Dr. Jennifer Stinson receives prestigious Gairdner Momentum Award

Scientist and nurse Dr. Jennifer Stinson at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) has been honoured with the prestigious Peter Gilgan Canada Gairdner Momentum Award.

Each year, the Peter Gilgan Canada Gairdner Momentum Award celebrates outstanding researchers around the world who have made significant strides in biomedical science. The first nurse to receive this award, Stinson has been recognized for her international leadership in digital therapeutics and training initiatives focused on pain assessment and self-management.  

“Dr. Stinson's innovative work in digital therapeutics has revolutionized paediatric pain management. By using her research to improve the quality of life for children experiencing chronic pain and designing interventions that actively incorporate patients' lived experience, Dr. Stinson is the embodiment of translational research at SickKids," says Dr. Stephen Scherer, Chief of Research, SickKids.

The first nurse to receive the Gairdner Momentum Award 

As a Senior Scientist in the Child Health Evaluative Sciences program, Nurse Practitioner in the Chronic Pain Clinic and Co-Director of the Centre for Pain Management, Research and Education (Pain Centre), Stinson’s work uses electronic and mobile health technologies to enhance the assessment and management of pain in paediatric populations, including those with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, sickle cell disease, chronic pain and cancer. Many of these technologies have been co-designed and developed by the communities she supports.

"Jennifer’s strength as both a nurse practitioner and a scientist lies in her unwavering focus on listening to the needs of patients," says Judy Van Clieaf, Vice-President of Clinical Operations and Chief Nursing Officer at SickKids. "Her dedication has enabled her to develop interventions that can profoundly transform a patient's journey with chronic pain." 

Among these interventions are an AI-enhanced robot (MEDi), to help reduce pain and anxiety among children in the emergency department, iCanCope, an app designed to help children and youth with different painful chronic conditions, and the Power over Pain Portal, a one-stop shop to access free evidence-based tools and resources for chronic pain. 

“As nurses, we are uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between research and care,” says Stinson, who is also a professor at the University of Toronto and the inaugural Mary Jo Haddad Nursing Chair in Child Health, jointly held by SickKids and the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing. 

“I am proud to represent the nursing community and hope this recognition encourages more nurses to pursue research that can have a profound impact on health care.” 

A hopeful future for pain research and care 

Following in the footsteps of many nursing leaders at SickKids, Stinson is set to inspire and lead the next generation of health-care professionals. One of her many initiatives includes leading the Pain in Child Health (PICH) clinical research training program, which has involved over 400 international clinicians and trainees to strengthen global capacity to address complex paediatric pain.

“Receiving the Peter Gilgan Canada Gairdner Momentum Award is an incredible honour. It validates the importance of our work in paediatric pain management and the need to continue advancing digital health interventions,” says Stinson.