2026 Maternal & Child Health Trainee Research Day

8:00 - 8:30 a.m. Registration & Breakfast, Azrieli Atrium

8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Opening Remarks & Smudge, Libin Theatre

9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Keynote Speaker, Libin Theatre

From Imposter to Professor: My Journey in Precision Mental Health Research, Dr. Chad Bousman

10:00 - 10:15 a.m. Break & Refreshments, Azrieli Atrium

10:15 - 11:30 a.m. Concurrent Oral Talks and Flash Talks, Libin Theatre & Theatre One

Libin Theatre

• Oral Talks
  • Characterization of the Gastrointestinal Symptom Burden in Pediatric Patients with Epilepsy, Amanat Panech
  • Immune Dysregulation as a Driver of Mental Health Challenges in Adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Kyla Sadler
  • Comparing Knee Biomechanics During Sport-Specific Volleyball Landings and Vertical Drop Jumps, Laine Sutherland
  • Differences in Functional and Muscular Outcomes at 8 and 12 Weeks of Resistance Intensive Personal Training (RIPT) in Youth with Cerebral Palsy, Janelle Gerich
• Flash Talks
  • Auditory Nerve Hyperresponsiveness in a Mouse Model of Fragile X Syndrome, Assad Popal
  • Comparison of Physical Activity Using a Novel Body-Weight Support Walker Versus Traditional Walking Aids in Children with Neuromotor Impairments, Nishi Shrivastav
  • Mapping fNIRS Sensitivity Profiles in Children with Perinatal Stroke, Dakota Hofforth
  • Incidence and Timing of Veno-Occlusive Disease in Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Patients: Comparison of Historical and EBMT Diagnostic Criteria, Matthew Christoffersen
  • Investigating Anesthetic-Induced Perturbations in Neuronal Activity and Synaptic Connectivity, Cooper Choi
  • Pediatric Intensive Pain Rehabilitation Reduces Pain-Related Anxiety, Luciana Zapata Suárez

Theatre One

• Oral Talks
  • Toward Equitable Precision Mental Health: An Environmental Scan of Pharmacogenetics Policy for Children and Youth in Canada, Prosper Mandela Awuni
  • Social Functioning of Youth with JIA: Barriers, Stigma, and Resources, Kristina Jelinkova
  • Herbal Supplement Use and Potential CYP450-Mediated Drug Interactions in a Canadian Youth Mental Health Cohort, Sheila Recarey Rama
  • A Mixed Methods Study: Evaluating the Implementation of Return-to-Contact After Concussion in Adolescent Girls Rugby, Kathryn Dane
  • Co-designing a Mental Health Curriculum with African and Caribbean Youth in Alberta: A Community-Based Participatory Action Research Approach, Victoria Fajenyo
• Flash Talks
  • The Long-term Impacts of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on the Gut Microbiota of Adults with FASD – Insight on Mental Health Struggles, Garrett Ainsworth-Cruickshank
  • Bradycardia Inhibits Brain Vessel Mural Cell Differentiation via Reducing Mechanosensory and Jag2-Notch Signaling, Ruchita Shandilya
  • ADHD Symptoms and Executive Dysfunction in PICU Survivors: Pilot Implementation of a Neurocognitive Screening Framework, Fernanda de Marzio
  • Geographic and Temporal Variation in Newborn Screening Timeliness in Alberta: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Analysis, Mithili Mudalige
  • Health-Related Quality of Life in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Scoping Review and Cross-Sectional Analysis of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures, Nihal Amin

11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Lunch & Poster Session, Azrieli Atrium

View Poster List

1:30 - 2:15 p.m. Concurrent Flash Talks, Libin Theatre & Theatre One

Libin Theatre

• Flash Talks
  • From Cell Death to Clefts: Characterizing Apoptosis in a Nosip Mutant Mouse Model, Emily Garcia-Volk
  • Complement Changes are Identified by Proteomics in Pregnant Individuals with Antiphospholipid Syndrome, Sydnie Rock
  • Mapping the Role of Revascularization and Reinnervation in Regenerative Versus Fibrotic Wound Healing, Jordan Chen
  • Exploring the Effects of Versican Loss on Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Extracellular Matrix Proteins, Schein Chingozho
  • Current and Preferred Health Information Sources Among Canadian Youth Living with Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome, Marisa Cyriac
  • Evaluating a Referee Training Intervention on Illegal Physical Contacts, Head Contacts, and Suspected Injuries in Grassroots Para-ice Hockey, Henry Stewart
  • Rates of Bodychecking, Head Contact, Suspected Concussion and Injury in an Indigenous Youth Ice-Hockey Tournament, Julia Paulgaard
  • The Role of CDX2 in Reprogramming Human Trophoblast Stem Cells to Model Early Placental Development, Katrina Wang
  • Asporin as a Potential Driver of the Acquisition of Fetal-like Regenerative Competency, Anna Zhu
  • Educational, Vocational and Social Outcomes in Adults with Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis, Gayatri Dronamraju
  • Characterizing Structural Connectivity and TMS Electric Field Propagation in Multiple Sclerosis: Establishing the Safety of Neuromodulation of Depression and Fatigue, Rachel Mallard

Theatre One

• Flash Talks
  • Integrated Proteomic and Single-Cell Transcriptomic Analysis Uncovers H3K27M-Specific Pathway Dysregulation in Pediatric Diffuse Midline Gliomas, Zoha Shehzad
  • Gut Bugs to Brain Waves: The Impact of Early Feeding - A Proposal, Simrit Rai
  • Use of a Neuromuscular Training Warm-up Reduces Overall Musculoskeletal Injury Incidence in Canadian Boys High School Rugby Athletes, Eric Gibson
  • Traumatic Experiences and Coping Among Adolescent Refugees: A Scoping Review, Babatope Adebiyi
  • Assessing Transfer-learning Models of Regenerative Competence to Improve Pediatric Burn Wound Healing, James Colter
  • Optimizing Testicular Organoid Maturation as a Platform for in Vitro Spermatogenesis in a Porcine Model, Anja Elsenhans
  • Investigating and Contextualizing the Increase in Autism and ADHD Diagnoses among Children and Youth in Canada, Christiane Roth
  • Neural Connectivity and Epigenetic Changes Following the ATTACH™ Parenting Program – Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, Rachel De Barros Oliveira
  • Puberty is Differentially Associated with White Matter Development in Males and Females, Olivia Klukas
  • Fitness Profile of Healthy Active Recovery in Mental Health & Obesity; Network for Youth, Facilitated Lifestyle Changes and Exercise Participants, Carina Li
  • Minimalist EEG Headset Integration for Pediatric BCI Music Application, Isabel Gonzalez
  • Rural-Urban Disparities in Perceived Barriers and Facilitators to Pediatric Surgical Access: A Mixed-Methods Study, Jamie Roeske

2:15 - 2:25 p.m. Transition Break

2:25 - 3:20 p.m. Concurrent Oral Talks, Libin Theatre & Theatre One

Libin Theatre

• Oral Talks
  • Tracking Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Release Events Using a Novel Live-Cell Image Processing Pipeline, Nidhin Sunil
  • Food as Medicine: Co-Creating Pathways Toward Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Maternal-Child Wellness in Treaty 7 Territory, Chelsea Rozanski and Siksapiaki White Pup
  • Mother in the Middle: Correlates of Flourishing Among Midlife Mothers in the All Our Families Cohort, Sophia Schermer
  • Development of an Antigen-Triggered Drug-Gated NFAT Switch Platform for Human Myeloid Cell Programming, Amelia Custodio

Theatre One

• Oral Talks
  • Freeze-Thawing Conditions Impact the Multi-Omic Composition of Human Milk, Michelle Asbury
  • Menstrual Blood as a Research Biospecimen: A Scoping Review, Hala Salah
  • Head Impact Kinematics in Male U17A Box Lacrosse and U16AA Ice Hockey: A Comparative Pilot Study Using Instrumented Mouthguards, Nicholas Deaver
  • Seeing Isn't Always Believing: Comparing Video Analysis with Clinician Injury Surveillance in Adolescent Girls Rugby, Maryam Abdul Ameer

3:20 - 3:40 p.m. Break & Refreshments, Azrieli Atrium

3:40 - 4:30 p.m. Concurrent Panel Sessions, Libin Theatre & Theatre One

Building Resilience in Research (Research Career Panel), Libin Theatre
Drs. Karen Benzies, Tamara Bodnar & Jay Riva-Cambrin

From AI to Omics: Tech in Research (Tech and Discovery Science Panel), Theatre One
Drs. Nathan Bracey, Chad Bousman & Adriana Zardini Buzatto

4:30 - 5:00 p.m. Awards and Closing Remarks, Libin Theatre
Drs. Jay Riva-Cambrin & Elizabeth Oddone Paolucci