MacART at McMaster Child Health Research Day – 2026

On April 1, 2026, more than 500 researchers, students, clinicians, scientists, educators, family partners, and community partners & organizations gathered at McMaster University to commemorate ongoing research projects. A grand total of 200 child health research studies were presented at this annual event, spanning a diverse range of topics spanning pediatrics to engineering.

MacART members were among the presenters and supervisors of brilliant students showcasing their work on this day. It was a wonderful opportunity to share our research and exchange ideas. This year, MacART members contributed to and/or gave 30 presentations, and helped chair and facilitate the graduate & post-graduate oral presentations in the afternoon as well as the keynote address given by Emily Gruenwoldt!

The following presentations include those with MacART members as contributors (see the full event page HERE and program HERE):

POSTER PRESENTATIONS:

POSTER PRESENTATIONS:

Number is the abstract number, for easier lookup in the program. Hyperlinked names designate MacART members.

  • 13 – From Lived Experience to Discovery: CP-NET – A Collaborative Model for Cerebral Palsy Research, by Dayle McCauley
  • 16 – Parent-Child Interactions and Mental Health in Autistic Adolescents: Developing a Neuroaffirming Observational Coding Framework, by Kaela Franco
  • 19 – Mapping Therapeutic Recreation Needs: A Multimodal Survey of Pediatric Patients and Caregivers in Hamilton, Ontario, by Persephone Blessing MacKinlay
  • 20 – Exploring Barriers and Facilitators to Artificial Intelligence Adoption in Pediatric Rehabilitation: A Quality Improvement Initiative, by Erin Joos
  • 22 – Mapping Family Resources in Pediatric Rehabilitation: An Environmental Scan of Ontario Children’s Treatment Centres, by Hayli Jang & Mona Elmikaty
  • 34 – Improving Resident Comfort with Difficult Conversations in Child Maltreatment, by Dr. Michelle Wooldridge
  • 42 – Risk Factors for Psychosis in Individuals with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome, by Dr. Alexandra Hul
  • 53 – Pre- versus Post-COVID-19 Comparison of the Developmental Profiles of Canadian Kindergarten Children Needing Further Assessment for Special Needs, by Thiszani Navagnanavel
  • 55 – Using the CanChild F-Words Life Wheel to Assess Functional Recovery After Pediatric Critical Illness: The FLARE Pilot Study, by Maia Barbati
  • 60 – Functional Performance in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder Across Support Levels Residing in Brazil: A Cross-Sectional Study, by Rosa Isabel Fonseca Angulo
  • 75 – Mapping the F-Words Framework Across the Developmental Coordination Disorder Literature: A Scoping Review, by Lyla Malik
  • 82 – Pathways from Socioeconomic Adversity to Child Behavioural Problems in Autistic Children, by Ayesha Fatima Taji
  • 88 – Research Protocol: Comparing Youth Mental Health Service Contacts in Ontario, by Julia Close
  • 96 – Parenting for Families at Risk: A Systematic Review of DBT Skills Training and Behaviour Chain Analysis, by Amber Rieder
  • 98 – Exploring Relationship Stability and Divorce Among Parents of Children with a Neurodevelopmental Disability: A Scoping Review, by Dr. Emily Fong
  • 109 – Learning and sharing together to work better together: Perceptions of the ENVISAGE-Integrated Program for service providers and parents of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities, by Alice K. Soper
  • 111 – AI-Augmented Decision-Making in Competence Committees for Competency-Based Medical Education, by Nibra Yasin
  • 133 – How are Neighbourhood Socioeconomic Status and Recreation Facility Availability associated with Children’s Physical Health and Well-being in Kindergarten?, by Anna Chisholm
  • 145 – Strengths-Based, Solution-Focused Goal Setting in Pediatric Recreational Therapy Groups: Coaching Families Using the F-Words, by Jiya Rawal
  • 157 – Developmental Screening in Child Welfare Settings: A Scoping Review, by Poomicaa Piratheepan
  • 159 – Fraud Detection and Prevention Strategies for Online Surveys: Lessons Learned from the Brighter Path Study, by Maryam Muayad & Minahel Qureshi
  • 162 – Lessons Learned from the Implementation of the Brighter Path Study in Pediatric Clinical Settings, by Jenna Ratcliffe
  • 168 – Improving Access to Autism Assessment by Strengthening Referral Practices, by Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Alsaqoub
  • 171 – A New Way to Think: A beginner’s perspective on qualitative health research, by Ling Shan Zhang
  • 179 – Perspectives of Young Siblings of Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Scoping Review, by Daniela Klobucar
  • 182 – Preliminary Analysis of Family Distress at Discharge Among Children with and Without Family Check-Up in an Interdisciplinary Extensive Needs Program, by Srishti Sharma & Thiyaana Jeyabalan
  • 188 – A Pediatric Learning Health System (LHS) for Neurodevelopment (NDD), by Alessia Greco
  • 197 – “The Less Money I Have, the More Disabled I Feel”: A Scoping Review and Reflexive Thematic Analysis of Autistic Adults’ Experiences with Autonomy with Age, by Gregory Zhu

ORAL PRESENTATIONS:

ORAL PRESENTATIONS:

  • From Vision to Reality: Building Canada’s First National Children’s Healthcare Strategy
  • Oral presentations by graduate & postgraduate learners
  • 1 – Partnering with Families to Explore CanChild’s F-words: Insights and Ideas from a World Cafe, by Kassidy Canlas
  • 4 – Identifying youth and professional priorities: Developing a protocol for measurement-based care in school mental health settings, by Dr. Nicole Dryburgh

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS:

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS:

(Click on any photo to expand!)

A large gathering of McMaster Child Health Research Day 2026 attendees engaged in the poster session.
Many attendees of McMaster Child Health Research Day were engaged in the poster sessions!
A collage containing three photos relating to the poster presentation of "Creating a Learning Health System for Neurodevelopment". One photo shows the poster itself straight on with Alessia Greco smiling and standing off to the side of it. Another photo is of Dr. Elyse Rosa standing next to the same poster. And the final photo depicts Dr. Elyse Rosa presenting the poster to folks from Children's Healthcare Canada, including Emily Gruenwoldt. This is abstract 188.
MacART member Dr. Elyse Rosa (bottom left) and colleague Alessia Greco presented “Creating a Learning Health System for Neurodevelopment”! Thank you to Hamilton Health Sciences, McMaster Children’s Hospital, the Azrieli Foundation, McMaster Health Forum, and the CanChild Centre for Childhood-onset Disability Research for your continued collaboration.
Dr. Stelios Georgiades and Anna Kata chat with Emily Gruenwoldt and a fellow colleague from Children's Healthcare Canada.
MacART Co-Director Dr. Stelios Georgiades (right) and Research Coordinator Anna Kata (middle-right) were happy to welcome our colleagues from Children’s Healthcare Canada, including Ryan Voisin (left) and Emily Gruenwoldt (middle-left), who gave the keynote talk!
A collage of two photos depicting Kaela Franco in front of her poster titled, "Parent-Child Interactions and Mental Health in Autistic Adolescents: Developing a Neuroaffirming Observational Coding Framework". The top photo is of Kaela presenting her poster to Anna Kata, and the bottom photo shows the poster straight on with Kaela beside it. This is abstract 16.
Kaela Franco, a McMaster University MSc student supervised by MacART member Dr. Terry Bennett, presented her poster titled, “Parent-Child Interactions and Mental Health in Autistic Adolescents: Developing a Neuroaffirming Observational Coding Framework”! Thank you to McMaster University, the PSI Foundation, Kids Brain Health Network, and Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation.
Ayesha Fatima Taji stands and smiles in front of her poster titled, "Growing up Under Stress: Family Adversity and Challenging Behaviors in Young Autistic Children". A prominent main takeaway is depicted, saying "In young autistic children, lower household income, caregiver depression, and poor family relationships are associated with challenging behaviours." This is abstract 82.
McMaster University MSc student Ayesha Fatima Taji, supervised by MacART member Dr. Terry Bennett, presented her poster titled “Growing up Under Stress: Family Adversity and Challenging Behaviors in Young Autistic Children”! Thank you to the Pathways in ASD study team and the Offord Centre for Child Studies.
A poster titled, "Strengths-Based, Solution-Focused Goal Setting in Pediatric Recreational Therapy Groups: Coaching Families Using the F-Words". This is abstract 145.
Here’s a poster titled, “Strengths-Based, Solution-Focused Goal Setting in Pediatric Recreational Therapy Groups: Coaching Families Using the F-Words” by student Jiya Rawal, supervised by MacART member Dr. Olaf Kraus De Camargo & colleague Alessia Greco in partnership with McMaster Children’s Hospital and the CanChild Centre for Childhood-onset Disability Research!
A collage of three photos featuring Emily Gruenwoldt's keynote presentation. One photo is of Emily Gruenwoldt speaking at the lectern. Another photo is of her opening title PowerPoint slide titled "From Vision to Reality: Building Canada's First National Children's Healthcare Strategy". The third photo has Stelios Georgiades speaking at the lectern, with Emily Gruenwoldt smiling and standing next to him.
Thank you to Emily Gruenwoldt, President & CEO of Children’s Healthcare Canada, and Executive Director of Pediatric Chairs of Canada, for your important and timely keynote titled, “From Vision to Reality: Building Canada’s First National Children’s Healthcare Strategy”! MacART Co-Director Dr. Stelios Georgiades was honoured to help facilitate the question period.
Dr. Angelo Mikrogianakis, Ryan Volsin, Emily Gruenwoldt, Dr. Gita Wahi, and MacART Co-Director Dr. Stelios Georgiades stand on either side of a tall McMaster Child Health Research Day banner.
(Left to right) Dr. Angelo Mikrogianakis, Ryan Voisin, Emily Gruenwoldt, Dr. Gita Wahi, and MacART Co-Director Dr. Stelios Georgiades.
Two photos exist in a collage format. One photo depicts Minahel Qureshi, Jenna Ratcliffe, Dr. Mackenzie Salt, and Maryam Muayad standing beside the poster titled, "Fraud Detection and Prevention Strategies for Online Surveys: Lessons Learned from the Brighter Path Project". A second photo depicts just Minahel Qureshi & Maryam Muayad with their poster. In both photos, the poster depicts a prominent takeaway, "Fraudulent survey activity can significantly compromise the integrity of online health survey research." This is abstract 159.
McMaster University undergraduate students Minahel Qureshi & Maryam Muayad presented their poster, “Fraud Detection and Prevention Strategies for Online Surveys: Lessons Learned from the Brighter Path Project”, in partnership with the Brighter Path team, McMaster Children’s Hospital, and Juravinski Research Institute! Jenna Ratcliffe (middle-left) and MacART member Dr. Mackenzie Salt (middle-right) were among the co-authors.
Dr. Mackenzie Salt and Ling Shan Zhang stand with the poster, "A New Way to Think: A Beginner's Perspective on Qualitative Health Research". This is abstract 171.
McMaster University undergraduate student Ling Shan Zhang, supervised by MacART member Dr. Mackenzie Salt, presented her poster, “A New Way to Think: A Beginner’s Perspective on Qualitative Health Research”! Thank you to Pathways in ASD, CIHR-IRSC, and Hamilton Health Sciences.
Here is Gregory Zhu, a McMaster University undergraduate student supervised by MacART member Dr. Mackenzie Salt, who presented, ‘“The Less Money I Have, the More Disabled I Feel”: A Scoping Review and Reflexive Thematic Analysis of Autistic Adults’ Experiences with Autonomy with Age‘!
Dr. Gita Wahi, Dr. Jonathan Bramson, Dr. Marc Jeschke, and Dr. Susan Tighe each stand and speak at a lectern.
Thank you to Dr. Gita Wahi (top-left), Dr. Jonathan Bramson (top-right), Dr. Marc Jeschke (bottom-left), and Dr. Susan Tighe (bottom-right) for your remarks to the McMaster Child Health Research Day attendees and for your leadership across McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences.
A collage of two photos, both featuring Dr. Olaf Kraus De Camargo and Sara Yantho speaking at a lectern.
MacART member Dr. Olaf Kraus De Camargo was thrilled to help facilitate the oral presentations by graduate and postgraduate learners alongside Sara Yantho!
Here is MSc student Kassidy Canlas, presenting “Partnering with Families to Explore CanChild’s F-words: Insights and Ideas from a World Cafe”! MacART members Dr. Michelle Phoenix and Dr. Peter Rosenbaum were pleased to contribute to this presentation.
Post-doctoral fellow Dr. Nicole Dryburgh, supervised by MacART member Dr. Kathy Georgiades, presented “Identifying youth and professional priorities: Developing a protocol for measurement in school mental health settings”, and also won an award for top oral presentation! Congratulations and kudos to you, Nicole!
That’s a wrap on the 2026 McMaster Child Health Research Day! Here are leaders across McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences (left to right): Dr. Angelo Mikrogianakis, Dr. Marc Jeschke, Dr. Gita Wahi, Dr. Susan Tighe, Dr. Jonathan Bramson, MacART member Dr. Olaf Kraus De Camargo, and MacART Co-Director Dr. Stelios Georgiades.

Thank you to the Department of Pediatrics, the Offord Centre for Child Studies, CanChild Centre for Childhood-onset Disability Research, the Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster Children’s Hospital, and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton for hosting this wonderful event. Until next year!

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