Neurosciences & Mental Health

We are uncovering innovative solutions for mitigating and curing brain diseases in children.

The Neurosciences & Mental Health research program focus on the development and plasticity of complex neural systems in animal models and humans through a variety of approaches including molecular genetics, electrophysiology, behavior, cognition and neuroimaging. As a leader in paediatric neurosciences and mental health, and a hub of discovery for applied mental health research at SickKids, we’ve made a number of important research discoveries and published high-impact papers, translating our work into better health outcomes for children and youth.

Research themes

We engage in a variety of research studies ranging from molecular genetics in various model organisms to human subjects.

We also conduct fundamental and translational research on neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., autism. epilepsy, and ADHD), neurological and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., pain, ALS, AD, etc.), and mental health (mood disorders).

We explore learning and memory, language acquisition, knowledge processes, and the way our brains normally digest and process information (in the context of specific cognitive disorders).

We utilize traditional psychophysical methods, behavioural and cognitive testing, advanced cellular and molecular biology techniques, and modern brain-scan technology in our mental health and neuroscience research.

By examining how the developing brain is influenced by early sensory experience, sensory system studies aim to promote sensory adaptation – ultimately allowing children to better perceive, comprehend, communicate, interact, and experience the world around them.

Brain injury and repair scientists’ goal is to develop better methods of predicting neurocognitive outcomes in children with acquired brain injury. Neuroimaging, neuroelectrophysiological, physiological measures and experimental techniques, including iPS cells and brain organoids, and other multimodal approaches drive studies in this area.

Neurodevelopment refers to how the nervous system and the pathways responsible for normal brain function are built during embryonic and postnatal life. We examine how stem cells build and sculpt the brain, the processes by which neurons and glia construct and shape the circuits that ensure proper cognitive and motor function, and how disruptions in genes and the environment result in neurodevelopmental disorders and developmental delay. 

Unique to SickKids, the use of multimodal imaging of sensory and cognitive functions in children demands highly skilled, multidisciplinary collaborations among our expert team of physicists, neuroscientists, behavioural neuroscientists, and clinical scientists.

Clinical research is driven by brain imaging using structural and functional MRI, as well as MEG, localizing the nervous system injury sites and types, and defining their relationships to cognitive and behavioural abnormalities.

Research breakthroughs

Currently, we’re investigating the normal development and disorders of the nervous system from a broad range of perspectives. Our teams examine the role of genes, proteins and other molecules in brain function, and use our findings to determine the causes of brain dysfunction. This helps us develop new and innovative forms of therapy for a variety of mental health disorders.

Studies of inherited and acquired disorders of the nervous system extend from early pre-natal life to the day-to-day functioning of children in their schools, homes and communities. Our current goals are to develop new therapies and prevention strategies, while still taking into account the child’s quality of life, and to integrate treatments that ensure children living with these disorders can live long and happy lives.

Research areas in which NMH investigators are currently making major advances include:

Developmental and pathological neuroplasticity and neuron-glia interactions
Development of sensory systems and pain
Cognitive function and dysfunction research in model organisms and children
Inherited and acquired disorders of the CNS in model organisms and children
Functional neuroimaging and cognitive neuroscience in children
Neurogenetics of complex disorders such as ADHD, autism and reading disabilities

Teen sits leaning against a wall with head in her hand.

May 20, 2025

Study investigates efficacy of safety planning interventions for suicide prevention among children and adolescents

Meta-analysis highlights the need for effective interventions that are tailored for paediatric populations.

Three children in white lab coats. They are holding paper crafts of test tubes and goggles. The wall behind them has science related decorations, such as a brain with its lobes labeled, beakers, DNA, microscopes and more.

January 21, 2025

Spit for Science study hits 40,000 participant milestone

Spit for Science samples are helping researchers unlock new insights into childhood physical and mental health.

Abstract illustration of two back to back heads, one brain filled with a tangle, the other with a sunshine.

November 15, 2024

How stress is fundamentally changing our memories

New research on memory engrams and the endocannabinoid system may inform new treatments for PTSD.

Lab work

Visit the Research Labs page for a list of NMH Lab websites.

The Miller/Kaplan Lab uses single cell and spatial transcriptomics, along with epigenomics and phosphoproteomics, in utero and post-natal electorporation with Crispr and shRNA knockdown vectors.

These three SickKids labs utilize magnetoencephalography (MEG). MEG accruately measures of brain function, with excellent temporal and spatial resolution. However, recordings in infants and toddlers, and young children with developmental disability, are difficult in conventional MEG systems, as those scanners are designed for adult-sized heads, and recordings are inaccurate with movement. 

These labs have begun working with a new type of MEG brain imaging sensor – optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs). These sensors can be mounted in a flexible cap or customized helmet, specifically for a child’s head size, allowing for more organic experiments as participants can move and speak during their studies. OPM-MEG provides improved sensitivity over conventional neuroimaging systems, as the sensors are closer to the brain. 

With continued development, OPM-MEG will allow brain imaging studies in children across the full spectrum of development and a wide range of disorders, from the beginning of symptom onset, and help monitor the effects of the earliest interventions.

The Mary Lou Smith Lab recently pinpointed, for the first time ever, the long-term effects of childhood treatments for epilepsy on cognition, behaviour and quality of life.

Combining patch-clamp electrophysiology and multiphoton real-time imaging in transgenic mouse models, the Wang Lab has done extensive work to conceptualize how sensory synapses remodel their morphology and function during the critical period of brain development to facilitate information transfer and coding. The work also explored how dysregulated excitation and inhibition (E/I) balance in the developing brain contributes to autism spectrum disorder and neonatal neurotoxicity.

The Josselyn/Frankland Lab uses a variety of methods (including 2-photon microscopy, 1-photon mini-endoscopes, optogenetics, gene transfer techniques and detailed behavioural analysis) to understand how information is acquired, stored, used and sometimes forgotten in the brain of rodents.

Research is driven by biological questions, and we use the most appropriate tool to try to answer these questions. We often engage with computational, theoretical and cognitive neuroscience to help guide our hypothesis and analysis.

The Steven Miller lab discovered that babies born early (preterm) or with congenital heart disease (CHD) share similar vulnerability to white matter injury (WMI), abnormal brain maturation, and developmental impairments in early childhood.

Using multimodal brain imaging, their team found that WMI underlies brain dysmaturation and early neurodevelopmental disability in both populations of neonates. Through these studies, they developed an innovative lesion mapping method that describes the likelihood of vulnerability for WMI in the baby brain, and reveals how WMI volume and spatial pattern are associated with neurodevelopmental outcomes. The Miller Lab also established the “importance of the everyday” for brain maturation in critically ill neonates: pain, nutrition, and common illness such as infection, significantly alter the trajectory of early brain maturation. These findings help us design and implement new strategies towards brain injury repair, and promote optimal brain maturation and neurodevelopmental outcome.

Research team

Spearheaded by program head Dr. Donald Mabbott, the multidisciplinary NMH team at SickKids has garnered international reputation for excellence in basic and clinical research.

NMH faculty have appointments in Critical Care Medicine, Diagnostic imaging, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, Radiology, Rheumatology, Psychology, and Psychiatry. Additionally, NMH members hold primary academic appointments in 14 departments at the University of Toronto.

The program’s strength lies in the talented faculty, as evidenced by steady, successful applications for tri-council (especially Canadian Institutes of Health Research) funding, which is significantly higher than the national average. Program investigators produce stellar publications in both quantity and impact that have been featured in top journals and medical publications. Since our inception, the work of our Principal Investigators (PIs) has been recognized through numerous awards and grants. too.

Along with high-level scientists and investigators, students and trainees have universally praised the excellence of their mentors for the hands-on experience and opportunity to learn from the leading minds in neuroscience and mental health research.

Dr. Nicole McKinnon
Dr. Jennifer Quon

Dr. Robert Harrison
Dr. Jamie Hutchison
Dr. Maureen Lovett
Dr. Joanne Rovet
Dr. Russell Schachar
Dr. Peter Szatmari
Dr. Rosemary Tannock
Dr. Carol Westall

Dr. James Drake
Dr. Elizabeth Pang

Dr. Elia Abi-Jaoude
Dr. Rebecca Barmherzig
Dr. Stephen Brown
Dr. Raymond Buncic
Dr. Vann Chau
Dr. Rhandi Christensen
Dr. Mehmet Cizmeci
Dr. Sharon Cushing
Dr. Lana Depatie
Dr. Elizabeth Donner
Dr. Elizabeth Dettmer
Dr. Carolina Gorodetsky
Dr. Joelene Huber
Dr. Jason Isaacs
Dr. Laura Janzen
Dr. Deepa Kattail
Dr. Chana Korenblum
Dr. Aneta Krakowski
Dr. Chaya Kulkarni
Dr. Elka Miller
Dr. Hiroshi Otsubo
Dr. Maria del Carmen Parra-Farinas
Dr. Andrea Regina
Dr. Lauren Sham
Dr. Katia Sinopoli
Dr. Teesta Soman
Dr. Shelly Weiss
Dr. Hilary Whyte
Dr. Busi Zapparoli
Dr. Manohar Shroff

Dr. Lili-Naz Hazrati
Dr. Brian Kalish
Dr. Jason Lerch
Dr. Freda Miller
Dr. Steven Miller
Dr. Elysa Widjaja

Theresa Dudley
Diana Arthurs
Samira Fairuz
Suhkveer Kaur
Delina Romano
Priya Odedra
Vinnah Rahman

Awards and achievements

NMH scientists regularly feature in top journals, excel in increasingly competitive grant competitions, and receive national and international recognition. Our trainees have received some of the top awards in Canada to support their research projects.

Given to just 55 out of 1,500 co-op supervisors, Dr. Elizabeth Pang received the UBC Science Co-op Supervisor Recognition Award, which recognizes “super” supervisors who provide exceptional mentorship, demonstrate excellent leadership/managerial skills, and go above and beyond to provide a meaningful and quality work experience for their students.

Dr. George Ibrahim was recently named a recipient of  Canada's Top 40 Under 40 award, a celebration of the top up-and-coming leaders in the country.

Dr. Ibrahim is a paediatric neurosurgeon and Associate Scientist in the Neurosciences & Mental Health program at SickKids Research Institute. He is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery, Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto.

At SickKids, he treats children with medically-intractable epilepsy, spasticity and functional disorders. His lab has yielded insights into personalized treatments for children with epilepsy and functional disorders by targeting specific network impairments and developing novel devices and treatment strategies. He was part of the team that performed the first deep brain stimulation to treat drug-resistant paediatric epilepsy in Canada.

Dr. Mary Lou Smith is the recipient of the 2020 Fritz Dreifuss Award from the America Epilepsy Society!

She's the Senior Associate Scientist in the Neurosciences & Mental Health Program, and a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

For more than 30 years, Dr. Smith has dedicated her career to cognitive and behavioural co-morbidities associated with epilepsy. Her work has addressed these topics from a number of perspectives, including the clinical nature of intractable epilepsy, and theoretical issues for understanding early brain dysfunction. This award recognizes her significant accomplishments and impact in the field of epilepsy research.

Dr. Freda Miller captured the 2019 Till & McCulloch Award for a new research discovery in tissue repair and regeneration that holds potential for future therapies.

The Award is presented annually to one researcher in Canada who has made an exceptional contribution to global stem cell research in that year. Dr. Miller presented the Award lecture on November 5 at the Till & McCulloch Meetings (TMM) in Montréal, Québec, based on her Cell Stem Cell paper entitled, “Mesenchymal Precursor Cells in Adult Nerves Contribute to Mammalian Tissue Repair and Regeneration.”

Program grants

Investigators: Dunkley, BT, Zhang, J & Richardson, JD.
Grant: $977K, Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) Program, Department of National Defence.

Primary Investigator: Gordon, K.A.
Co-investigators: Papsin, B.C., Cushing, S.L.
Collaborators: Scollie, S., Papaioannou, V.
CIHR Project Grant, Fall 2019 competition.

Primary Investigator: Freda Miller
Co-investigators: Gary Bader, David Kaplan, Cindi Morshead, Yun Li, Penny Gilbert, Alison McGuigan, Sid Goyal
Canada First Research Excellence Fund - Medicine by Design 9/1/2019-8/31/2022

Primary Investigator: Steven Miller
CIHR Fall 2019 Competition

Investigators: Mabbott DJ, Bouffet E , Laughlin S, Willan A, Larouche V, Beattie T, Cheng S, Girgis R, Sinha R, Khan N, Halverson M, Lafay-Cousin L, Hukin J, Erker C, Johnston D, Crooks B, Wilson V, Haas K, Haas T.
Canadian Cancer Society/CIHR Cancer Survivorship Team Grant. ($2,500,000 2019-2024).

Julie Lefebvre is a co-PI on a Medicine by Design Cycle 2 Team Grant aimed to improve outcomes of cell-based retinal therapy for preserving and restoring sight (lead PI Molly Shoichet).

Giulia Longoni received a Feiga Bresver Catalyst grant for Quantitative Perfusion Imaging for Autoimmune Encephalitis Diagnosis and Monitoring. From the Centre for Brain & Mental Health, $98,694.