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Featured Research Team News
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2026
Making the Invisible Visible: How families and researchers are changing the journey of childhood arthritis
We are proud to share this Co-Impact Narrative Report about our childhood arthritis research program. Co-Impact Narratives are one of the ways that the Value, Impact and Knowledge Mobilization Accelerator (VIKM) contributes to communicating research impact in One Child Every Child.
The report details the impact of Dr. Marshall’s research program focussed on the socioeconomic impacts of childhood arthritis. It starts with the foundational research networks and partnerships that enable the program, shares some of the key evidence generated on the hidden burden of JIA, demonstrates how our partnership with Cassie+Friends moves the research evidence into action, and ends with identifying how this work was springboard to shaping future research including large internationally funded projects with global reach.
It was created through an intensive process led by Dr. Adrienne Levay, postdoctoral associate with Dr. Kathryn Graham, and involving interviews with Dr. Marshall and members of her team, interviews with research parters including patient and parent partners, and extensive document review, synthesis and analysis. We were also fortunate to have support from Melissa Boisvenue, Communications Advisor in One Child Every Child as well as design support from the VPR office to create this final product. It was an incredible and valuable process to be part of and enabled us to take a pause and reflect the important impacts of this research program.
CIHR PAVE Patient Partner Stories
As lead of the EJP-RD and CIHR funded project "Producing an Arthritis Value-framework with Economic Evidence (PAVE) - Paving the Way for Rare Childhood Diseases," Dr. Deborah Marshall works alongside with patient partners pave the road with their own experiences in childhood arthritis & other rare diseases. Below you will find stories of two patient partners that Dr. Marshall and her team work with (John Bang a Youth Partner & Lisa George a Parent Partner), click on each picture for their story.
2026 Discrete Choice Experiment Workshop
In collaboration with Dr. Mandy Ryan and Dr. Luis Rebolledo at University of Aberdeen; and Dr. Verity Watson at RTI Health Solutions, Dr. Deborah Marshall hosted a 3-day Discrete Choice Experiment workshop.
The workshop offered an introduction on how to better understand and conduct DCEs in patient preferences and health & care. Included in the workshop was group work that allowed participants to have hands on experience designing DCEs, questionnaire development, data input, analysis and interpretation.
UCalgary's first role in Unified Horizon Europe Grant
Dr. Deborah Marshall and colleagues at University of Calgary have been invited to join an international research collaboration to put patient voices at the heart of health-care decision. The project "Unifying Framework for Patient-Centred Clinical-Study Endpoints Derived from Digital Health Technologies" is a 5-year project led out of Eramus University Rotterdam, Netherlands, it includes leading universities, hospitals, patient organizations, clinical guideline organizations, and industry partners from Europe. See below link for full story.
Arthritis Society Canada Top 10 Research Advances of 2025
Arthritis Society Canada announced its Top 10 Research Advances of 2025, highlighting discoveries that are advancing how arthritis is diagnosed. Among the recipients, were:
(1) The UCAN CAN-DU and UCAN CURE consortia (Dr. Susanne Benseler & Dr. Rae Yeung) with article "A window of opportunity in childhood arthritis"; and
(2) Dr. Darren Mazzei, PhD Graduate of Dr. Deborah Marshall's with article "Estimating the impact of investments in education and exercise for people living with osteoarthritis."
CIHR Story on Childhood Arthritis and Their Families
Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) has done a story on how Dr. Deborah Marshall and colleagues are working to build a "pathway to impact" for children with arthritis and their families. See below link for full story.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2025
The Cy Frank Legacy Lectureship
The Cy Frank Lectureship honours and commemorates the late Dr. Cy Frank, an internationally acclaimed visionary who championed the application of research to create solutions for patients. Dr. Deborah Marshall was honoured to be invited to be part of the "Building on Cy Frank's Legacy" panel.
ACR Convergence 2025 UCAN CAN-DU JIA Presentation
On behalf of the UCAN CAN-DU Consortium, Dr. Rae Yeung; Dr. Deborah Marshall; and Dr. Sebastian Vastert presented the UCAN CAN-DU: Changing the paradigm in childhood arthritis toward a cure at the American College of Rheumtology (ACR) 2025 Convergence.
International Academy of Health Preference Research (IAHPR) 2025 Conference
Dr. Carina Oedingen and Dr. Deborah Marshall attended the International Academy of Health Preference Research (IAHPR) 2025 from September 29 to October 1 in Enschede, Netherlands. The conference offered an excellent forum to share research, exchange ideas, and connect with international experts in health preference research.
Dr. Oedingen presented a podium presentation “Patient Preference Information in Health Technology Assessment: Insights from Mock Deliberations with Agencies” on behalf of the Patient Preference Project Subcommittee operating under HTAi’s Patient and Citizen Involvement Interest Group (PCIG).
Alberta Health Economics Study Group 2025 Meeting
The team attended the Alberta Health Economics Study Group (AHESG) 2025 on October 2-3, hosted by the Institute of Health Economics at the University of Alberta. The event offered an excellent platform to share research, exchange ideas, and strengthen connections with researchers and policy makers from across the province.
Dr. Deborah Marshall commented on the keynote “Rewriting the Rules: Rethinking Cost-Effectiveness for Rare Diseases” by Dr. Charles Phelps, highlighting the limitations of QALYs and the potential of new frameworks like GRACE to better reflect patient values and equity.
Dr. Carina Oedingen served as discussant for “Integrating Child and Caregiver Health-Related Quality of Life in Economic Evaluation for Rare Pediatric Conditions” by Megan Wiggins, providing valuable reflections on integrating caregiver and child dyad’s preferences in economic evaluations.
Link: Alberta Health Economics Study Group 2025: https://ihe.ca/event/alberta-health-economics-study-group-2025/
Institute of Health Economics: https://ihe.ca/
2025 Undergraduate Summer Student Symposium
As a Master's Student of Dr. Maria Santana & Dr. Deborah Marshall, Amanda Herman presented a poster on "Rapid review of patient reported outcomes measure usage in the setting of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome" at the University of Calgary 2025 Undergraduate Summer Student Symposium.
Deborah Marshall & Tom Noseworthy co-present at CAHSPR 2025 Conference
On behalf of the CIHR Health System Impact Fellowship National Cohort Training Programme (CIHR HSIF NCTP) committee, Dr. Deborah Marshall, as the Nominated Principal Investigator) & Dr. Tom Noseworthy (Co-Principal Investigator) co-presented at the Canadian Association for Health Services & Policy Research 2025 Conference, May 27, 2028 in Ottawa, Ontario.
Carina Oedingen ISPOR 2025 conference presentations
As a Post Doctoral Fellow in Dr. Deborah Marshall's lab, Carina gave 3 presentations at the ISPOR 2025 conference in Montreal, Quebec, Canada April 13 - 14, 2025.
Carina was also awarded the ISPOR 2025 Best New Investigator Podium Research Presentation award for her presentation "From Research to Policy: Incorporating patient preferences for colorecal cancer treatments into health technology assessment."
Ana Fuhrmann ISPOR 2025 Poster Presentation
As a Post Doctoral Fellow in Dr. Deborah Marshall's lab, Ana presented a poster "The impact of caring for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis patients on caregivers' quality of life" at the ISPOR 2025 conference in Montreal, Quebec, Canada May 15, 2025.
Canada Organization for Rare Disorders 2025 Conference
The Canada Organization for Rare Disorders (CORD) 2025 conference took place on April 29 - 30, 2025. Dr. Deborah Marshall presented at the CORD conference on "Assessing the value of finding and treating rare: Social and economic impacts."
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2024
Deborah Marshall co-hosted the International Academy of Health Preference Research 15th Annual Meeting
The IAHPR conference was themed "Benefit Transfer: From stated preferences to real-world decision-making." In line with this focus, Dr. Robert Johnston was invited to speak on the current state of benefit transfer methods in environmental economics and how to explore the use of these methods in health-preference assessments at the conference pre-meeting.
Deborah Marshall named as a Royal Society of Canada Fellow
On Sept. 3, the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) announced the election of five UCalgary faculty members as new Fellows. The RSC recognizes outstanding scholarly, scientific, and artistic achievement; elected by their peers, it is the highest honour an individual can achieve in the arts, social sciences and sciences. Dr. Deborah Marshall was among the five UCalgary faculty members named.
Deborah Marshall has made significant contributions to lead and shape the field of patient-oriented research, patient preferences and the science of patient engagement in research. Her highly cited research on innovative methods to engage patients, measure quantitatively what matters to patients and the trade-offs in healthcare decisions have had global impact on research practices, patient centred
healthcare and outcomes, and health policy. Her research findings have influenced the integration of patient voices to improve healthcare decision-making.
Deborah Marshall hosted the 2024 Discrete Choice Experiment Course in Banff, Alberta
This 3-day course is an introduction to the theoretical basis for, and development and application of discrete choice experiments (DCEs) in health economics. This course included hands on experience designing DCEs; questionnaire development; data input; analysis and interpretation; and an update on methodological issues raised in the application of DCEs.
One Child Every Child will foster research excellence in three strategic areas: Better Beginnings, Precision Health and Wellness, Vulnerable to Thriving.
- Better beginnings will explore the health and wellbeing of mothers and children, giving babies and pre-schoolers the best start in life.
- Precision health and wellness will improve diagnosis and treatment for children with chronic and medically complex illnesses.
- Vulnerable to thriving will investigate how to help children with neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions.
We will also incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing, comprehensive data, transdisciplinary training, equity, diversity and inclusion best practices and technology solutions in their work while mobilizing knowledge for the greatest impact.
From bench to bedside to backyard, we will investigate the biomedical, social, emotional, societal, economic, and structural determinants of change. If we could reduce the number of children with medically complex conditions by just 15%, which we feel is achievable, over time it would save $104 billion in direct and indirect costs.
Deborah Marshall is Lead Impact & Value Investigator for One Child Every Child research initiative
In 2020, UNICEF ranked Canada 30th out of 38 wealthy countries in child health and wellness outcomes. Canada has consistently failed to prioritize strategic investments in child health and wellness – until now.
The Canadian government is investing $125 million in University of Calgary’s One Child Every Child initiative (OCEC). First announced in Montreal on April 28, 2023, OCEC is the largest research grant in the University of Calgary’s history (and one of the largest ever awarded to a university in Alberta).
Canada First Research Excellence Fund invests in the research strengths of postsecondary institutions so they can achieve global change. By bringing together researchers, health-care providers, educators and Indigenous communities, OCEC will dramatically improve the lives of children across Canada and beyond.
From left to right: Dr. Michael Hart, UCalgary vice-provost (Indigenous Engagement); The Honorable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry; Dr. Deborah Marshall, Professor Cumming School of Medicine, Scientific Director, Research and Partnership Evaluation and Impact Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Child Health & Wellness Researcher, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute
Barbara Wright
One Child Every Child harnesses UCalgary’s innovation ecosystem to accelerate positive outcomes for child health and wellness. This initiative balances investments in health and research with socio-economic factors, establishing a wrap-around research approach. It also enables us to design new diagnostic tools for Canadian hospitals and build national training platforms for health-care professionals.
By advancing knowledge and build capacity, health and policy leaders will be able to make informed decisions that support better health outcomes. Further, by addressing the broad economic and social impacts, results can feed back into the network to broaden our research impact.
HIGHLIGHTS PRIOR TO 2024
2023 Highlight: Dr. Deborah Marshall named in a Leading Prestigious National Cohort Training Program. Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos met with 2022 cohort members to learn about the program and their research projects.
- 2022 Highlight: Dr. Luiza Grazziotin, a PhD Graduate of Dr. Marshall's was named one of the Arthritis Society Canada Top 10 Research Advances of 2022 (https://arthritis.ca/about-us/what-we-do/research/)
Other Marshall team health economics UCAN CAN-DU research:
Currie GR, Groothuis-Oudshoorn K, Twilt M, Kip MM, IJzerman MJ, Benseler SM, Swart JF, Vastert SJ, Wulffraat NM, Yeung RS, Marshall DA and on behalf of UCAN CAN-DU and UCAN CURE Consortium. What matters most to pediatric rheumatologists in deciding whether to withdraw biologics in a child with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a best-worst scaling study. 28th European Paediatrics Rheumatology Congress, September 20-23 2022, Prague, Czech Republic. (Poster)
Grazziotin L, Currie GR, Cantarutti S, Benseler SM, Swart JF, Kip MM, IJzerman MJ, Twilt M, Vastert SJ, Wulffraat NM, Yeung RS, Marshall DA and on behalf of UCAN CAN-DU and UCAN CURE Consortium. Present and accounted for: the workplace productivity loss for parents of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. 28th European Paediatrics Rheumatology Congress, September 20-23 2022, Prague, Czech Republic. (Poster)
Van Til JA, Kip MMA, Twilt M, Schatorjé E, Groothuis-Oudshoorn K, Currie G, Marshall DA, Swart JF, Yeung RSM, Benseler SM, Vastert SJ, Wulffraat N, IJzerman MJ, and on behalf of UCAN CAN-DU and UCAN CURE Consortium. Preferences of pediatric rheumatologists for tapering biologic DMARDs in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) – results of a clinical vignette study. 28th European Paediatrics Rheumatology Congress, September 20-23 2022, Prague, Czech Republic. (Poster)
Florax AA, Doeleman MJH, de Roock S, Van der Linden N, Schatorje E, Currie G, Marshall DA, IJzerman MJ, Yeung RSM, Benseler SM, Vastert SJ, Wulffraat M, Swart JF, Kip MMA, and on behalf of UCAN CAN-DU and UCAN CURE Consortium. Quantifying cost impact of withdrawing biologic DMARDs in children with JIA. 28th European Paediatrics Rheumatology Congress, September 20-23 2022, Prague, Czech Republic. (Poster)
Kip MMA, de Roock S, Currie G, Marshall DA, Grazziotin LR, Twilt M, Yeung RSM, Benseler SM, Vastert SJ, Wulffraat N, Swart JF, IJzerman MJ. Pharmacological treatment patterns in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis in the Netherlands: a real-world data analysis. Rheumatology, 2022; keac299, https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keac299
Currie GR, Pham T, Twilt M, Ijzerman MJ, Hull PJ, Kip MMA, Benseler S, Hazlewood GS, Yeung R, Wulffraat N, Swart JF, Vastert SJ, Marshall DA Perspectives of Pediatric Rheumatologists on Initiating and Tapering Biologics in Patients with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: A Formative Qualitative Study. Patient (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40271-022-00575-x
Kip MMA, de Roock S, van den Berg I, Currie G, Marshall DA, Grazziotin LR, Twilt M, Yeung RSM, Benseler SM, Vastert SJ, Wulffraat N, Swart JF, IJzerman MJ. Costs of hospital-associated care for patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis in the Dutch healthcare system. Arthritis Care and Research. 2021 May 02. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.24621. E-pub ahead of print.
Kip MMA, Currie G, Marshall DA, Grazziotin Lago L, Twilt M, Vastert SJ, Sward JF, Wulffraat N, Yeung RSM, Benseler SM, Ijzerman M. Seeking the state of the art in standardized measurement of health care resource use and costs in juvenile idiopathic arthritis: A scoping review. Pediatric Rheumatology. May 2019;17:20 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12969-019-0321-x
Barber CE, Twilt M, Pham T, Currie GR, Benseler S, Yeung RSM, Batthish M, Blanchette N, Guzman J, Lang B, LeBlanc C, Levy DM, O’Brin C, Schmeling H, Soon G, Spiegel L, Whitney K, Marshall DA. A Canadian evaluation framework for quality improvement in childhood arthritis: key performance indicators of the process of care. Arthritis Research and Therapy, March 2020;22(1):53 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13075-020-02151-w