People

Director

Professor of Pediatrics, Radiology, and Clinical Neurosciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary

Director, Calgary Pediatric Stroke Program and N3 Non-invasive Neuromodulation Network

Pediatric Neurologist, Alberta Children's Hospital

Dr. Kirton is Professor of Pediatrics and Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Calgary and an attending Pediatric Neurologist at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. His research focuses on applying technologies including neuroimaging and non-invasive brain stimulation to measure and modulate the response of the developing brain to early injury to generate new therapies. He is an externally funded clinician scientist and CIHR Foundation Grant Recipient. Dr. Kirton directs the Calgary Pediatric Stroke Program, Alberta Perinatal Stroke Project, ACH Pediatric Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Laboratory and University of Calgary Noninvasive Neurostimulation Network (N3).

ACHRI profile      CIHR profile      HBI profile      PubMed

Pediatric Neurologist

Assistant Professor, Pediatrics and Clinical Neurosciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary.

Attending Pediatric Neurologist, Alberta Children’s Hospital. 

Dr. Mineyko is interested in the use of biomarker technology to determine pathophysiology of pediatric neurological diseases such as perinatal stroke and pediatric vasculopathy. Rare neurological diseases are collectively common, yet often poorly understood in pediatric neurology. They account for enormous health care costs. They result in significant morbidity and family burden. True mechanisms of disease are the unifying target for both understanding pathophysiology and designing new treatments. Inflammation provides a tangible example applicable to all pediatric neurology subspecialties. Modern biomarker technologies provide remarkable opportunities to explore such mechanisms. Such analyses can be performed on minute volumes (100uL) of any body fluid providing immediate and great clinical research potential. We continue to grow collaborations with researchers in other major centers to determine the role of inflammation in neurological diseases of childhood. Major directions poised for growth include pediatric stroke, traumatic brain injury, pediatric demyelinating diseases, medically-refractory epilepsy, primary headache disorders, and applying this knowledge to trial new treatments in childhood neurological disorders.

ACHRI profile     HBI profile      PubMed

Stroke Program Clinical Resource Nurse

Lanna is passionate about caring for the children and families that are seen through the Calgary Pediatric Stroke Program Clinic at the Alberta Children's Hospital. 

Pediatric Neurologist

Dr. Dunbar is a pediatric neurologist with clinical training in pediatric stroke and neurocritical care at Alberta Children’s Hospital, and a Master of Science degree in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Calgary with research focused on perinatal stroke.

PubMed

Lead Neuroimager

Assistant Professor (Research), Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. 

Dr. Carlson is the lead for the Calgary Pediatric Stroke Program Imaging Group. Helen is primarily interested in using multiple advanced MRI neuroimaging techniques to examine neuroplasticity such as functional connectivity of brain networks (via resting state MRI), neuronal metabolism (via MR spectroscopy) and white matter structural connectivity (via diffusion imaging) in children with stroke. She is also interested in researching new MRI, electroencephalogram (EEG) and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technologies to unlock the mysteries of neuroplastic compensation after early brain injury. The goal of this research is to examine pre/post treatment modulations in neural networks and to explore development of future treatment avenues for kids and families affected by stroke to improve lifelong motor and cognitive function.

ACHRI Profile    HBI Profile     Pubmed    Carlson Imaging

Program Manager

As the Program Manager, Nicole oversees the operations of the research program and manages the group’s many local, national and international collaborations. She has over 15 years of experience designing, implementing, and executing research projects and leading multi-disciplinary teams. Nicole has an MSc in Community Health Sciences and is a certified Project Management Professional. 

ACHRI Profile   Pubmed    Google Scholar

Research Coordinator & Clinical Recruiter

Amalia is the primary clinical recruiter for our research studies and is the main liaison between families involved in research and the pediatric stroke outpatient clinic. She is interested in perinatal stroke research, maximizing quality of life after perinatal stroke as well as family and children's outcomes. How these children function in their daily lives and how we can help them achieve their best given their disabilities is a major focus of her research. 

PubMed

Brain Computer Interface Engineer

Erica earned her MASc. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto. She is passionate about developing technologies to increase independence and access for individuals with physical disabilities. Her current research interests include extending and adapting brain computer interface (BCI) technology for pediatric users, specifically for those with neurological impairments. She is interested in examining all aspects of BCI through the lens of a pediatric user, from developing engaging training paradigms, understanding how neurological phenomena used in BCI differ between adults and children, and translating BCI into novel and relevant applications for children with physical disabilities.

PhD Candidate

Meghan completed a Bachelor of Sciences in Occupational Therapy (BScOT) from the University of Alberta. Meghan is a registered occupational therapist and practices clinically in the area of neuro-rehabilitation. Meghan's research is focused on identifying the structural connectivity of the visual system in children with perinatal stroke, and how this correlates to functional vision in everyday life. Her research utilizes various brain imaging modalities. The primary goal is to map these developmental pathways, with secondary goals to develop diagnostic or treatment tools.

BCI Industry Expert, Possibility Neurotechnologies

Dion completed a Bachelor of Medical Sciences (BMSc) degree from the University of Western Ontario, as well as a Master of Biomedical Technology (MBT) degree from the University of Calgary before completing her Ph.D. in Neuroscience with the Calgary Pediatric Stroke Program. Dion's research was focused on assessing baseline performance levels across multiple brain-computer interface (BCI) systems and optimizing BCI use for applications in children with quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Her research utilized various brain imaging modalities to assess brain connectivity and activity, with the goal of establishing a screening program for BCI use in children.

Senior Research Coordinator & Neuroimager

Jacquie received her Master's degree in Neurosciences from the University of Calgary. Her research interests focus on the health of white matter in children who have suffered a perinatal stroke. Specifically she uses the MRI technique diffusion tensor tractography to explore the health of white matter in the motor system following injury. She is also highly involved in the organization of our current multi-site clinical trial (SPORT). A randomized control trial looking at the effects of brain stimulation on hand and arm function. It is designed as a fun two-week summer camp where children and teenagers that have hemiplegic cerebral palsy due to perinatal stroke engage in intensive motor therapy and brain stimulation.

PubMed

Postdoctoral Scholar

Adrianna received her B.A.(Hons) in Kinesiology from the University of Western Ontario and has extensive experience in sport as both an elite athlete and a coach. Her Ph.D. research interests included using non-invasive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to explore the motor systems of children and adolescents. Adrianna has extensive experience using the KINARM robot to investigate proprioception (the sense of limb position in space). Her imaging interests include resting state functional connectivity pre/post non-invasive brain stimulation and computer modelling of electric fields through brain tissue.

PubMed

MD Student

Joanna received her BSc in Health Science from Mount Royal University. Joanna’s MSc research with the Calgary Perinatal Stroke Program was focused on optimizing brain-computer interfaces for children with quadriplegic cerebral palsy. In particular, Joanna was investigating the role of fatigue in brain-computer interface performance and enjoyment. Her research utilized EEG data as well as other quantitative and qualitative assessments of fatigue. Joanna is passionate about increasing the independence of children with cerebral palsy.

Post Doctoral Fellow (2023)

Bryce seeks to explore and apply new technologies to improve the health and lives of others. Bryce’s passion for neuroscience drives him to better understand the brain, and explore the possibility of new tools for treatment, rehabilitation, and communication with the brain. As a postdoctoral fellow, Bryce is researching how brain stimulation can improve motor skills in kids with perinatal stroke, and evaluating whether a novel modality, focused ultrasound, can provide an even greater rehabilitative effect.

Clinical Researcher

Megan Metzler is an occupational therapist in a research clinician role at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. Her responsibilities include promoting clinical best practice, treating kids, and supporting ongoing research trials, particularly related to pediatric stroke. Research interests involve the efficacy of intensive motor therapies in combination with novel technology after perinatal stroke and the role of therapy for visual deficits arising from neurological injury.

PubMed

Post Doctoral Fellow (2021)

Dr. Eli Kinney-Lang is actively interested in research intersecting the fields of developmental neuroscience, mathematics, engineering, pediatrics, gaming and technology. His current research focuses on developing and translating an emerging technology, brain-computer interface (BCI), to children with severe physical disability. Eli is interested in multiple areas of BCI research and development. This includes the design and construction of engaging BCI paradigms for children, improving available communication strategies offered by BCIs for nonverbal individuals, and the advancement/implementation of cutting-edge biomedical signal processing techniques to enhance BCI applications for children. Eli's work is done in collaboration with the Alberta Children's Hospital and the University of Calgary.

PubMed

Post Doctoral Fellow (2021)

Dr. Wrightson completed his postdoctoral fellowship in 2021, where he used non-invasive brain stimulation and neuroimaging to investigate motor control and the causes of fatigue in children with perinatal stroke. James is now a research scientist for the Noninvasive Neurostimulation Network at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary. In his current role, James helps researchers design and run noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) studies. James' research is focused on the mechanisms of fatigue in disease and work and the development, refinement, and application of clinical NIBS paradigms.

PubMed

MD/Ph.D. Candidate & Vanier Scholar

Brandon is a 5^th year MD/PhD student enrolled in the Leaders in Medicine Program at the University of Calgary. He defended his PhD in Neuroscience in June, 2021 where he investigated how the brain’s structural connectivity differs in children who have survived strokes at birth compared to those that did not. Brandon is passionate about understanding how the brain develops following early brain injuries and how such mechanisms of plasticity influence various outcomes.

PubMed

MSc. Neuroscience

Lauran was part of the CPSP from 2013-2020. She started as a summer student keen to identify the epidemiology of Neonatal Hemorrhagic stroke and classified a new stroke subtype - Presumed Perinatal Hemorrhagic stroke. She was fascinated by the plasticity of the developing brain and went on to complete her Masters in Neuroscience. Lauran’s MSc focused on using a novel type of non-invasive brain stimulation called High Definition Transcranial Direct Current stimulation (HD-tDCS) to help improve motor learning in typically developing children in hopes to be later applied in our perinatal stroke population. She enjoyed using the KINARM robot to quantify proprioceptive changes associated with HD-tDCS and tDCS. She assisted in the early phases of the SPORT clinical trial utilizing the KINARM robot in our perinatal stroke group.

Lauran completed medical school at the University of Calgary and is currently doing her residency in Pediatric Neurology at the University of Alberta. She is excited to continue her research passions and provide care to neurodiverse children as her career matures.

MD/Ph.D. Candidate

Cynthia is an MD/PhD student enrolled in the Leaders in Medicine Program at the University of Calgary. She defended her PhD in Neuroscience in June 2020 and is now completing her medical degree (class of 2023). Cynthia’s graduate research focused on exploring and optimizing in vivo neurophysiology measures to investigate the pathophysiology and interventional neuroplasticity in two commonly co-morbid neurodevelopmental disorders: Tourette’s syndrome and ADHD. Her research involved various brain imaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) measures, in particular magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and TMS motor mapping. Cynthia also explored novel approaches for treating pediatric Tourette’s syndrome using physiologically targeted, neuro-navigated, robotic repetitive TMS (rTMS).

MSc Neuroscience

Dr. Damji was part of the CPSP from 2011-2014. He started his masters in neuroscience in 2011 seeking to use a novel type of non invasive brain stimulation to study healthy pediatric neuromotor plasticity. While completing his masters, he helped with multiple interventional clinical trials using rTMS to treat upper extremity hemiparesis in children who had suffered a perinatal stroke, treatment refractory depression, pediatric migraine, as well as, open label studies in adult hemiparesis post stroke as well as somatic disorders. Following graduate school, Omar continued on with the team as a research coordinator for a year while TDCS was the rising star in the NIBS world. Omar has since completed medical school and residency in Calgary and is in his final year of emergency medicine training. He is also finishing a pediatric emergency medicine fellowship. Extra clinically, he hopes to exploit the use of NIBS with the use of multimodal simulative tools to promote procedural skill acquisition in medical education.