Precision Neurodevelopment Lab

We had the opportunity to welcome visiting scholar Dr. Aaron Ooi, a general and subspecialist developmental/behavioural paediatrician and medical educationist from Aotearoa New Zealand, to PN Lab this week.

It was wonderful to spend time together as a team - including over lunch! - and have the chance to connect, share perspectives, and learn from one another’s experiences and work. Looking forward to ongoing collaborations with Dr. Ooi!

Last week, Kyle Morin, Dr. Sara AlHadhrami, and Dr. Sarah MacEachern attended the Canadian Pediatric Society Conference in Ottawa.

We’re also excited to share that both Kyle and Dr. Sara presented a research poster at the conference.

Opportunities like this are an important part of sharing knowledge, connecting with others across pediatric healthcare and research, and continuing conversations around improving care and support for children, youth, and families.

Not all impact comes from large-scale change.

Sometimes it’s small shifts, like including the right voices earlier or asking different questions, that lead to more meaningful and relevant outcomes.

We're excited to welcome Dr. Emily Goldstein Sigman to PN Lab!

Dr. Goldstein Sigman is a postdoctoral scholar with a PhD in Human Development and Family Science from the University of Georgia. In addition to holding a PhD, Dr. Goldstein Sigman is a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) and holds graduate certificates in quantitative methodology and disability studies. Dr. Goldstein Sigman's research focuses on improving the psychosocial wellbeing of children with NDDs during hospitalization and other medical experiences. In her free time, Dr. Goldstein Sigman enjoys reading, learning chess, and snuggling her four cats.

We’re looking forward to attending the upcoming Conference.

Seong and Maggie will be representing the PN Lab as part of ongoing conversations around improving care, collaboration, and support for children, youth, and families.

Conferences like this create important opportunities to connect with clinicians, researchers, caregivers, and organizations across the country who are all working toward more accessible, inclusive, and family-centered approaches to care.

Looking forward to the conversations, learning, and collaboration ahead.

Accessing support isn’t always straightforward.

Families of children with neurodevelopmental disorders often face long wait times, limited local services, and programs that don’t always reflect real-life needs.

These challenges highlight an important gap and an opportunity to rethink how support is designed and delivered.

Research is often seen as something distant or hard to access. But in practice, it can be a lot more collaborative and grounded in real experiences.

At PN Lab, we believe research works best when it’s shaped with the people it’s meant to support.

A simple shift that changes everything, from how research is designed to how it’s applied in real life.

Thank you Tara for leading our April 20th lab journal club and walking us through this research on supporting caregivers.

A meaningful moment for our team this week. We had the opportunity to present to the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health on how we have engaged neurodiverse youth and their caregivers in research.

Callum, one of our youth partners, shared his experience alongside his mom Greta, Sadia from AbSPORU, and Dr. MacEachern. It was a perfect reflection of what we believe research should look like: collaborative, inclusive, and grounded in lived experience.

Also, fun fact - at 12 years old, Callum is the youngest presenter ever at the McCaig Institute rounds! It was also his first public talk ever and he absolutely rocked it 🤘