Every discovery starts with a question.
From how to reduce rates of childhood obesity to how to help kids more fully recover from intensive care, researchers at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) are tackling some of the most pressing questions in child health.
With support from MacKids — and events such as the flagship MacKids Walk & Wheel, a growing community of donors is helping turn bold ideas into life-changing care for children and families in Hamilton and around the world.
Here are just some of the questions HHS researchers are exploring with that support:
Could we prevent obesity-related disease before it starts?
As childhood obesity rates continue to climb, Katherine Morrison pediatric endocrinologist at McMaster Children’s Hospital (MCH) and professor in the Department of Pediatrics, saw an urgent need for a new approach.
In 2012, with a $150,000 contribution from MacKids, she and her co-director, Gregory Steinberg, launched a program to develop better strategies for preventing and treating obesity-related diseases. By 2018, the initiative grew into the Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research (MODR).
Today, MODR is home to a team of scientists whose work is transforming care through innovative metabolic disease research. With early donor support, the centre has gone on to attract major external funding and publish in high-impact journals such as Nature and The Lancet.