What do we do with all the wonderful biological samples – like blood🩸 & stool 💩 – that our participants provide us? How do we store them? 🧪 How do researchers use them? 🔬 Everything you ever wanted to know about your samples (but were afraid to ask!): ▶️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgIx...

Lifecycle of a CHILD Sample

YouTube video by CHILD Cohort Study

youtube.com

Meet Meghan, a leading CHILD researcher! 👋 💡Fun Fact: She is an outdoor adventure & cycling enthusiast! 🚴‍♂️ 🔬Research focus: How breastfeeding shapes infant development & long-term health.🤱🏽 ❤️Favorite part of CHILD: Endless opportunities to explore new research questions. www.childcohort.ca/meghan-a/

We’re sad to say Elissa is leaving the CHILD team today. 🥺 Thank you 🙏 Elissa Brookes for giving so much to CHILD in your years as Program Manager. You’ll be missed! 👋 Read more: childcohort.ca/thanks-elissa/

A training ground and launch pad for junior researchers 👨‍🔬: CHILD data fuel innovative research, helping young scientists build their careers 👩🏻‍🎓. Over 80 graduate theses 📝 have been written with CHILD data! Learn more: childcohort.ca/impact/#care...

Today is #InternationalSelfCareDay! Self-care is about taking intentional time to care for yourself in ways that support your overall well-being. At the CHILD Study, we're committed to understanding the many factors that shape lifelong health and well-being. Prioritize caring for yourself too ✨

It's wildfire season & our Toronto families are facing some of the world's worst air quality conditions. CHILD is deeply committed to lung health, revealing how exposures like wildfire smoke impact us—with links to CANUE data for more insight. Tips from Asthma Canada: asthma.ca/wildfires/

Thanks 🙏 Isabel (& family)! You’re so committed to us, you’re wearing our ring 💍! It’s been great getting to know you - & your sleep 😴 & activity patterns. Through you, we’re learning more about the health & development of all Cdn youth 🟥🍁🟥 More: childcohort.ca/portfolio/ne...

Find that CHILD publication! 📰 You can now search our online database of CHILD publications to a high degree of detail: we have added keywords 🔑 & the search now scans each publication’s abstract. Explore our 250+ peer-reviewed publications here: childcohort.ca/results-to-d...

400+ geospatial variables from the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium @CANUE.bsky.social are now linked in CHILDdb, from pregnancy to 8 years, bringing total datapoints to ~90 million! Thanks to @fionabrinkman.bsky.social, Justin Cook & Geoff Winsor! childdb.ca

CHILD research out of @turveylab.bsky.social & published in Nature Communications reveals that certain gut fungi 🍄 play a key role in the development of the immune system & in the development in kids of allergic asthma 😮‍💨 & some allergies. More: childcohort.ca/gut-fungi-ke...

The results of a study in Nature Communications highlight the early life mycobiome as a potential therapeutic target to mitigate allergic disease development. go.nature.com/4xO6pST #microbiome #medsky 🧪

The microbiome story isn’t just about bacteria. Our new work shows the infant mycobiome—gut fungi like Malassezia and Saccharomyces—plays an important role in immune development and childhood allergy. An exciting new frontier for pediatric precision health. www.news-medical.net/news/2026062...

Gut fungi play key role in pediatric allergic diseases development

Two new studies jointly published in Nature: The Clinical Microbiome reveal that certain species of fungi in the gut play a key role in the development of immune dysregulation and some pediatric aller...

news-medical.net

Thank you 🙏 Jett (& mom) for showing up for CHILD all these years! 16+ years of giving to health research: talk about knocking it out of the park⚾! We are so grateful to all our CHILD families. The longer you stay with us, the more we learn. 🧠💡🤓 childcohort.ca/13-year-visi...

CHILD recently held its first national Town Hall 🏫with participants across Canada 🟥🍁🟥. We had a great discussion about the 16-year visits, the importance of stool samples 💩, microbiome research 🦠, the Oura Ring 💍, and upcoming plans! More info: childcohort.ca/first-nation...

🌟 Meet Joyce, our Edmonton Site Coordinator! She helps make our research possible every day. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦🔬 ❤️ Loves most about her job: Watching participants grow up! 🏞️ Favourite activity: Exploring Edmonton’s beautiful river valley trails with her dog, Nova 🐕 Get to know her better: childcohort.ca/joyce/

16-year CHILD visits have begun! Have you booked yet? 📅 Don’t miss out—earn high school volunteer hours, get gift cards, and boost your school or scholarship applications. Note: The 16-year visit is available to CHILD Cohort Study participants only.

Common conditions—such as asthma, eczema, food allergies, and hay fever—may share a common origin: the gut microbiome in early life. 🦠 CHILD researchers found a distinct “bacterial signature” in infancy linked to the development of allergies by age five. Learn more: childcohort.ca/four-allergi...

New CHILD research in @CellReports by Darlene Dai, Charisse Petersen, @TurveyLab et al. suggests #breastfeeding 🤱 may reduce socioeconomic-based differences in children’s chronic disease risk by influencing the infant gut #microbiome 💩 @bcchresearch.bsky.social More: childcohort.ca/ses-breastfe...

What happens at the 16-year CHILD visit? 🤔 Co-created with CHILD youth and parents, this video highlights what to expect and why it matters. 💡 New this year: a stronger focus on mental health – because youth asked for it, and well-being matters! 🎥 Watch now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHdB...

16 Year Visit Video

YouTube video by CHILD Cohort Study

youtube.com

What external factors might lead one child to eat more ultraprocessed foods 🍔🧃than another? According to CHILD research, characteristics of a child’s family👨‍👩‍👧‍👦& built environment 🏪 can play a role. @Nature @kozetamiliku.bsky.social #UofT #Nutrition Read more: childcohort.ca/upf-consumpt...

Drinking whole cow’s milk 🐮 🥛 in early childhood may be linked to lower obesity risk in later childhood, according to new CHILD research led by @kozetamiliku.bsky.social, Tara Zeitoun & Zheng Hao Chen in @AJCNutrition @UofT #DOHaD #obesity #nutrition More: childcohort.ca/whole-cows-m...

Meet Charisse, our Deputy Director! 👋 💡 Fun Fact: She is an avid gardener! 🌱 🔬 Research focus: Decoding the secret conversations between immune cells & microbes. 🦠 🚀 Excited about: Launching the revitalized 16-year CHILD visits. Get to know Charisse better: childcohort.ca/charisse/ #MeetTheTeam

For the 16-year visit, CHILD youth participants can receive an ŌURA Ring—a smart ring that tracks sleep 💤, stress, activity 🏃‍♀️, and more in real time. Participants can explore their own data and securely upload it to CHILD using their preferred device. Learn more: childcohort.ca/next-visit/#...

CHILD’s 16-year visits are better than ever: fewer questionnaires, more benefits for participating, & a very cool wearable (an Oura ring)! Learn more: childcohort.ca/portfolio/ne...

Thanks to the amazing commitment of CHILD families, the 13-year data & samples we collected will empower more insights into child & adolescent health. Learn more: childcohort.ca/13-year-visi...

This #InternationalWomensDay, we celebrate the incredible women who make the CHILD Cohort Study possible. 💜 From the thousands of moms who joined the study during pregnancy to the women scientists, trainees, and staff driving the research—thank you for helping move science forward. 👩‍👧‍👦👩‍🔬🔬 #IWD2026

It’s great to see you again! We are so happy to be welcoming CHILD families already for the 16-year round of Study data collection—including Naomi in Winnipeg! Read more: childcohort.ca/13-year-visi...

Thanks again CHILD families—including Edric and his sisters Elowen & Ophelia in Winnipeg, pictured here—for keeping the Study going by participating in our 13-year visits. Read more: childcohort.ca/13-year-visi...

Kids who eat fewer ultraprocessed foods as toddlers may have better #MentalHealth in later childhood, according to new CHILD research led by @KozetaMiliku @MeaghanKavanag1 in @JAMANetworkOpen @UofT @McMasterU #DOHaD #NutritionMonth More: childcohort.ca/upf-behaviou...

Great new CHILD research by our Clinical Science Officer @KozetaMiliku @UofT & her team linking child nutrition & #MentalHealth. #NutritionMonth childcohort.ca/upf-behaviou...

@meaghankavanagh.bsky.social · 6mo ago

📢 New from @kozetamiliku.bsky.social lab: ⬆️ UPFs are associated with ⬆️ reported behavioural challenges in 🇨🇦 kids. Our findings are a starting point for more research on UPFs and child behaviour 🍽️ 🧠 🔗 jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... Thanks to Howard (Zheng) Chen & @childcohortstudy.bsky.social