Schulich school of Medicine and Dentistry Prenatal Health Project

Research Faculty

Principal Investigator:

Dr. M. Karen Campbell is Professor and Chair, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario and is also a Scientist, Children's Health Research Institute, Lawson Health Research Institute.  Dr. Campbell is a perinatal epidemiologist with over 20 years of experience designing and conducting large population-based cohort studies. As the Principal Investigator, she was primarily responsible for study design, acquiring funding and oversight of all aspects of this project.  A brief description of Dr. Campbell's research program, including the Prenatal Health Project and other activities, can be found here

Co-investigators:

Current:

Dr. Kathy Nixon Speechley is Professor, Departments of Paediatrics and Epidemiology & Biostatistics; Graduate Chair, Departent of Epidemiology & Biostatistics; and Scientist, Children's Health Research Institute, Lawson Health Research Institute.  Dr. Speechley is an epidemiologist whose research focuses on health related quality of life in children and adolescents.  She has contributed to all stages of the Prenatal Health Project and brings to the studies her expertise in measurement of social factors influencing child health and survey methods for studying families and children.

Dr. William Avison is Professor of Sociology, Paediatrics and Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the University of Western Ontario; Assistant Director at Lawson Health Research Institute; Scientist and Chair, Division of Children's Health and Therapeutics, Children's Health Research Institute.  Dr. Avison has expertise in the longitudinal study of mothers and children. He has contributed to all phases of the Prenatal Health Project by contributing his expertise in longitudinal studies and his expertise in measurement of depressive symptoms in mothers and children. 

Dr. Jason Gilliland is Associate Professor and Director, Urban Development Program, University of Western Ontario.  Dr. Gilliland has significant expertise in the role of community factors in the development of obesity in adults and children.  He brings this expertise to this project, as well as providing the capacity to add geographic data to our Prenatal Health Project dataset.  This has been particularly important for studies involving geographic determinants of the food and activity choices of mothers and children.

Dr. Victor Han is Professor, Departments of Paediatrics and Anatomy & Cell Biology, University of Western Ontario; and Driector, Children's Health Research Institute at the Lawson Health Research Institute, London Ontario.  Dr. Han is a neonatologist and internationally known researcher who holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair.  His program of research includes the study of growth factors affecting fetal development.  He has interest and expertise related to post-natal consequences of the prenatal environment.

Dr. Guangyong Zou is Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistcs, University of Western Ontario; and Scientist, Robarts Research Institute.  Dr. Zou has developed statistical methods for a wide range of problems in biomedical research.  In particular, his 2004 paper on regression models for risk ratios has been ranked #8 among the 50 most-cited articles in the American Journal of Epidemiology. He has advised PHP graduate students on statistical analyses and is an integral part of the planning for the next wave of follow-up studies. 

Dr. Harry Prapavessis is Professor and Faculty Scholar, School of Kinesiology and Department of Oncology, University of Western Ontario.  Dr. Prapavessis is also the Director of teh Exercise and health Physiology Lab at Western.  He recently joined the research team in connection with planning for our next wave of follow-up in adolescence. His role is to advise on activity measures and their interpretation.

Dr. Jess Haines is Assistant Professor, Family Relations & Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph.  Dr. Haines is a behavioural epidemiologist and registered dietician.  Her research program involves studying family-level risk factors for child and adolescent obesity, such as the food environment in the home and the availability of TV and computer games.  She is a new member of the team, joining the team for the next wave of follow-up planned for 2014 and beyond.  She is the team's dietary expert, filling the role that Susan Evers filled before retirement.

Dr. Susan Evers is Professor Emeritus, Family Relations & Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph. Dr. Evers is a nutritional epidemiologist with expertise in the measurement of dietary intake by mothers and children.  She was responsible for the nutritional component of Better Beginnings, Better Futures, a longitudinal prevention initiative in disadvantaged communities in Ontario.  She was involved extensively in the earlier stages of the Prenatal Health Project, having been a co-investigator on both the prenatal and early childhood follow-up components of the project.  She was very involved with the supervisory committees of several PHP graduate students.

Historically involved in earlier project phases:

Dr. Alan Bocking is Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Professor of Physiology at the University of Toronto; Chief of Obstretrics & Gynecology at Mount Sinai Hospital.  Dr. Bocking's research program is focused on fetal physiological responses to prolonged hypoxia.  He also has extensive research experience in studies of preterm birth.  He was a co-investigator in the early stages of the Prenatal Health Project, and he made important contributions to the design of the initial prenatal phase which led to the recruitment of the PHP cohort.

Dr. Orlando daSilva is Professor, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry; Neonatologist, Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine; Assosciate Scientist, Children's Health Research Institute, University of Western Ontario.  Dr. daSilva's research is in the neonatal-perinatal field, particularly clinical trials in neonatology.  He was a co-investigator in the early stages of the Prenatal Health Project, and contributed ideas to the design of the initial prenatal phase and the early childhood follow-up. 

Dr. Ann Sorenson (deceased) was Associate Professor of Sociology and Associate Chair, Undergraduate at the Department of Sociology in the University of Toronto. Dr. Sorenson was a sociologist with expertise in the area of teenage pregnancy. She advised on longitudinal measurement of depressive symptoms. 

Collaborators:

Current:

Dr. Cheril Clarson is Section Head, Pediatric Endocrinology, London Health Sciences Center; Associate Professor, University of Western Ontario; Associate Scientist, Lawson Health Research Institute

Prior: 

Dr. Gregor Reid is Professor, Departments of Microbiology & Immunology and Surgery, University of Western Ontario; Endowed Chair, Human Microbiology & Probiotics, and Director of the Canadian Research & Development Centre for Probiotics at the Lawson Health Research Institute. 

Dr. John Challis is President and CEO of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, and Founding Scientific Director of CIHR Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health.