Research summary
Traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability in children around the world. Even in its mildest form—a concussion—it can harm their neural, cognitive and social development. As Canada Research Chair in Paediatric Traumatic Brain Injury, Dr. Miriam Beauchamp is addressing the urgent need to better understand traumatic brain injury in young children.
She and her research team are focusing on the age group that is the most vulnerable to concussion: children aged five and under. Beauchamp and her team are using research methods that include quantitative and qualitative designs, prospective cohorts, clinical-research databases and cutting-edge neuroimaging approaches. Ultimately, they aim to inform the diagnosis, outcome, prognosis, intervention and prevention of concussion early in childhood and improve child development and family functioning.