CanCORPS – Canadian Consortium for Research in Pediatric Surgery

CanCORPS, the Canadian Consortium for Research in Pediatric Surgery, is a consortium aimed at improving pediatric surgical care through high quality collaborative research. CanCORPS aims to elevate the quality of pediatric surgical research by providing the highest scientific and ethical research standards. The Consortium includes all 15 major pediatric surgical services across Canada.

Mission and Scientific Objectives

The mission of CanCORPS is to improve pediatric surgical care through high-quality collaborative research.

Our scientific objectives are:

i) To provide a platform for the successful conduct of collaborative, multi-institutional research focused on patient-centered outcomes;

ii) To improve efficiency of scientific and ethical reviews through streamlining of research protocols;

iii) To maintain the highest degree of scientific and ethical integrity in conducting research initiatives; and

iv) To promote the dissemination of new knowledge into pediatric surgical practice and health care policy.

CanCORPS aims to improve pediatric surgical care through high quality collaborative research.
CanCORPS aims to improve pediatric surgical care through high quality collaborative research.

Members

Institution
Representative, Designation
Alberta Children's Hospital
Calgary, AB
Natalie Yanchar*, Site Director
Mary Brindle, Site Associate Director
Stollery Children's Hospital
Edmonton, AB
Ioana Bratu, Site Director
Children's Hospital of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC
Robert Baird*, Site Director
Hannah Piper, Site Associate Director
Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg
Winnipeg, MB
Richard Keijzer, Site Director
Melanie Morris, Site Associate Director
Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre
St. John’s NL
David Price, Site Director
IWK Health Centre
Halifax, NS
Rodrigo Romao, Site Director
McMaster Children's Hospital
Hamilton, ON
Lisa VanHouwelingen, Site Director
Children's Hospital London Health Sciences Centre
London, ON
Andreanna Butter, Site Director
Children's Hospital London Health Sciences Centre
London, ON
Natashia Seemann, Site Associate Director
Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario
Ottawa, ON
Ahmed Nasr*, Site Director
Hospital for Sick Children
Toronto, ON
Augusto Zani, Site Director
Reto Baertschiger, Site Associate Director
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine
Mtl, QC
Nelson Piché, Site Director
Mona Beaunoyer, Site Associate Director
The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre
(“RI-MUHC”) and Montreal Children’s Hospital
Mtl, QC
Sherif Emil **, Site Director
Pramod Puligandla *, Site Associate Director
Elena Guadagno, National Coordinator
CHU de Québec - Université Laval
Québec, QC
Pascale Prasil, Site Director
CIUSSS de l'Estrie - Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke, QC
Sandeep Mayer, Site Director
Jim Pattison Children's Hospital
Saskatoon, SK
Amanda Hall, Site Director
Kris Milbrandt, Site Associate Director

*Steering committee member
** Steering committee chair

CanCORPS provides a platform for the successful conduct of collaborative, multi-institutional research focused on patient-centered outcomes.
CanCORPS provides a platform for the successful conduct of collaborative, multi-institutional research focused on patient-centered outcomes.

Ongoing research projects

Child health researchers are invited to submit research projects impacting pediatric surgical care at any time. The National Coordinator and the steering committee will conduct an initial review of all submissions prior to presentation and scoring by all CanCORPS institutions. In order to submit a new application or participate in an ongoing CanCORPS study, you must be a CanCORPS member or work with a designated Site Director.

Interested in participating? Contact the CanCORPS National Coordinator for the New Study Submission template or for more details regarding an existing study.

Please visit cancorps.ca for details of ongoing research studies.

News and accomplishments

September 2022: A publication that tells our story and will give you insight into building a consortium. The Canadian Consortium for Research in Pediatric Surgery: A Roadmap for Creation and Implementation of a National Subspecialty Research Consortium. (PMID: 36102499)

August 2022: Treatment and Outcomes of Ovarian Cysts – featured as an abstract in the American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA) Spaced Learning program weekly quiz.

June 2022: CAPS research competition awarded for “Prospective National Validation of a Risk Stratification System for Resource Utilization and Outcomes of Pediatric Perforated Appendicitis” study.

January 2022: CanCORPS’ first publications related to fetal ovarian cysts. (PMID: 35166261 and PMID: 35090716)

December 2021: CanCORPS is now a member of the Maternal Infant Child and Youth Research Network (MICYRN)'s affiliated network.

May 2021: CanCORPS’ first abstract was accepted less than two years after the inaugural meeting. It will be presented at the plenary session of the American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA) 2021 annual meeting. Join the meeting to hear about the study “Treatment and outcomes of prenatally identified ovarian cysts.” Congratulations to the team!

February 2020: An incredible milestone was reached when the CanCORPS consortium agreement was fully executed. Researchers and legal teams from our 15 institutional members executed the CanCORPS consortium agreement, defining the organization’s membership, governance, leadership and intellectual property. An agreement template was also created to expedite data sharing amongst participating sites.

July 2018: The inaugural meeting of founding members of CanCORPS was held in Calgary, Alberta.

Contact Information

For more information, please email the CanCORPS National Coordinator, Elena Guadagno at elena.guadagno [at] muhc.mcgill.ca.

Sherif Emil, MD, CM, FRCSC, FACS, FAAP
Sherif Emil, MD, CM, FRCSC, FACS, FAAP

Steering Committee Chair, Canadian Consortium for Research in Pediatric Surgery (CanCORPS)

Dr. Emil is an investigator in the Child Health and Human Development Program at the Research Institute of the MUHC

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