This summer CHILD-BRIGHT welcomed three patient-oriented leaders to the network.
Marie-Brossard Racine and Stephanie Glegg are CHILD-BRIGHT’s newest Scientific Co-Directors.
We are also thrilled to welcome Audrey Wubbenhorst to our network as Training & Capacity Building Program Co-Lead, following the retirement of inaugural program lead Dan Goldowitz.
Marie, Stephanie, and Audrey are already helping guide CHILD-BRIGHT as we collectively seek to ensure the sustainability and legacy of our patient-oriented research work, for children, youth and families. Learn more about them below:
Meet our new Scientific Co-Directors:
CHILD-BRIGHT’s Scientific Co-Directors are responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of the network. Marie and Stephanie will join incumbent Co-Directors Annette Majnemer, Nominated Principal Investigator of the Network, and Steven Miller, Implementation Science Research Program Co-Lead, in advancing research initiatives and fostering collaboration, to ensure the network's objectives are met and its impact is amplified.
While the co-directorship may represent a new chapter for Marie and Stephanie, they are far from new to CHILD-BRIGHT.
Marie Brossard-Racine
Marie Brossard-Racine, OT, PhD has been a friend of the network since its inception, serving on the Training Committee in Phase 1. What she learned about patient-oriented research through CHILD-BRIGHT has had a transformative impact on her research program:
“Informed by my time on the Training Committee, and my enduring commitment to mentorship, I have a strong desire to nurture the next generation of patient-oriented researchers.”
She is a pediatric neuroscientist and developmental specialist at the Research Institute of McGill University Health Centre, where she also co-leads the Child Health and Research Program. A tenured Associate Professor at McGill University’s School of Physical and Occupational Therapy and Associate Member of the Departments of Pediatrics and of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Marie currently holds a tier-2 Canada Research Chair in Brain and Child Development.
Marie worked for many years as a pediatric Occupational Therapist in Quebec. Marie worked for many years as a pediatric Occupational Therapist in Quebec and trained in rehabilitation sciences and neuroscience. She returned to McGill in 2015 to launch the Advance in Brain and Child Development Research Laboratory where she used her multidisciplinary expertise to build new knowledge to better understand the underlying mechanisms of neurodevelopmental disorders and determinants of outcome trajectories in individuals with brain-based disorders.
Since 2024, Marie has also acted as CHILD-BRIGHT francophone champion for the network, ensuring our patient-oriented research is amplified in Quebec and French-speaking audiences across Canada.
“By taking on the Scientific Co-Director role, I hope to increase awareness of the network’s activities to new groups of users as well as develop new collaborative opportunities so that patient-orient research is because accessible and a standard for child health research.”
Stephanie Glegg
Similarly, Stephanie Glegg, OT, PhD’s time with CHILD-BRIGHT began in 2016 as a Knowledge Translation (now Knowledge Mobilization) Committee member, and co-investigator on the Jooay research project. Since 2022, she has co-led the Knowledge Mobilization (KM) Program to help move knowledge into action in child health at the national level, served on the network’s Executive Committee and Network Steering Committee, and has co-led two CHILD-BRIGHT-funded implementation studies (Pain Pathway [PIUO] & Parent Voices).
An Assistant Professor and implementation scientist in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of British Columbia with Associate Membership in the Department of Pediatrics, and as an Investigator at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Stephanie studies the most effective ways to move knowledge into action (i.e., knowledge mobilization) to improve health care services, health systems and health outcomes for children with exceptionalities/disabilities and their families.
Stephanie’s research aims to make practical changes that enhance the experiences of children/youth, families and health care providers, and to support informed health care decision-making based on research, lived experience, clinical experience, and other ways of knowing and being. She partners with children/youth, families, community organizations, health professionals, decision-makers and others, whose involvement throughout the research process drives meaningful change from diverse perspectives.
Stephanie also has expertise in neurodevelopmental conditions as a registered pediatric occupational therapist. She worked for 18 years at Sunny Hill Health Centre at BC Children’s Hospital with children with a range of diagnoses. In her role as knowledge broker with the Child Development & Rehabilitation Evidence Centre at Sunny Hill during this time, she supported the use of evidence to inform decision-making by health care providers, leaders, students and families.
Stephanie comes from Irish, Scottish, and English settler ancestry. She is a mother of two from a neurodiverse home, and an avid baker.
“For me, being a leader in patient-oriented childhood research disability research is about lifting others up and ensuring that their voices are also heard, included, and that they have the power to make meaningful change. This is key for CHILD-BRIGHT’s mission of contributing to helping transform pediatric health care in Canada.”
MEET OUR TRAINING & CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM CO-LEAD
We’re also pleased to welcome Audrey Wubbenhorst to the network, as she joins Celia Laur as Training & Capacity Building Program Co-Lead.
The program is responsible for establishing the training and mentoring agenda of the network. Engaging with multiple groups, including partners with lived and living experience researchers, and policymakers, the program is fostering a culture of patient-oriented research that will not only positively affect the future of health research within Canada, but also lead to improved outcomes for children with brain-based developmental disabilities and their families.
Audrey is a professor, school trustee and board director. She has an MA in Communications and an MBA and graduated with a BA (Hons) from McGill University. In 2024, she completed a micro-credential from McMaster University in Family Engagement in Research.
Audrey now teaches communications and business strategy at Humber College. She is also a member of the Research Ethics Board at Holland Bloorview Hospital. Before joining Humber, Wubbenhorst spent over 12 years at BMO Bank of Montreal. She has worked in various roles, including diversity and workplace equity, communications, marketing, and human resources. She has served on several boards, including the CAAT pension plan, FirstOntario Credit Union, CNIB Lake Joe, Central LHIN, Build Toronto, Toronto Community Housing Corporation and Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter. She has also served on the board of Scouts Canada, the National Diabetes Trust Corporation (known as the Clothesline program), and the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) West chapter.
“I’m thrilled to be the first partner with lived and living experience to take on this role. I am committed to ensuring that CHILD-BRIGHT’s training and capacity building work includes the experiences of families.”