Paul Pavlidis

Challenge Identifying children who are at risk of FASD early on can be challenging. Often receiving a formal diagnosis requires confirmation of prenatal alcohol exposure, which isn’t always possible. The current FASD diagnostic assessment process also typically happens once a child is school-aged because existing tools lack the sensitivity to identify young children and infants. [...]

Challenge Researchers across the world have collected vast amounts of data relating to brain development, including information about genes and their expressions in cells, brain structure, electrical activity in the brain, behaviours, diagnosable disorders and more. These data aren’t currently used to their full potential. There are algorithms, databases and software that allow scientists to [...]

Challenge Up to 90% of children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) experience sleep problems, particularly insomnia, which refers to difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking up in the morning. This number is in stark contrast to the 25% of typically developing children who have trouble sleeping. Poor sleep can lead to significant consequences for children’s [...]

Challenge Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), which results from prenatal alcohol exposure, is the most common cause of neurodevelopmental impairments in the western world, with an estimated prevalence of 3-5% in Canada, and as high as 11% in some communities. Diagnosing the disorder is time-consuming and costly — but early diagnosis of children at risk [...]

Challenge A lot of genomics data has been published on neurodevelopmental disabilities, but researchers face challenges in accessing this information. Data found in the literature is often scattered and difficult to synthesize, and simply aggregating data onto one platform isn’t sufficient. Project Summary This project aimed to examine the literature on the genomics of FASD, [...]

Challenge Neuroscience is a broad field with a vast array of research and findings. The research often interconnects in various ways and allows scientists to extrapolate data that is useful for future projects. The problem, however, was to create a database where this information could be shared, accessed and used in meaningful ways. Project Summary [...]

Challenge Prenatal alcohol exposure is a major cause of behavioural and cognitive deficits in children. Despite extensive research, a unique neurobehavioral profile for children affected by prenatal alcohol exposure has yet to be identified. This research project addressed how genetic and environmental factors interact with prenatal alcohol exposure to produce neurobehavioural and neurobiological deficits in [...]