Canadian researchers launch national AI platform to advance personalized pediatric care

A new national research initiative led by Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital aims to improve understanding of childhood disabilities and neurodevelopmental conditions by bringing together health data and artificial intelligence.

The initiative, known as Whole-Child Open Neuroscience Data for Empowering Research (WONDER), will enable researchers across Canada to securely analyze existing genetic, brain imaging and behavioural information to better understand the factors influencing children’s development, health and well-being.

Announced November 4, the project is being developed in collaboration with the University of Calgary and CHU Sainte-Justine in Montreal, with funding support from Brain Canada’s Platform Support Grants program.

The goal is to help researchers identify patterns that could eventually support more personalized and effective approaches to care for children with autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), cerebral palsy, mental health conditions and genetic disorders.

Connecting research across Canada

Canadian researchers have developed extensive datasets involving childhood development and disability. However, these resources are often maintained independently by different institutions, limiting opportunities for large-scale analysis.

WONDER is designed to address this challenge by creating a national research infrastructure that allows participating organizations to collaborate while maintaining control of their own information.

Rather than transferring sensitive patient data into a centralized database, the platform will use a federated approach.

Under this model, data remain at their original institutions while researchers use coordinated analytical methods to generate insights across participating datasets.

The approach is intended to support collaboration while protecting privacy and respecting institutional data-governance requirements.

Using artificial intelligence to identify patterns

Artificial intelligence will play an important role in analyzing the complex relationships between genetic, neurological and behavioural information.

By examining patterns across multiple datasets, researchers hope to better understand why children with similar diagnoses may experience different developmental trajectories, strengths and support needs.

These insights could eventually help healthcare professionals develop more individualized approaches to assessment, treatment and rehabilitation.

The platform will also make advanced analytical methods more accessible to researchers from different disciplines, supporting collaboration among clinicians, scientists and families.

National research leadership

The project is led by Dr. Azadeh Kushki, senior scientist and associate chief of data science at Holland Bloorview’s Bloorview Research Institute.

Kushki is also a professor at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Canada Research Chair in Neurodiversity and Personalized Health.

The initiative is co-led by Dr. Paul Arnold of the University of Calgary and Dr. Clara Moreau of CHU Sainte-Justine.

Together, the research team will work to establish a collaborative infrastructure capable of supporting studies across institutions and research disciplines.

The initiative is also intended to encourage broader participation in childhood disability research and help researchers examine differences in children’s experiences and outcomes.

Part of a broader investment in brain research

WONDER is supported through Brain Canada’s Platform Support Grants program, which invests in shared scientific infrastructure and resources.

The initiative is one of four newly supported research platforms in Ontario representing a combined investment of $10.57 million.

These investments are intended to provide researchers with access to specialized technologies, analytical tools and collaborative infrastructure that would be difficult for individual institutions to develop independently.

Since its establishment, Brain Canada’s Platform Support Grants program has invested more than $125 million in 46 research platforms, supporting collaboration across numerous institutions and scientific disciplines.

Potential implications for pediatric care

For hospitals and pediatric healthcare providers, the initiative represents an effort to improve how research findings are translated into more individualized approaches to care.

Children with neurodevelopmental conditions and disabilities often have complex needs that cannot be fully understood through diagnosis alone.

Combining information from different research disciplines may help investigators identify biological, behavioural and environmental factors associated with varying health outcomes.

Over time, these findings could inform new approaches to clinical assessment, rehabilitation and treatment planning.

The platform remains under development, and its anticipated benefits for patient care have not yet been demonstrated.

Nevertheless, the project represents a significant step toward building a more connected national research environment, with the potential to advance precision health for children and families across Canada.

Source: Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital — November 4, 2026

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