Call for Applications: Sears Undergraduate Summer Studentship

Studentship honours the CHILD Cohort Study's Founding Director

AllerGen and the CHILD Cohort Study are proud to announce the Sears Undergraduate Summer Studentship.

The Sears Studentship provides financial support of up to $6,000 to an undergraduate student working full time for at least 12 weeks on a research project involving data generated by the CHILD Cohort Study, under the supervision of an investigator working with CHILD data in a Canadian institution.

This award aims to benefit undergraduate students interested in the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) and related research.

It is named in honour of Dr. Malcolm Sears, the Founding Director of CHILD who led the planning for the Study from initial discussions in 2004 and served as its Director from its inception in 2007 until passing the leadership to Dr. Padmaja Subbarao in July 2017.

The 2020 application deadline is Tuesday, February 18, 2020.

More information  | Call for Applications  |  Application Form Guidelines

CHILD Cohort Study: Type of feeding affects C. difficile presence in babies

Source: AllerGen NCE

New research from the CHILD Cohort Study involving more than 1,500 infants has shed light on the gut bacterium Clostridioides difficile and its association with the type of feeding in early life.

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, found that 31% of the infants analyzed carried Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) in their gut and that the colonization rate was lowest among babies who were exclusively breastfed.

“Some infants carry the diarrhea-causing bacterium C. difficile in their guts without any symptoms. However, when the levels of gut bacteria become imbalanced, this particular bacterium can multiply, causing illness and increasing the susceptibility to chronic disease later in childhood,” said senior author Dr. Anita Kozyrskyj.

The researchers further found that breastfed infants colonized with C. difficile appeared to possess a gut microbiome that differs in other ways from that of non-colonized breastfed infants and resembles that of formula-fed infants.

“This finding is of interest because although it was less common for breastfed infants to be C. difficile carriers, those that were colonized had fewer beneficial microbes such as Bifidobacteria and immune proteins like secretory IgA,” said first author Kelsea Drall, an M.Sc. graduate from the University of Alberta and an AllerGen trainee.

Even infants at low risk of peanut allergy should eat peanut early

Source: AllerGen NCE

Children who do not consume peanut during their first year of life are more likely to be allergic to peanut at age three, according to new findings from the CHILD Cohort Study.

The study, published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, found that infants who did not consume peanut in their first 12 months were more than four times as likely to have a clinical allergy to peanut by age three, compared to infants who consumed peanut before their first birthday.

The researchers also found that children not exposed to peanut by 18 months were over seven times more likely to be sensitized or exhibit a clinical allergy to peanut, compared to children who began consuming it before nine months of age.

"This tells us that if peanut is not introduced before 12 months, it should still be introduced as soon as possible,” said lead researcher Dr. Elinor Simons (University of Manitoba).

“Our findings are significant because the CHILD Cohort Study children are from the general population and most are not at high risk of peanut allergy,” added Dr. Simons, "whereas some of the best-known studies on the timing of peanut introduction focus on children at the highest risk of developing peanut allergy."

“We know that some parents are still worried about giving their infants potentially allergenic foods. This study’s findings should reassure parents, caregivers and healthcare professionals about the benefits of early peanut introduction for all children.”

The study used data from over 2,600 Canadian children participating in CHILD.

Read the AllerGen press release

Wisdom2Action / SMH-O Report Launch: #HearNowON - Student Voices on Mental Health

This year, Wisdom2Action partnered with School Mental Health - Ontario (SMH-O) to engage young people and students across Ontario on their mental health knowledge needs, how they want to be involved in mental health and their ideas for improving school mental health.

Today, they are announcing the launch of the #HearNowON Final Report and Executive Summary.

New Website Lets Canadian Youth Tackle Life-changing Decisions

Source: Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction

Among young drivers, cannabis is the most commonly used and detected substance after alcohol. A growing body of evidence suggests that cannabis can negatively affect the cognitive and motor functions you need to safely drive a motor vehicle. Consuming cannabis and driving increases the risk for serious injury and death.

To address the issue of young drivers impaired by cannabis, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, in partnership with Desjardins Insurance, is pleased to announce the release of The High Way Home?.

The High Way Home? is a new interactive website that allows young people to make virtual choices about impaired driving without actually putting their lives at risk. It shows them the life-threatening consequences of poor decisions and the positive outcomes of making the right choices.

Features of The High Way Home?

The High Way Home? guides Canadian youth through real-life scenarios. The goal is for the user to make the right choices to get home safely. During this experience they will:

• Learn facts about road safety and receive road tips;

• Access evidence-based information and resources about cannabis;

• Explore the consequences of impaired driving; and

• Test their knowledge about driving and drugs.

The interactive website is compatible with all browsers and is mobile friendly.

For additional information and resources on cannabis, visit ccsa.ca/cannabis.