Presenters at our conference showed up with gusto, full of enthusiasm to share the progress of their research projects and impactful results.

This year, we had our first award ceremony at a virtual event. We awarded six prizes for poster presentations from a field of 40; four of these prizes were adjudicated by members of the Policy Advocacy Research Training (PART) committee, and the remaining two were chosen by the conference attendees AKA “People’s Choice Awards”. Two prizes were awarded for lightning talks from a field of eight.

Lightning Talks

The purpose of lightning talks is to support trainees attending our conference, enhance their research training experience, and share their research findings with everyone! Creating a lightning presentation is a challenge – these trainees had to distill their complex research into a three-minute presentation.

These awards were given based on the quality and relevance of content and the presenter’s engagement with the audience. Both winners received a personalized certificate.

Michèle L. Hébert

The first-place prize was awarded to Michèle L. Hébert, Eyes High Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Calgary for the presentation “Impact of Care Coordination on Families of Children and Youth with Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Medical Complexity during the COVID-19 Pandemic”.

Vanessa Tomas

The second-place prize was awarded to Vanessa Tomas, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Toronto, and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital for the presentation “Using the COM-B and TDF to understand the workplace disclosure experiences, influencers, and needs of autistic youth and young adults”.

Family Engagement and Partnership Poster Awards (Poster Session #1)

This was the first time the KBHN conference held a Family Engagement and Partnership poster session – this added such richness to the program! KBHN is committed to enabling research which fosters partner and family involvement, empowering their voices in all aspects of our work together. The two adjudicated winners were a testament to this.

The first award was awarded to a trainee, in recognition for the best presentation in family engagement and partnership among the selected abstracts. It was dedicated to the project that inspired innovation and change in how family members and persons with neurodevelopmental disabilities are engaged in research and knowledge mobilization activities.

Power Imbalance in Familly Engagement in Research

This year’s winner was Maude Champagne, Ph.D. Candidate, Queen’s University and Catrine Demers, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Alberta for the poster “Power Imbalance in Family Engagement in Research: A Self-Reflection Tool for Researchers”.

The second award was open to all participants in this poster session, including persons with lived experience. It recognized the best presentation that provided an opportunity for meaningful and full participation of a family member or a person with lived experiencing in co-presenting at the conference.

Lived Experiences and an Autistic Advisory Committee

This year’s winner was Nick Denomey, Research Assistant, University of Alberta for the poster “Lived Experiences and an Autistic Advisory Committee: A Discussion of Process and Experience”. He was joined by Jackie Ryan, who is a member of the Autistic Advisory Committee (AAC) and a person with lived experience.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder - A Shared Responsibility

Finally, the People’s Choice Award for this poster session was given to Pascal Gagné, FASD Team Lead, Health Nexus, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Ottawa for the poster “FASD: A Shared Responsibility – A Multi-Sector Service Provider Training”.

General Poster Presentation Awards (Poster Session #2)

The following winners were selected from the conference’s second poster session, which focused on impactful research.

Child Development Scores Across Different Contexts

The first-place winner was Karys Peterson-Katz, Ph.D. Candidate, Queen’s University for the poster “Child Development Scores Across Different Contexts: A Comparison of Child Welfare and Non-Foster Care Community Settings”.

Wellness Activities and Service Access of Children with Perinatal Stroke and Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The second-place winner was Leah Hammond, Master’s Student, University of Alberta for the poster “Wellness Activities and Service Access of Children with Perinatal Stroke and Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic”.

Brain Similarities and Differences in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The People’s Choice Prize for this poster session was awarded to Melika Kangarani-Farahan, Ph.D. Candidate, University of British Columbia for the poster “Brain Similarities and Differences in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Coordination Disorder, and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder”.

Thank you and congratulations once again to all presenters during this year’s conference. It was a pleasure to host you and we cannot wait to see you again next year!