One Child Every Child Strategic Catalyst Grant Awardees

Meet the teams

Twenty-six research teams are receiving $3.55 million in funding, including $1 million in support from the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Azrieli Accelerator at the University of Calgary (UCalgary).

More than four decades of community support through the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation has enabled UCalgary to recruit and retain the most productive concentration of child health scientists in the country. In 2020, UCalgary became the first university in Canada to declare child health and wellness an institutional research priority.

In 2023, the federal government invested $125 million in UCalgary to lead One Child Every Child, a bold new research initiative to improve the lives of children across Canada and beyond. The Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation is a foundational partner in One Child Every Child and the Azrieli Accelerator is supporting research into neurodevelopment and neurodevelopmental conditions.

Child Health and Wellness Catalyst Awards began three years ago with round one in 2021, and round two in 2022 – both were supported by UCalgary’s Vice-President (Research) and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation.

The 2024 One Child Every Child Strategic Catalyst Grants were open to researchers from all One Child Every Child lead and partner institutions: UCalgary, University of Alberta, University of Lethbridge and Athabasca University

2024 Teams

 
Nominated Principal AwardeePrincipal InvestigatorsCo-InvestigatorsCollaboratorsProject Title
Ajwang' Warria (UCalgary)

Monica Sesma Vazquez (UCalgary)

Jeff Halvorsen (UCalgary)

 

Vibha Kaushik (Immigrant Services Calgary)

Yahya El-Lahib (UCalgary)

Liza Lorenzetti (UCalgary)

Newcomer Youth (Services) Matter! – An Analysis of Gateway Data
Andrew Mackie (UofA)Richard Oster (UofA) 

Rick Lightning (Elder-in-Residence, FoMD, UofA) 

Randy Littlechild (Maskwacis Health Services) 

Davita Friedland (Indigenous patient partner) 

Kristy Cunningham (Stollery Children's Hospital) 

Alyssa Chappell (UofA) 

Mandi Gray (Trent University)

The Impact of a Novel Indigenous-Led Patient Navigator Service for Transition-Age Youth
Bas Surewaard (UCalgary)

Marc Gillrie (UCalgary)

Jim Kellner (UCalgary)

 

Alexei Savchenko (UCalgary) 

Suzan Rooijakkers (University Medical Center Utrecht)

Novel Pneumococcal Therapy
Carol Huang (UCalgary)

Gina Dimitropoulos (UCalgary)

Kathryn Birnie (UCalgary)

Elizabeth Rosolowsky (UofA)

Daniele Pacaud (UCalgary)

Josephine Ho (UCalgary)

Karin Winston (UCalgary)

Elise Martin (UCalgary)

Jane Cresswell (AHS)

Marie McNaughton (ACH Child and Youth Advisory Council)

Assessing the Mental Health Needs of Children with Chronic Illness
Daniel Moreno De Luca (UofA)Sarah MacEachern (UCalgary) 

Melinda Noyes (Autism Edmonton)

Grant Bruno (UofA)

Nonsikelelo Mathe (UofA)

Identifying challenges and opportunities for implementation of standard of care genetic testing for autism and neurodevelopmental conditions
Danielle Whittier (UCalgary) 

Koren Roach (UCalgary) 

Leigh Gabel (UCalgary)

Josephine Ho (UCalgary)

Ashley Harris (UCalgary)

Ethan Macdonald (UCalgary)Predicting healthy bone growth in children with diabetes by measuring early changes in bone marrow adiposity.
David Lindenbach (UCalgary)

Elder Casey Eagle Speaker (Hull Services)

Gina Dimitropoulos (UCalgary)

Chris Mushquash (Lakehead University)

Valerie Sipos (Hull Services)

Emily Wang (UCalgary)

Elder Kerrie Moore (UCalgary)

Paul Arnold (UCalgary)

Amelia Austin (UCalgary)

Jill Ehrenreich-May (University of Miami) 

Julia Hews-Girard (UCalgary)

Tania O'Neill (Hull Services)

Teresa Rose (AU)

Jennifer Scammel (Hull Services)Applying Indigenous ways of being, knowing and doing to a talk therapy program for Indigenous youth, families and communities in Alberta
Elizabeth Condliffe (UCalgary) 

Alicia Hilderley (UCalgary)

John Andersen (UofA)

Lesley Pritchard-Wiart (UofA)

Christa Diot (AHS)

Karin Eldred (AHS)

Sheralee Stetler (Cerebral Palsy Kids and Families)

Alex Mertens (Mount Royal University Youth)

Carol Mertens (Cerebral Palsy Kids and Families Parent)

Manmeet Maggu (Trexo Robotics)

Gualtiero Guadagni (Bionic Power)

Promoting equitable access to community-based robotic-assisted walking for children & youth living with mobility impairments
Gerald Giesbrecht (UCalgary)

Erin Dunn (Harvard University)

Maryam Amin (UofA)

Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen (University of British Columbia)

Catherine Lebel (UCalgary)

Mona Le Luyer (Harvard University)

Marcel van de Wouw (UCalgary)

Sarah Horn (University of British Columbia)

Leslie Quade (Austrian Archaeological Institute)

 Identifying exposure to early life stress from baby teeth in the Pregnancy During the Pandemic cohort
Gerlinde Metz (UofL)David Olson (UofA) Gerald Giesbrecht (UCalgary)Maternal Social Isolation as a Risk Factor for Adverse Developmental Trajectories in the Offspring
Graham Thompson (UCalgary)

Byron Berenger (Alberta Precision Labs)

Brett Burstein (University of Montreal)

Suzette Cooke (UCalgary)

Andrew Dixon (UofA)

Daina Thomas (UofA)

Jennifer Thull-Freedman (UCalgary)

Otto Vanderkooi (UCalgary)

Marie-Claire Arrieta (UCalgary)

Bruna David (UCalgary)

Jessalyn Holodinsky (UCalgary)

Jocelyn Gravel (University of Montreal)

Craig Jenne (UCalgary)

Nicole Ward (Parent partner)

Kristine Russell (McMaster University, parent partner)

Jennifer Wytsma (UCalgary)

Beata Mickiewicz (UCalgary)

Brigitte Vaissade (UCalgary)

Impact of Rapid FilmArray PCR Technologies on the Management of Febrile Young Infants
Guang Yang (UCalgary)

Micheil Innes (UCalgary)

Qingye (Gemma) Lu (UCalgary)

Nehalkumar Thakor (UofL)

Toshifumi Yokota (UofA)

Athanasios Zovoilis (University of Manitoba)

Deborah Kurrasch (UCalgary)

Melissa MacPherson (UofA)

Xiao-Ru Yang (University of British Columbia)

 Unlocking the Power of mRNA for Rare Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Jacob Jaremko (UofA) 

Abhilash Hareendranathan (UofA)

Dornoosh Zonoobi (Exo Imaging Inc.)

Reg Joseph (Health Cities)

Sian Bevan (Arthritis Society of Canada)

Simon Goldstein (ACH)

Julie Hernberger (Red Deer Hospital)

Richard Oster (Indigenous Wellness Core, AHS)

Screening for infant hip dysplasia in primary care settings using artificial intelligence-augmented handheld portable ultrasound
Jiami Guo (UCalgary)Douglas Mahoney (UCalgary)

Christopher J. Gafuik  (UCalgary)

Xiao Zheng (UCalgary)

 Primary cilia safeguard neuronal development and are vulnerable to environmental risks underlying ASD
Lonnie Zwaigenbaum (UofA) 

Lyn Sonnenberg (UofA)

Shannon Mah (Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, AHS)

Hasu Rajani (UofA)

Georgeta Apostol (UofA)

Sabrina Eliason (UofA)

Curtis Perrott (Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, AHS)

Grant Bruno (UofA)

Heather Dreise (UofA)

Nicholas Piroddi (UofA)

David Nicholas (UCalgary)

Shino Nakane (Autism Alberta's Alliance)

Deepa Singal (Autism Alliance of Canada)

Ben Gibbard (UCalgary)

Evaluation of a Novel Community Training Partnership Aimed at Expanding Pediatric Autism Diagnostic Capacity
Lorraine Hamiwka (UCalgary) 

Faisal Khan (UCalgary)

Esme Dijke (UofA)

Hallgrimur Benediktsson (UCalgary)

Margaret Kelly (UCalgary)

Silviu Grisaru (UCalgary)

Caroline Tait (UCalgary)

Tony Kiang (UofA)

Jenny Wichart (AHS)

Practical Application of HLA Eplet Matching in Pediatric Kidney Transplantation: Towards Precision Medicine and Improved Long-Term Outcomes
Marie-Claire Arrieta (UCalgary)Michelle Asbury (UCalgary)

Meghan Azad (University of Manitoba) 

Lars Bode (University of California San Diego) 

Catherine Field (UofA) 

Daniel Figeys (University of Ottawa) 

Ian Lewis (UCalgary) 

Petter Brodin (Karolinska Institutet/ Imperial College London)

Maria-Carmen Collado (Spanish National Research Council)

Abigail Johnson (University of Minnesota)

Deborah O'Connor (University of Toronto)

Christopher Stewart (Newcastle University)

Systems-level repertoire of human milk components as drivers of microbial and immune development in preterm infants
Marlyn Bennett (UCalgary) 

Patricia Johnston (UCalgary)

Tamara Bodnar (UCalgary)

Wendy Hutchins (IndigiSTEAM)

Katie Mahon (Ever Active Schools)

Inclusive Storytelling Research on Indigenous Children's Well-being through Digital Storytelling, Art, Ceremony, Camp Gatherings and Land-based Engagement
Martha Cleveland-Innes (AU) 

Eliana ElKhoury (AU)

C.L. Yuen (AU)

Jennifer Lock (UCalgary)

Angelo Delli Santi (Red Deer Catholic School District)

Priscilla Campeau (AU)

Wellness outcomes and education participation for sick children from marginalized populations
Maryam Badv (UCalgary) 

Paul W. M. Fedak (UCalgary)

Justin F. Deniset (UCalgary)

Sajjad Afraz (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre)

 Advancing Pediatric Cardiac Care with Multifunctional Biomaterials for Postsurgical Tissue Adhesion Prevention
Melissa Tremblay (UofA)Audrey McFarlane (Canada FASD Research Network)Jacqueline Pei (UofA)

Kathy Unsworth (Canada FASD Research Network)

Katy Flannigan (Canada FASD Research Network)

Kelly Harding (Canada FASD Research Network)

Lori Cox (Eastern Door Centre)

Kristin Bonot (Alberta PCAP Council)

Wanda Beland (Northwest FASD Network)

Development of a Canadian Indigenous FASD Framework
Nicole Johnson (UCalgary)

Aleem Bharwani (UCalgary)

Tehseen Ladha (UofA)

Sandra Dixon (UofL)

Olu Awosoga (UofL)

Graham Thompson (UCalgary)

Karim Keshavjee (University of Toronto)

Ulises Rodriguez (UCalgary)

Deliwe Ngwezi (Children's Health and Environment Research Institute - Afrika)

Teresa Semalulu (University of Toronto)

 Advancing healthcare for equity deserving groups through electronic health records by disaggregated data collection in Pediatrics
Sharon Friesen (UCalgary)

Jennifer Turner (UCalgary)

Stephen MacGregor (UCalgary)

Kate Storey (UofA)

Joelle Rodway (Ontario Tech University)

Kevin Cameron (Center for Trauma Informed Practices)

Lori Prediger (Strathcona County)

Stephanie Mills (Strathcona County)

George Alvarez

Mapping a Community Response Model to Mental Health, Community Safety, and Wellbeing
Sheri Madigan (UCalgary)Nicole Racine (UCalgary)

Gina Dimitropoulos (UCalgary)

Cailey Hartwick (AHS)

Anh Ly (UCalgary)

Raela Thiemann (UCalgary)The Caregiver Online Psychoeducation (COPE) Implementation Trial
Tamara Bodnar (UCalgary)

Steven Vamosi (UCalgary)

Catherine Lebel (UCalgary)

Carly McMorris (UCalgary)

Marlyn Bennett (UCalgary)Christina Tortorelli (Mount Royal University)Multigenerational perspectives on connections between the land, cultural practices, and child health
Yifeng Wei (UofA)

Vincent Agyapong (Dalhousie University)

Noella Steinhauer (UofA)

Wendy Carr (University of British Columbia)

Andrew Baxter (UCalgary)

Andy Greenshaw (UofA)

 

Cheryl Shinkaruk (Edmonton Catholic Schools)

Deborah Nunziata (Golden Hills School Division)

Constance Easton (Richmond School District No. 38)

Patricia Miller (Anglophone North School District)

Brenda Desjarlais (Red Deer Polytechnic)

Deborah Wang (Affiliated Kangning Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University)

Implementation, Dissemination, & Evaluation of An Elementary Mental Health Literacy Intervention in Four Canadian Provinces