Pediatric Research - Pediatric Research Foundation
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Pediatric research gives hope!

Since 1977, the Pediatric Research Foundation has been giving hope to sick children and their families. When there are no answers and the disease seems hopeless, research opens the door to solutions. And that’s what the Pediatric Research Foundation is all about. In addition to funding excellence-based research, the Foundation accompanies young patients throughout their lives, making sure they have access to the latest advances in pediatric research.



Excellence-based research… what is it?

Excellence-based research projects are major projects whose main objective is to prevent and eventually cure childhood diseases.   

The excellence-based research projects funded by the Foundation have a number of things in common :

  • They are led by distinguished researchers.  
  • They are deployed around several major areas in paediatric health, including 6 main axis of excellence.
  • They focus on scientific areas of greatest need. 
  • They aim to prevent and in particular to cure childhood diseases. 
  • They are conducted in collaboration with one of the four pediatric health research centres in Quebec. 


The four pediatric health research centres in Quebec 

  • CHU Sainte-Justine research centre 
  • Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) 
  • CHU de Sherbrooke research centre 
  • CHU de Québec – Université Laval research centre 

Number of projects funded by research axis, since 2008

  • Perinatal, neonatal and obstetrics = 51 projects
  • Rare and genetic diseases =32 projects
  • Inflammation and infections = 19 projects
  • Neurodevelopment and mental health = 42 projects
  • Cancer = 16 projects
  • Metabolic and cardiovascular health = 25 projects

There are also 17 funded projects corresponding to other various research areas and 53 projects funded under the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS).

The Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS), the Réseau de recherche sur la santé cardiométabolique, le diabète et l’obésité (CMDO) and other organizations

The Pediatric Research Foundation supports not only the pediatric research centres, but also emerging scientists and promising projects.

Each year, the Pediatric Research Foundation, in collaboration with the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS) and the Réseau de recherche sur la santé cardiométabolique, le diabète et l’obésité (CMDO), awards scholarships to students and seasoned researchers to support promising pediatric research projects.

Since its association with the FRQS began in 2014, the Foundation has awarded financial support to more than 52 students for research, for a total joint investment of nearly $2.2 million.

A more recent partnership with the CMDO was created to bring together the best researchers and professionals from all health fields related to childhood obesity to conduct research on innovative approaches to finding solutions and treatments for the obesity epidemic in Quebec.



Discover the research projects funded by the Pediatric Research Foundation


Research funding : amounts, how and why 

Your donations are vital to the advancement of pediatric research. That’s why every year, these donations are used and distributed according to strict criteria and a thorough procedure.

Who receives funding?

Researchers affiliated with a university research centre and a recognized Quebec health network with a pediatric research focus.

Students at the masters, doctoral and postdoctoral levels in the field of pediatric research in Quebec.

How are funded projects selected ?

To obtain funding, researchers and students must meet the funding criteria and undergo a rigorous selection process.

An experienced provincial scientific committee guides the Foundation through the selection process, using its expertise in research to validate and select the most promising projects.

Selected projects must meet the following criteria;

-Collaborate with several pediatric research centres in Quebec (multi-centres).

-Mobilize a community of researchers from different disciplines (multidisciplinary).

-Aim for outcomes that directly impact children’s health and apply to a broad range of pediatric diseases.

-Demonstrate a potential for research growth and a multiplier effect in terms of short-, medium- and long-term results for pediatric research, with a potential to benefit the international community.

-Focus on translational research, which is patient-centred and breaks down silos by building connections between research areas.

The scientific committee adheres to a rigorous governance policy and funded researchers produce an annual report for accountability.

The funding given to the four centres is distributed in the manner established by the management of the Quebec pediatric research centres.

How much money has the foundation donated to research in Québec?

To date, more than $73 million has been awarded to experienced and emerging researchers in support of innovative and promising research projects. Here is the distribution of funds in Quebec’s pediatric research centres, cumulative to March 31, 2023, since 1985:

MUHC Pediatric Research Centre – Montreal Children’s Hospital : $30,188,111

Pediatric Research Centre CHU Sainte-Justine : $30,280,735

CHU de Québec : $7,138,823 (since 1985)

CHU de Sherbrooke : $4,027,074 (since 1999)

Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS) : $1,102,664 (since 2014)

Scholarships, special projetcs, Centres of excellence : $765,992

Centre de recherche Douglas : $100,000 (since 2020)


Scientific committee

Dr. Indra Gupta

Nephrologist, Clinical Scientist, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Nephrology, MUHC

Assistant Director, Child Health Research, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University

Scientific committee

Dr. Anne-Monique Nuyt

Director, Head, Neonatology Service, CHU Sainte-Justine

Full Professor, Faculty of Medicine,  University of Montréal

Scientific committee

Dr. Bruno Piedbœuf

Director, Reproduction, Maternal and Child Health Axis, CHUL

Full Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval

Scientific committee

Dr. Jean-Paul Praud

Director, Director of Mother-Child Research, Department of Pediatrics and Physiology, CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS

Scientific committee

Dr. Guillaume Sébire

Specialist advisor for the scientific committee. Director, Child Neurologist and Clinical Researcher

Director, Division of Child Neurology, Montreal Children’s Hospital, Professor, McGill University