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Child & Brain Development

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The Child & Brain Development program examines the effect of the early environment on the lifelong trajectory going from childhood to old age of physical, mental and social health and wellbeing. Over the past decade, program members including biologists, psychologists, and medical doctors have transformed our understanding of the interplay between nature and nurture, and discovered important insights into the biological underpinnings of our early childhood experiences.

 

RESEARCH AND SOCIETAL IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS

Understanding why we can't remember our infancy

Infantile amnesia, or the inability to recall events from the first years of our lives, is a universal phenomenon, yet the mechanisms underlying this natural form of forgetting, and the triggers for it, remain poorly understood. CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar Tomás Ryan (Trinity College Dublin) and Fellow Paul Frankland (The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto) have previously collaborated on theoretical work in this area. Now, through a CIFAR Catalyst Fund project, their labs are teaming up to investigate differences in the development of memory engrams (the physical changes that take place in a brain for specific memories to be stored) in infants. In addition to expanding our understanding of infantile amnesia, this research could also provide insights into disease states that involve memory loss.

Addressing unexplored questions about the pandemic’s impact on child development

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars Samuel Urlacher (Baylor University) and Allyson Mackey (University of Pennsylvania), together with Program Co-Director Thomas McDade (Northwestern University) are investigating pathways linking inactivity, adrenarche, and brain development among disadvantaged children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using brain imaging and stable isotope measurement of daily energy expenditure, along with biomarker methods, their goal is to understand child development and health during the pandemic.

A new algorithm predicts morbidity and mortality

Fellows Daniel Belsky (Columbia University) and Michael Kobor (University of British Columbia) worked with other program members to develop a novel technique to quantify the pace of biological aging from a blood sample using chemical tags on the DNA sequence known as methylation marks. Their analysis distilled a complex set of physiological changes observed over 20 years of longitudinal follow-up into an algorithm that can be applied to genomic data from a blood test. This algorithm, when applied in other studies, is predictive of morbidity and mortality and detects histories of early adversity.

Understanding the connection between early life adversity and adulthood

CIFAR and MacArthur Fellow Jenny Tung (Duke University) was awarded a US National Institutes of Health Project Grant to investigate whether the relationship between early life adversity and later life outcomes is mediated through early adversity-specific changes in DNA methylation patterns — a chemical addition to DNA sequence that influences when, how, and to what degree genes are active. The project involved samples collected from a baboon population in Kenya. The genomic data were complemented by long-term observations from early life to adulthood. The team found that some, but not all, forms of early life adversity leave biological “signatures” in the genome that are still detectable in adulthood.

Path to Societal Impact

We invite experts in industry, civil society, healthcare and government to join fellows in our Child & Brain Development program for in-depth, cross-sectoral conversations that drive change and innovation.

Public policy leaders in early childhood and health and CIFAR fellows in the Child & Brain Development program are developing effective public policies and intervention programs that address health disparities and improve children’s development, health, and well-being.

Areas of focus:

  • Examining the compounding effects of multiple early adversities on children
  • Exploring opportunities for effective policy interventions
  • Ensuring intervention programs are tailored to the needs of diverse communities 

Founded

2003

Renewal Dates

2007, 2012, 2019

Partners

Genome British Columbia

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Developmental, molecular and evolutionary biology
Behavioural genetics
Epigenetics
Cognitive and developmental neuroscience
Biological, cognitive and developmental psychology
Psychiatry
Biological anthropology
Epidemiology

CIFAR Contact

Rachel Parker

Fellows & Advisors

Program Directors

Thomas McDade

Thomas McDade

Program Co-Director

Child & Brain Development
Northwestern University
United States
Candice Odgers

Candice Odgers

Program Co-Director

Child & Brain Development
University of California Irvine
United States

Fellows

Daniel Ansari

Daniel Ansari

Fellow

Child & Brain Development
Western University
Canada
Daniel Belsky

Daniel Belsky

Fellow

Child & Brain Development
Columbia University
United States
Staci Bilbo

Staci Bilbo

Fellow

Child & Brain Development
Duke University
United States
Ami Citri

Ami Citri

Fellow
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2016-2018

Child & Brain Development
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Israel
David Forrest Clayton

David Forrest Clayton

Associate Fellow

Child & Brain Development
Clemson University
United States
Brian Dias

Brian Dias

Fellow
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2017-2019

Child & Brain Development
University of Southern California
United States
Paul Frankland

Paul Frankland

Fellow

Child & Brain Development
Hospital for Sick Children
Canada
Anna Goldenberg

Anna Goldenberg

Canada CIFAR AI Chair
Lebovic Fellow

Child & Brain Development
Pan-Canadian AI Strategy
Hospital for Sick Children
University of Toronto
Vector Institute
Canada
Megan R. Gunnar

Megan R. Gunnar

Associate Fellow

Child & Brain Development
University of Minnesota
United States
Daniela Kaufer

Daniela Kaufer

Associate Fellow

Child & Brain Development
University of California Berkeley
United States
Michael S. Kobor

Michael S. Kobor

Fellow

Child & Brain Development
University of British Columbia
Canada
Bryan Kolb

Bryan Kolb

Associate Fellow

Child & Brain Development
University of Lethbridge
Canada
Joel D. Levine

Joel D. Levine

Fellow

Child & Brain Development
University of Toronto at Mississauga
Canada
Sara Mostafavi

Sara Mostafavi

Fellow
International Scientific Advisory Committee member
CIFAR Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy Leadership

Child & Brain Development
University of Washington
United States
Charles A. Nelson

Charles A. Nelson

Fellow

Child & Brain Development
Harvard University
United States
Kieran O'Donnell

Kieran O'Donnell

Fellow
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2016-2018

Child & Brain Development
Yale University
Canada
Marla B. Sokolowski

Marla B. Sokolowski

Fellow

Child & Brain Development
University of Toronto
Canada
Jenny Tung

Jenny Tung

Fellow

Child & Brain Development
Duke University
United States

Advisors

Elisabeth Binder

Elisabeth Binder

Advisory Committee Chair

Child & Brain Development
Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry
Germany
Takao K. Hensch

Takao K. Hensch

Advisor

Child & Brain Development
Harvard University
United States
Ulman Lindenberger

Ulman Lindenberger

Advisor

Child & Brain Development
Max Planck Institute for Human Development
Germany
Michael Meaney

Michael Meaney

Advisor

Child & Brain Development
McGill University
Canada
Gene Robinson

Gene Robinson

Advisor

Child & Brain Development
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
United States

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars

Natalie Hiromi Brito

Natalie Hiromi Brito

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2022-2024

Child & Brain Development
New York University
United States
Ami Citri

Ami Citri

Fellow
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2016-2018

Child & Brain Development
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Israel
Brian Dias

Brian Dias

Fellow
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2017-2019

Child & Brain Development
University of Southern California
United States
Amanda Lea

Amanda Lea

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2022-2024

Child & Brain Development
Vanderbilt University
United States
Allyson Mackey

Allyson Mackey

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2020-2022

Child & Brain Development
University of Pennsylvania
United States
Kieran O'Donnell

Kieran O'Donnell

Fellow
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2016-2018

Child & Brain Development
Yale University
Canada
Nadine Provençal

Nadine Provençal

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2020-2022

Child & Brain Development
Simon Fraser University
Canada
Danielle Roubinov

Danielle Roubinov

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2022-2024

Child & Brain Development
University of California San Francisco
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
United States
Tomás Ryan

Tomás Ryan

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2020-2022

Child & Brain Development
Trinity College Dublin
Ireland
Samuel Urlacher

Samuel Urlacher

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2020-2022

Child & Brain Development
Baylor University
United States

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