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The newest ideas and latest trends in child health research will be presented by two world-renowned leaders at the university tomorrow, May 16. Dr. Andreas Laupacis and Dr. Hakon Hakonarson are the distinguished keynote speakers at this year’s research day at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI), held in partnership with the Department of Paediatrics at the  (CSM).

Kicking off the morning sessions will be Dr. Laupacis, the former executive director of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital and a professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine. Awarded a Canada Research Chair in Health Policy and Citizen Engagement from 2011 – 2018, he studied the impact of social media and the Internet on citizen engagement with health services. Laupacis was named the Justice Emmett Hall Laureate in 2010 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

In mid-afternoon, a leading scientist in genomics and gene mapping will make his way to the podium.  Dr. Hakonarson is the director of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and an associate professor of paediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He currently leads a multi-million-dollar initiative to genotype approximately 100,000 children, a project that has gained attention in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, , and Nature and Science. Time Magazine listed Hakonarson’s autism gene discovery project in 2009 as among the top 10 medical breakthroughs of that year.

ACHRI’s research day will also feature nine high-profile investigators from the Cumming School of Medicine presenting their latest research related to pregnancy and childhood disorders. “We are very excited to be hosting such a top tier of speakers, both externally and from here in our institute, who will shine a light on translational innovations in child health research that will lead to improved outcomes for our children and better lifelong health,” says Dr. Brent Scott, director of ACHRI.

With about 250 attendees and more than 80 trainees presenting posters, this is one of the largest symposiums at the CSM. Dr. Jon Meddings, dean of the CSM, will open the symposium. The morning session will be available for the Department of Paediatrics Grand Round participants, as well as researchers and clinicians who are working at any of the 12 Alberta Health Services Telehealth sites in Calgary. Registration is closed; however, information will be updated and available throughout the day on the ACHRI twitter account 

The ACHRI Symposium 2018 is supported by generous community donations through the 

The Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute supports excellence in research, innovation and knowledge translation to improve the health and well-being of children from pre-conception to adulthood. A multi-disciplinary institute of the University of Calgary, Alberta Health Services and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, the institute creates new knowledge to change practice and shape policy in ways that improve child health outcomes.