Research
Research at BORN Ontario is guided by a mission-driven strategy that supports our learning health system approach - where data, evidence, and practice continuously inform and improve one another. Team members at BORN lead and support research projects across the continuum of perinatal, child, and youth health – spanning epidemiology, data science and AI, knowledge translation, and implementation science. We collaborate across disciplines and sectors to generate insights and drive improvements in health system performance and health outcomes for pregnant individuals, children, youth, and families. Whether through investigator-led studies, strategic partnerships, or embedded research initiatives, our goal is to ensure that evidence drives real-world impact across Ontario and beyond.
Explore this section to learn more about our researchers, grants, projects, publications, presentations, and the ways we’re building capacity and driving change through research.
Interested in collaborating with BORN? Have a great research idea? We want to hear from you! Please email research@BORNontario.ca
Recent Funding, Publications, & Research Highlights
BORN Research Highlights from 2025
- 5 new team members – the research team doubled in size!
- 4 high-quality grant submissions led by the team
- 7 publications, including 3 as first/senior author
- 14 projects underway, with internal and external partners
- Launched BORN's Scientific Advisory Committee
Funding Success: Using AI to Develop a Flexible Algorithm to Detect Trisomy 21 via Multiple Marker Screening
Christine Armour (Co-Medical Director, Prenatal Screening Ontario) and Kevin Dick (AI Data Scientist, BORN Ontario) were awarded $250,000 from the PSI Foundation to develop a transparent and flexible algorithm for multiple marker screening (MMS). They will develop, train, and test a new MMS algorithm to predict trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) using data from 700,000 pregnancies captured by BORN Ontario.
New Peer-Review Publication: Using Multiple Marker Screening to Predict Pre-term Preeclampsia
Building on previous research, we show how multiple marker screening for aneuploidy is an accurate and cost-effective way to predict the risk of pre-eclampsia, providing opportunities for early intervention and prevention among those individuals identified at risk.
Funding Success: Using AI to Predict Autism Spectrum Disorder
Christine Armour (Co-Medical Director, Prenatal Screening Ontario) and Kevin Dick (AI Data Scientist, BORN Ontario) were awarded $200,000 from the Precision Child and Youth Mental Health Collaboratory to advance their research applying AI to population-based health registry and administrative data to predict autism spectrum disorder development in young children.
Funding Success: Building a Culture of Equitable Implementation Science for Prenatal Screening in Ontario
Elisabeth Vesnaver (Implementation Scientist, BORN Ontario) received a $400,000 CIHR Health System Impact Embedded Early Career Researcher Award. With co-supervisors Shelley Dougan (Director of Prenatal Screening Ontario) and Justin Presseau (Associate Professor at uOttawa and Senior Scientist at Ottawa Hospital Research Institute), she will support the rollout of new prenatal screening practices in Ontario using evidence-based, tailored strategies.
In the News
Explore research driven by the goal of creating healthier beginnings for Ontario families.
