Welcome to NeuroDevNet, the first trans-Canada initiative dedicated to studying children’s brain development from both basic and clinical perspectives.

The network, led by Dr. Daniel Goldowitz, Senior Scientist at the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics (CMMT) and the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI), will be hosted by the University of British Columbia (UBC).  It will receive $19,572,000 in funding over five years from the Networks of Centres of Excellence of Canada (NCE). The vision of NeuroDevNet researchers – whose expertise ranges from child development to brain imaging, genetics and developmental biology – is to accelerate the pace of understanding the causes of neurological deficits, with an initial focus on autism spectrum disorder, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and cerebral palsy. Researchers will explore how the normal brain develops, how to detect abnormalities, and how to repair the damaged brain. NeuroDevNet will also train the next generation of researchers in pediatric brain development, and it will disseminate new knowledge into improved diagnosis, treatments and interventions to inform care delivery and policy decisions. 

“This is hugely exciting because we can do worlds of good to help children overcome developmental disorders,” says NeuroDevNet’s scientific director Dr. Dan Goldowitz, “ I look forward to all that we will accomplish together through this network, ultimately to benefit children and their families through earlier diagnosis and innovative treatments.”

Each of NeuroDevNet's major themes of discovery, as depicted in this schematic, are part of the larger goal of revolutionizing the preventative, diagnostic, and therapeutic measures that will insure healthier brains in the youngest members of Canadian society.