for women and children locally, provincially, nationally and internationally.
Sandra Davidge, Executive Director Todd Alexander, Associate Director
Women and Children’s Health Research Institute
Verna
Yiu University of
Alberta
Verna
Yiu University of
Alberta
Message from the University of Alberta
Early in my career as a pediatric nephrologist, I saw first-hand how research can lead to better health outcomes for patients. Later, within leadership roles in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and Alberta Health Services, I came to really appreciate how collaboration can move us further when we work together. Now, as Provost and Vice-President Academic (interim) at the University of Alberta, I am honoured to witness our health research institutes grow through partnership to achieve their goals.
Born out of a unique and powerful partnership between the University of Alberta, Alberta Health Services, the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Alberta Women’s Health Foundation, WCHRI is a remarkable example of research excellence that is able to flourish in an environment of support.
For 16 years, WCHRI has been at the forefront of innovation and strengthening research in areas of health that have historically been understudied and underfunded. As one of the University’s flagship institutes, WCHRI has established itself as a leader in women’s and children’s health research.
By building on our institutional strengths, including machine learning and precision health, we see WCHRI researchers implementing clinical trials to improve the health of children with complex conditions, developing predictive algorithms to improve pregnancy outcomes and partnering with health centres to seek input from women about their specific health-care needs. WCHRI-supported researchers are transforming women’s and children’s health and the communities in which we all live.
As partnerships and collaborations continue to grow, I see the work of WCHRI members going beyond academia to make a positive impact on the lives and futures of women and children.
Verna Yiu
Provost and Vice-President Academic (Interim)
Marc
Leduc Alberta Health
Services
Marc
Leduc Alberta Health
Services
Message from Alberta Health Services
For 16 years now, Alberta Health Services and WCHRI have pursued a shared mission of improving the health and wellbeing of Albertans.
Partnerships like these are essential for fostering research and innovation in Alberta’s health system and making a difference in the lives of Alberta’s women, children and their families.
When our clinical innovators – scientists, researchers, physicians, pharmacists, nurses, nurse practitioners, allied health professionals and so many others – work together to push the boundaries of knowledge, the result is a healthcare system that improves health outcomes.
Research and innovation are about asking questions and then collecting evidence based on those questions. That evidence becomes knowledge, which can be applied by healthcare providers, patients, their families and the public.
WCHRI researchers have supported parents and children in navigating the pandemic, given clinicians a better understanding of how to relieve the pain many children feel in emergency departments, and targeted women’s heart health. These are just some recent examples.
None of these advances would be possible without the talent, skills, infrastructure, and leadership of our partners, clinical scientists and innovators.
Research and innovation that improve healthcare transform the lives of our patients. Thanks to WCHRI and its partners, more patients and communities than ever before are gaining access to brighter, healthier futures.
Marc Leduc
Senior Provincial Director, Health Evidence and Innovation
Mike
House Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation
Mike
House Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation
Message from the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation
There’s a well-known African proverb that it takes a village to raise a child. From parents and caregivers to teachers and health-care professionals, we all work together to nurture and enrich a child’s life in different and meaningful ways.
As we reflect on our last year, I’m once again in awe of the power that research has on children’s mental and physical health in our own back yard and around the world.
And as our award-winning researchers spread their wings – to discover new cures, test new medicines and explore new methods that will one day lead to further breakthroughs in children’s health – we’re preparing to spread our wings as well. If you’d like to learn what’s next for us at the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, please visit StolleryTomorrowAndToday.com.
We’re proud to fund the life-changing work done by researchers at WCHRI since 2006. In that time, more than $84.2 million in donor dollars have been earmarked for children’s health research in North America. This money directly supports sub-specialty training and an incredible 1,902 research projects related to child health, including the Stollery Science Lab Distinguished Researchers program.
And we know this is just the beginning.
Congratulations to our partners at the University of Alberta and WCHRI for the exciting year behind us and the exceptional future that’s ahead. The new ground you break allows us to support improved care for our Stollery families and to give every kid the best chance at a long and healthy life.
As you explore new and exciting evidence-based treatments we’ll continue to break barriers in children’s health together, while spreading our wings and sheltering those who need it most under them.
Mike House
President and CEO
Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation
Sharlene Rutherford Alberta Women's Health Foundation
Sharlene Rutherford Alberta Women's Health Foundation
Message from the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation
During the first two years of the Alberta Women’s Health Foundation’s (AWHF) existence, our work to foster equity in women’s health and health research has taken off – in no small part due to our relationship with WCHRI, a core research partnership and ally in our quest to close the gender gap.
The AWHF has been able to look up and look out even further with our most recent thought leadership report, Surveying the Silence: Exploring the Impact of Taboos in Women’s Health, reaching more people than ever before, thanks once again to WCHRI for amplifying our message and contributing crucial research and expertise to the report in multiple areas.
We are perpetually in awe of the quality, breadth and diversity of research produced by the brilliant minds at WCHRI and are endlessly proud to help support the work of over 160 researchers creating a flight path for the future of women’s health inquiry – ranging from the summer projects of aspiring undergraduate researchers to esteemed leaders in their field study, including support for four endowed research chairs.
It is my honour to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the WCHRI team on behalf of the Foundation, including our board of directors and our Chair George Coon, and all our donors and supporters. Every day, WCHRI demonstrates the value of women’s health research, and we are humbled to contribute to helping this work take flight. Together, I know we will continue soaring to great heights.
Sharlene Rutherford
President and CEO
Alberta Women’s Health Foundation
Research Stories
Better mental health means a better life for kids with FASD
Researchers team up to build a strategy that will address complex needs
Robbie Seale’s youngest son — a teen with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) — had been waiting years to see a psychiatrist when a dangerous episode forced an emergency trip to the hospital.
Migraine specialist determined to get ahead of kids’ pain
Northern Alberta youngsters among first in the world to test new migraine medications
Weather changes can trigger migraine, and the pediatric neurologist at the Stollery Children’s Hospital headache clinic is mindful of conditions that could make her young patients miserable.
Putting the spotlight on mature women’s health research
Newly appointed chair Colleen Norris says sex and gender factors are too often ignored
Norris focuses on sex and gender factors that impact women’s heart disease, including under-diagnosis, treatment outcomes and health-related quality of life afterward.
School-based immunizations took a hit during COVID-19 pandemic
Researchers say strategies still needed to ensure all students get caught up with vital immunizations
School-based immunizations for children and adolescents in Alberta dropped dramatically in the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to newly-published research.
Empowering pregnant women at risk of emergency c-section
A new questionnaire predicts risk of an emergency cesarean delivery and could allow time for interventions to avoid the procedure
Almost one in every three babies in Canada is delivered by caesarian section (c-section) rather than vaginal delivery. The rate has been growing steadily since the early 1980s when just one in 20 babies were delivered surgically.
Unravelling the mystery of treatment-resistant epilepsy
U of A research team looks at embryonic brain cells to explain why some patients’ seizures can’t be controlled
Epilepsy is a devastating neurological disease that affects one in 200 children and adolescents in Canada, causing seizures that can occur sporadically or daily.
Laying the groundwork for neonatal sepsis research to take off
A researcher establishes a lab model for studies that could lead to healthier futures for premature babies
We wanted to know the effect of iron deficiency in combination with neonatal sepsis on the short-term and long-term health of the offspring.
Project seeks input of Afghan women refugees on their health-care needs
U of A researcher hopes to help Edmonton refugee centre serve its clients better
More than 5,000 Afghan refugees have arrived in Alberta since the Taliban took power in their country in 2021.
Highlights
We celebrated the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation by attending the Snowflake Gala in support of leading edge programs, equipment, research and training at the Hospital.
WCHRI and Stollery Children’s Hospital partnered to support our site in joining the international Fontan Outcomes Network. Under the leadership of Andrew Mackie and Jennifer Conway, our participation in this network will help advance research and care for children at the Stollery with single ventricle heart disease.
We celebrated the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation by attending the Harvest Celebration. The annual event raises critical funds for the Lois Hole Hospital for Women.
More than 380 researchers, students and stakeholders actively participated in WCHRI’s Research Day, including foundation donors and staff who attended special meet and greet opportunities with a panel of researchers.
Seven WCHRI researchers and staff attended the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation Ambassadors Reception, an event for Foundation supporters to celebrate 20 years of impact on children’s health.
WCHRI staff member Deb Key was posthumously honoured at the Edmonton Elks Women’s Dinner as “Pam’s Hero” for her positivity in the struggle against ovarian cancer. The dinner raises funds for the Edmonton Elks Women’s Ovarian Cancer Research Endowment Fund which supports Cheng-Han Lee as the Sawin-Baldwin Chair in Ovarian Cancer.
WCHRI researchers Yifeng Wei and Matthew Martens spoke about their work to promote the Corus Radiothon to raise funds for the Stollery Children’s Hospital.
We conducted an internal qualitative evaluation with WCHRI staff and leadership to understand the impact of our work. The results help us communicate the value of WCHRI to our stakeholders, inform internal decision making and support the sustainability of WCHRI.
The Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and WCHRI announced the appointment of Colleen Norris as the Cavarzan Chair in Mature Women’s Health Research.
The Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and WCHRI announced the appointment of Lonnie Zwaigenbaum as the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation Chair in Autism.
WCHRI and the Stollery Children’s Hospital joined with 15 other institutions in POPCORN – a new pan-Canadian research platform that brings together researchers, clinicians, patient and family partners and existing pediatric research networks to answer questions related to pediatric infectious diseases and chronic health conditions in children.
WCHRI media exposure for our members’ work ensures that the public is aware of the value of women’s and children’s health research and the investment that our Foundations have made. WCHRI was mentioned in 212 media stories throughout the year.
Women and Children's Health Research Institute
WCHRI supports research excellence dedicated to improving the health and lives of women and children. WCHRI is the only research institute in Canada to focus on both women’s and children’s health, including perinatal health.
WCHRI was founded in 2006 as a partnership between the University of Alberta and Alberta Health Services, with core funding from the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Alberta Women’s Health Foundation. Thanks to our funders’ generosity, WCHRI is able to support a broad range of research programs focused on improving health for women and children. Support is offered through grant competitions, start-up costs, ongoing research funding and expert research services. WCHRI also invests in the next generation of researchers through graduate and summer studentships, and research and travel grants.
Our membership is made up of over 400 leading researchers who are passionately committed to women and children’s health and well-being. WCHRI is proud to support the continued growth and success of their research work.
Our Vision
To harness the power of research innovation for a healthy future for children and women.
Our Mission
WCHRI will foster the brightest minds to discover, innovate and ultimately transform the health of children and women through supporting research excellence.
Governance
- Finance & operations sub-committee
- Oversight board
- The Oversight Board is made up of representatives from the U of A, AHS, SCHF and AWHF. The board ensures that WCHRI meets the highest standard of good governance, including accountability and transparency and delivers quality, innovative research. The board provides strategic direction and is responsible for making sure that legal and regulatory requirements are met, approving the annual budget and monitoring WCHRI’s overall performance.
- Brenda Hemmelgarn (Chair)
Dean, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, U of A - Dianne Balon
Board of Directors representative, Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundatio - Delphine Brooker
Board of Trustees representative, Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation - Janie Clink
Senior Operating Officer, Royal Alexandra Hospital, AHS - Sarah Forgie
Chair, Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, U of A - Mike House
(Katherine Sweet, Designate)
President & CEO, Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation - Shanthi Johnson
Dean, School of Public Health, U of A - Braden Manns
(Marc Leduc, Designate)
Vice President, Provincial Clinical Excellence, AHS - Lawrence Richer
Vice Dean, Research (Clinical), Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, U of A - Aminah Robinson Fayek
Vice President, Research & Innovation, U of A - Sharlene Rutherford
President & CEO, Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation - Jane Schulz
Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, U of A - Lorne Tyrrell
Director, Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology, U of A - Christine Westerlund
Senior Operating Officer, Stollery Children’s Hospital, AHS - Verna Yiu
(Greta Cummings, Designate)
Provost & Vice-President Academic, U of A - Ex -officio (non-voting members)
Sandra Davidge
Institute Executive Director - Todd Alexander
Institute Associate Director
- As of March 2023
- Associate Director
- Todd Alexander
- Todd Alexander is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics, a pediatric nephrologist, Stollery Science Lab Distinguished Researcher, and Canada Research Chair in Renal Epithelial Transport Physiology. Since 2018, he has served as program director of the Kidney Research Scientist Core Education and National Training (KRESCENT) Program.
- He completed his medical training at the University of Western Ontario in 1999, holds a PhD in cell biology from the University of Toronto, completed in 2007, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in renal physiology in 2008 at St. Radboud University, Netherlands.
- Alexander has established a highly successful research program and been awarded more than $5 million in grant funding as a PI. Since 2006, he has published 91 journal articles and has 3,446 citations to date. He is also involved in clinical trials and is the site lead for a clinical trial for renal tubular acidosis—a condition that occurs when the kidneys fail to acidify the urine causing a person’s blood to remain too acidic.
- He has made significant contributions to WCHRI over the last decade, from his roles on the Program Advisory Committee and Trainee Advisory Committee to his extensive involvement with peer-review—including his recent role as chair of an Innovation Grant Panel.
- Executive director
- Sandra Davidge
- Sandra Davidge received her bachelor of science from the University of Massachusetts, master of science from Washington State University and PhD from the University of Vermont. She then continued her training as a postdoctoral fellow at the Magee Women’s Research Institute in Pittsburgh before moving to Edmonton with her husband and two children in 1996. She is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Alberta.
- As a leader in pregnancy research, Davidge is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, as well as a former two-term Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Maternal and Perinatal Cardiovascular Health.
- She has published over 250 scientific articles on her pioneering studies that are focused on understanding the causes on pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction, in order to develop new therapies to improve pregnancy outcomes.
- Her work further explores strategies to prevent chronic cardiovascular diseases that can arise in children born from complicated pregnancies.
- She has received international recognition for her innovative research as she mentors the next generation of scientists and clinician-scientists.
- In 2012, Davidge was appointed executive director of WCHRI.
- Scientific advisory committee
- The Scientific Advisory Committee is made up of internationally renowned research leaders. The committee provides an external viewpoint and advises WCHRI on a number of topics relevant to institute structure and strategy — research themes, operations, mentorship, leadership, evaluation, etc. The committee also offers WCHRI a mechanism to build national and international collaborations with other like-minded institutes and networks.
- Stephanie A. Atkinson, PhD, DSc (honoris causa), FCAHS, FASN
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Associate Member, Department of Biochemistry & Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University
Special Professional Staff, McMaster Children’s Hospital - Paul Franks, PhD
Professor, Genetic Epidemiology, Lund University
Head of the Department of Translational Medicine and Scientific Director, Medical Science, Novo Nordisk Foundation
Adjunct Professor, Harvard School of Public Health - Annette Majnemer, OT, PhD, FCAHS
Vice Dean, Education, Faculty of Medicine
Professor, School of Physical & Occupational Therapy, McGill University
Director, CHILD-BRIGHT Network - Patrick McGrath, OC, PhD, FRSC, FCAHS
Professor, Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University
Former Vice President Research, Innovation and Knowledge Translation for the IWK Health Centre and the Nova Scotia Health Authority - Charles Nelson, PhD
Director of Research, Developmental Medicine Center, Boston Children’s Hospital
Professor of Pediatrics and Neuroscience and Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Richard David Scott Chair in Pediatric Developmental Medicine Research, Boston Children’s Hospital - Paula Rochon, MD, MPH, FCAHS
VP Research, Women’s College Hospital (WCH)
Professor, Department of Medicine and Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, University of Toronto
RTO/ERO Chair in Geriatric Medicine - As of March 2023
- WCHRI operations
- Sandra Davidge
Executive Director - Todd Alexander
Associate Director - Michelle Bailleux
Director, Research Grants - Katie Buchanan
Program and Governance Lead - Louanne Campbell
Director, Operations - Bethan Kingsley
Research Associate - Laura Reyes Martinez
Clinical Research Program Lead, Women’s Health - Yolanda Poffenroth (acting)
Director, Stewardship,
Communications & Marketing - Dory Sample
Clinical Research Director - Tanya Voth
Program Director - As of March 2023
- Sandra Davidge
- Program advisory committee
- The Program Advisory Committee is made up of U of A cross-faculty representatives. The committee represents member interests and advises WCHRI’s executive director on programs and operations, which includes:
- providing guidance on the development, prioritization and alignment of WCHRI programs and services;
- assisting in the determination of performance indicators and reviewing actual performance against those indicators;
- assisting in the dissemination of key WCHRI outcomes and results; and,
providing guidance on operational and business issues, especially issues that would compromise the success of WCHRI.
- Theme leads are appointed within the Program Advisory Committee by the executive director. Their role is to provide more focused attention towards:
- developing a community of member researchers within each theme area;
- identifying opportunities to better support theme areas through existing programs and operations; and,
- assisting with ongoing strategic planning by developing goals and objectives that will support theme area development.
- Todd Alexander
Associate Director, WCHRI - Rhonda Bell
Professor, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences
WCHRI theme lead for pregnancy and developmental trajectories - Amit Bhavsar
Associate Professor, Medical Microbiology & Immunology, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Sandra Davidge
Executive Director, WCHRI - Matt Hicks
Associate Professor, Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Stephanie Montesanti
Associate Professor, School of Public Health - Colleen Norris
Cavarzan Chair in Mature Women’s Health - Jacqueline Pei
Associate Professor, Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education - Lesley Pritchard
Assistant Professor, Physical Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine - Alexa Thompson
PhD student, Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Lonnie Zwaigenbaum
Professor, Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - As of March 2023
- The Program Advisory Committee is made up of U of A cross-faculty representatives. The committee represents member interests and advises WCHRI’s executive director on programs and operations, which includes:
- Trainee advisory committee
- The WCHRI Trainee Advisory Committee is composed of in-training members representing the following areas:
- member faculties/departments;
- research theme (child, maternal, women);
- levels/types of training (graduate, postdoctoral, residency).
- The Trainee Advisory Committee is aimed at engaging in-training members in WCHRI programs and activities. The Trainee Advisory Committee reports to the Program Advisory Committee and is responsible for the following areas:
- representing in-training member interests in WCHRI;
- providing feedback and suggestions to improve WCHRI programs and trainee engagement;
- providing career, mentorship and skill-building opportunities and resources;
- advising on WCHRI Research Day workshops, topics and format;
- other topics as determined by the committee and approved by Program Advisory Committee.
- Alexa Thompson (chair)
PhD candidate,
Laboratory Medicine & Pathology
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Ehsan Misaghi (delegate chair)
MD/PhD candidate,
Faculty of Science - Fernando Rubio Atonal
PhD candidate, Physiology
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Shannon Cornelson
Undergraduate student,
Faculty of Native Studies - Jasmine Gill
Medical student, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Marina Giovannoni
Medical student, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Vannesa Joly
PhD student, Educational Psychology
Faculty of Education - Matthew Martens
Postdoctoral fellow, Pediatrics
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Holly Mathias
PhD candidate,
School of Public Health - Robert Mcweeny
Masters student, Psychiatry
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Mary Olukotun
PhD candidate,
Faculty of Nursing - Vaishvi Patel
Medical student,
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Kaya Persad
Masters student, Pediatrics
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Taylor Sawchuk
Medical student,
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Erin Tichenor
Masters student,
Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine - Keatton Tiernan
Masters student,
School of Public Health - Adrianne Watson
PhD candidate, Medical Genetics
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Anna Wilson
PhD student, Psychiatry
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - As of March 2023
- The WCHRI Trainee Advisory Committee is composed of in-training members representing the following areas:
Financials
Statement of operations for the year ended March 31, 2023.
Revenue
*The revenue percentages reflect the ratio of researchers who align with child health compared to women’s health
Total revenue $10,407,091
* Includes transfers from closed projects & other donations
Expenditures
*Percentages only include research categories covered by the Memorandum of Understanding
Spent not invoiced
Carry-forward to next fiscal year
$849,861
Total expenditures *
Expenditures were made using current revenue and carried-forward funds
$9,557,231