Physical activity during early childhood (<5 years), typically regarded as active play, is necessary to support young children's achievement of developmental milestones. Despite the importance of physical activity during early childhood, opportunities to engage in this behaviour in childcare remain infrequent and under-valued. Early childhood educators (ECEs) are crucial for supporting physical activity in this environment, as they have had a profound influence on children's physical activity opportunities. However, ECEs have reported low self-efficacy to lead physical activity in childcare, which they have attributed to their limited training in this area. Inconsistencies in physical activity education exist across Canadian pre-service ECE programs; as such, our team led the SSHRC-funded Training pre-service EArly CHildhood educators in physical activity (TEACH) study to develop and implement an e-Learning course in physical activity with pre-service ECEs. Full-scale implementation in 20 Canadian English-speaking ECE programs is underway; however, to ensure equitable access to this professional learning opportunity for all Canadian pre-service ECEs, and to address the imminent need for high-quality virtual learning in post-secondary programs due to COVID-19, translating and adapting the course into French (TEACH-FR) and testing its effectiveness in a timely manner is necessary. The goals of this study are to: i) Establish whether the TEACH-FR e-Learning course can increase French-speaking pre-service ECEs' physical activity self-efficacy, knowledge, and intentions (Primary Objectives) and ii) Explore the feasibility, fidelity, and reach, of the course, and gather pre-service ECEs' and instructors' perspectives about the content and delivery (Secondary Objectives).

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 5-6% of children. DCD is characterized by significant problems with fine and/or gross motor coordination that impair a child’s ability to perform many everyday tasks. Our research team has led the field internationally in understanding how this condition puts children at risk for inactivity and poor health-related fitness outcomes during mid-childhood through adolescence. Starting in 2013, our team successfully assembled a large cohort of 4- and 5-year-old children with probable DCD (pDCD) (total 589 children; 288 pDCD). We are requesting new funding to continue this unique cohort of children to examine their trajectories of physical activity (PA) as they transition from early to late-childhood and determine how psychosocial, behavioural and physical factors influence their risk of developing mental health problems.

The overall goal of the Coordination and Activity Tracking in Children II (CATCH II) continuation study is to determine if: 1) young children with pDCD are more likely to experience declines in PA, and increases in body weight over time; and 2) if changes in PA, health-related fitness, and psychosocial factors explain increased self-reported internalizing problems (depression/anxiety) as they transition to late-childhood.

We propose developing and evaluating a pediatric concussion management health platform available on mobile devices. The proposed platform will be based upon advanced ML methods applied to the management of recovery after concussion in youth. Based on previous findings of the applicants, the proposed system has the potential for significant improvements in concussion management over currently employed methods. The proposed project will bring about the ability for youth and their families along with clinicians to assess recovery and modify their activity to promote speedy recovery, prevent repeat injuries and prolonged symptom duration which will interfere with participation in normal activities and increase the possibility of developing devastating chronic symptoms along with depression, anxiety and academic failure.

Physical activity during early childhood (<5 years), typically in the form of active or energetic play experiences, is necessary to support young children's achievement of developmental milestones. Despite the importance of physical activity during early childhood, opportunities to engage in this behaviour in childcare remain infrequent and under-valued. Early childhood educators are crucial for supporting physical activity in this environment, as they control a substantial portion of young children's days and can profoundly influence physical activity opportunities within the childcare setting. However, early childhood educators have reported low self-efficacy to lead physical activity in childcare and have reported that this is due primarily to their limited post-secondary training in physical activity. Inconsistencies in physical activity-related training and education exist across Canadian Early Childhood Education (ECE) diploma programs; as such, an innovative pedagogical approach is needed to ensure ECE candidates develop appropriate knowledge and self-efficacy in physical activity domains to be confident leading physical activity opportunities in childcare settings. The goals of this study are to: i) Establish whether a physical activity e-Learning module increases ECE candidates' physical activity-related self-efficacy (Objective #1) and knowledge (Objective #2); and, ii) Examine the acceptability, feasibility, and fidelity of module implementation; and gather ECE candidates' use of, perspectives about, and experiences with the content and mode of delivery (Objective #3).

• Inactive lifestyles among young children with innocent murmurs or congenital heart disease, regardless of disease severity or treatment
• Prevalence and correlates of physical-mental multimorbidity in outpatient children from a pediatric hospital in Canada
• Change in pre- and in-service early childhood educators’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and intentions following an e-learning course in physical activity and sedentary behavior: A pilot study
• Preschool to school-age physical activity trajectories and school-age physical literacy: a longitudinal analysis
• Implementation of an e-Learning course in physical activity and sedentary behaviour for pre- and in-service early childhood educators: Evaluation of the TEACH pilot study
• Training pre-service EArly CHildhood educators in physical activity (TEACH): Protocol for a quasi-experimental study
• Associations between fitness, physical activity and fatness in pre-school children with typical and atypical motor coordination
• Correlates of moderate-to- vigorous physical activity in children with physical illness and physical-mental multimorbidity
• APNM-2022-Exploring the relationship between resting-state intra-network connectivity and accelerometer-measured physical activity in pediatric concussion_ a cohort study   
• JSportsSci-2022-Association between childcare movement behaviour compositions with health and development among preschoolers-Finding the optimal combinations of physical activities and sedentray time

• Physical activity and sedentary behaviour of Canadian children aged 3 to 5.
• Energy substrate utilization with and without exogenous carbohydrate intake in boys and men exercising in the heat.
• No difference in exogenous carbohydrate oxidation during exercise in children with and without impaired glucose tolerance.
• Thermoregulation in boys and men exercising at the same heat production per unit body mass.
• Circulating Endothelial Progenitor Cells in Youth: Fitness, Physical Activity and Adiposity.
• Supporting Physical Activity in the Childcare Environment (SPACE): rationale and study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.
• Tracking of physical activity and fitness during the early years.
• Comparing the Actical and ActiGraph Approach to Measuring Young Children’s Physical Activity Levels and Sedentary Time.
• The Effect of Acute Exercise on Neutrophil ROS Production and Inflammatory Markers in Healthy Pre-Pubertal and Adult Males.

• The Coordination and Activity Tracking in CHildren (CATCH) study: rationale and design.
• Associations of non-invasive measures of arterial structure and function, and traditional indicators of cardiovascular risk in adults with cerebral palsy
• Descriptive data on cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors in ambulatory and non-ambulatory adults with cerebral palsy.
• In-Bed Mobilization in Critically Ill Children: A Safety and Feasibility Trial.
• Effects of acute exercise on circulating endothelial and progenitor cells in children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and healthy controls: a pilot study.
• The Effect of Post-Exercise Milk Protein Intake on Rehydration of Children.
• Effects of Short-Term Exercise Training With and Without Milk Intake on Cardiometabolic and Inflammatory Adaptations in Obese Adolescents.
• Nutritional Considerations for the Overweight Young Athlete.
• Exertion testing in youth with mild traumatic brain injury/concussion.
• Effects of acute exercise on markers of inflammation in pediatric chronic kidney disease: a pilot study.
• Functional Recovery Following Critical Illness in Children: The “Wee-Cover” Pilot Study.
• Fitness and physical activity in youth with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in good or poor glycemic control.
• Sedentary time and screen-based sedentary behaviours of children with a chronic disease.
• Quantification of physical activity and sedentary time in adults with cerebral palsy.

• Measurement of habitual physical activity and sedentary behaviour in youth with cerebral palsy: Work in progress.
• Post-exercise protein ingestion increases whole body net protein balance in children.
• Effects of post-exercise milk consumption on whole body protein balance in youth.
• Effect of milk consumption on rehydration in youth following exercise in the heat.
• Markers of biological stress and mucosal immunity during a week leading to competition in adolescent swimmers.
• The effects of resting and exercise serum from children with cystic fibrosis on C2C12 myoblast proliferation in vitro.
• Are we driving our kids to unhealthy habits?? Results of the Active Healthy Kids Canada 2013 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.
• Results from Canada’s 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.
• Objectively measured sedentary time in youth with cerebral palsy compared with age-, sex-, and season-matched youth who are developing typically: An explorative study.
• Objectively-measured physical activity levels of young children with congenital heart disease.
• “Wii-Hab” in critically ill children: A pilot study.
• Application of stable isotope tracers in the study of exercise metabolism in children: a primer.
• Circulating endothelial cells in children: Role of fitness, activity and adiposity.
• Reduced fat oxidation rates during submaximal exercise in boys with cystic fibrosis.
• Mild to moderate hypohydration reduces boys’ cycling performance in the heat.
• Self-efficacy and the physical activity behaviour of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder.