2.9 million awarded to a group of researchers funded by the Pediatric Research Foundation

At the Pediatric Research Foundation, each of your donations can be multiplied by 5 to 20 times, and sometimes even up to 75 times, as in the case of this exceptional project!

A team of 14 researchers from Université Laval and Université de Montréal, in collaboration with Quebec’s pediatric research centers, which received financial support of nearly $40,000 from the Foundation during the initial phase (2020-2021) of its project, will receive a further $2.3 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and $600,000 from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS). This project, which brings together dozens of specialists from all walks of life, has enabled the development of a research platform open to all scientists in Quebec and elsewhere who are interested in prenatal and postnatal factors contributing to child health and development. This platform brings together a cohort of 4,000 triads (mother-partner-child) recruited at the start of pregnancy and followed until the child reaches 30 months of age.

The study will involve online questionnaires, clinical visits, review of medical records and direct assessment of children. For example, researchers led by Prof. Gina Muckle and Dr. Richard E. Bélanger of the Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval will use this platform to document cannabis use during pregnancy. They will examine the possible effects of prenatal exposure to this substance on pregnancy, as well as on the general, cognitive, language and behavioral development of the unborn child up to the age of 30 months. The initial development and consultation stages of this project were financially supported by the Pediatric Research Foundation and other granting agencies.