Research summary
More than 4,000 babies are born prematurely every year in Canada. Despite advancements in neonatal care, preterm birth can have a substantial impact on a baby’s learning and memory functions. As Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience and Learning Disorders, Dr. Emma Duerden is working to improve our ability to predict brain injuries in preterm babies as well as the learning difficulties associated with them.
She and her research team are using postnatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to predict fetal and newborn brain injury and understand the relationship between brain injury and growth. They are also examining the connection between brain growth and neonatal brain maturation, learning and memory abilities. To do this, Duerden’s team is pairing MRI scans with ultrasound assessments of placental and fetal brain function. Their goal is to develop better MRI-based tools to monitor at-risk fetuses.