Dr. Abu-Raya is a Pediatric Infectious Diseases Clinician-Scientist at the Canadian Center for Vaccinology and IWK Health in Halifax. His research has mainly been in the field of maternal immunization with many of the studies he has led have contributed to practice-changing immunization policies in Canada and other several countries. He also won several national and international awards in the field. 
Dr. Abu-Raya’s research team and lab at the Canadian Center for Vaccinology uses laboratory-based cutting-edge assays that measure the functions of antibodies that are induced after vaccination and infection to answer translational questions in the field of vaccination in pregnancy to protect mother-infant dyads. With over than 75 peer-reviewed papers, he is the principal supervisor of master’s and PhD students and post-doctoral fellows at Dalhousie University. 
Dr. Abu-Raya is also an IMPaCT ECR fellow for the year 2025-2026

Zahra Alidina completed her Honours Bachelor of Science in Biology at McMaster University. She has been involved as a patient partner for several years with organizations such as SickKids, Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP), University Health Network (UHN), and The Canadian Collaborative for Childhood Cannabinoid Therapeutics (C4T). Zahra is also on the advisory committee for the Canadian Autoinflammatory Network. She is passionate about involving patients and families in research and focusing on research outcomes that are important to patients.

Dr. Evdokia Anagnostou is a Child Neurologist and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto as well as Vice President of Research at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and Director of the Bloorview Research Institute. As a Senior Clinician Scientist, she co-leads the Autism Research Centre (ARC) at Holland Bloorview and University of Toronto. She has held the Canada Research Chair in Translational therapeutics in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and currently holds the Dr. Stuart D. Sims Chair in Autism at Holland Bloorview and University of Toronto. She is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Dr. Anagnostou has received extensive international funding to understand the underlying biological differences associated with ASD and other neurodevelopmental differences, translate such understandings into potential novel interventions. She has also funding in health system innovation, partner engagement, and in understanding the meaning and impact of neurodevelopmental conditions in marginalized populations. She has served on multiple government committees on improving diagnostic and intervention pathways, and several editorial boards and grant review panels. She has also been recognized for her contributions to training young clinicians and scientists and for her commitment to women in STEM. She currently represents the region of America- North on the International Society for Autism Research Global Senior Leaders committee.

Alana Cattapan is the Canada Research Chair in the Politics of Reproduction, an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo, and an Adjunct Professor at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan. She is also co-director of the Politics of Reproduction Research Group.  She studies gendered inclusion in policy making related to reproduction, identifying links between the state, the commercialization of the body, and reproductive labour. She has published peer-reviewed articles in Studies in Political Economy, the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the Canadian Journal of Political Science, and the Journal of Medical Ethics, among others. She is the co-editor of Surrogacy in Canada: Critical Perspectives in Law and Policy (Irwin Law 2018); Feministing in Political Science (University of Alberta Press, 2024); and Born and Raised: The Politics of Reproduction in Canada (McGill-Queen’s University Press, forthcoming in 2026).

Melila Chesick-Gordis (she/her) completed her Honours Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and Certificate in Disability and Physical Activity from Queen’s University. Her engagement as a patient partner began in 2020 with The Canadian Collaborative for Childhood Cannabinoid Therapeutics (C4T). She has since collaborated on various research projects, both as a patient partner and a research assistant. As a mentor, Melila aims to highlight the many ways that families can be engaged in all aspects of research. She is passionate about removing barriers for women and children in medical research and advocating for a system that supports and centers patient experiences.

Christopher Gravel, PhD, is a biostatistician and Associate Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa. His research interests are on the development and improvement of biostatistical and study design methods for applications related to drug safety and pediatric rare disease clinical trials with a focus on causal inference, measurement error models, and knowledge discovery. He co-leads the Biostatistics sub-platform for RareKids-CAN.

Anna Heath is a Scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Toronto, an Associate Professor at University of Toronto and Honorary Research Fellow at University College London, UK. Her research focuses on developing novel statistical methodology, software, expertise and guidance to improve the efficiency and design of randomised clinical trials, particularly for paediatric rare disease trials.

Emma Iverson is a Researcher Coordinator at the University of Ottawa. Her research focuses on registries and clinical trials to generate evidence toward improved care and outcomes for children with rare diseases. She coordinates the Registry sub-platform for the RareKids-CAN Network.

Dr. Lauren Kelly is an Associate Professor in pharmacology and therapeutics at the University of Manitoba. She is a scientist at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba and a clinical trialist at the George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation.

Dr. Kelly leads a pan-Canadian Clinical Trials Training Platform, called Increasing capacity for Maternal and Paediatric Clinical Trials, known as IMPaCT. She is also the Scientific Director for the Canadian Collaborative for Childhood Cannabinoid Therapeutics, C4T.

As an expert in pediatric clinical trials and pharmacovigilance, Dr. Kelly has advisory roles with KidsCAN Trials, RareKids-CAN, and Conect4Children in Europe. Dr. Kelly is a former member of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Health Products Containing Cannabis at Health Canada, co-lead of the Canadian Medical Cannabis Trials Network and a current member of the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids Board of Directors.

Veronica Lai, PhD, is a Research Associate at SickKids in Toronto specialized in the design, analysis, and reporting of controlled trials. Her research focuses on optimizing the selection and measurement of rare pediatric disease trial outcomes. She contributed to setting the minimal standard for pediatric clinical trial intervention reporting through the TIDieR-C project. She co-leads the Design and Methods sub-platform for the RareKids-CAN Network.

Philippe Mineau is a Manager in the Bureau of Policy, Science and International Programs within Health Canada's Pharmaceutical Drugs Directorate. Over the last decade, he has led efforts to publish federal guidance on decentralized clinical trials, expanded access clinical trials, co-packaged health products, and clinical trial modernization, as well as initiatives related to the public release of clinical information. Philippe lives in Montréal with his young family, where he also contributes to the local music and literary scene in his spare time.

Ngawai Moss is a maternal and child health advocate who moved into health research after taking part in a clinical trial during pregnancy. She is a board member of BRIDGE — Better Research, Information and Data Generation for Empowerment — which works to ensure women with chronic diseases have the information they need to make informed decisions throughout their reproductive journey.

She works with families, researchers, clinicians and civil society organizations to ensure patient perspectives shape research, policy and care. She is a research co-investigator on several reproductive health research programs in the UK, including studies focused on epilepsy in pregnancy, preconception health, fertility and infant feeding.

Ngawai is also an Honorary Research Fellow at Queen Mary University of London and founder of Elly Charity, where she leads work on maternal health literacy for pregnant women who do not speak English as a first language. She advises organizations including NIHR, NHS England and the Academy of Medical Sciences, and has been recognized by Health Data Research UK for her contribution as a Patient and Public Involvement co-investigator on MuM-PreDiCT, a study focused on multiple long-term health conditions in pregnancy.

Srinivas Murthy is an academic pediatric intensive care physician and clinical researcher at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. His clinical and academic interests are in innovative clinical trial design, the management of acute infections, and science policy.

Martin Offringa, MD PhD, is a neonatologist, clinical epidemiologist, and Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on the use of valid, discriminative, and feasible outcomes in rare disease trials and sufficient research reporting. He co-leads the Design and Methods sub-platform for the RareKids-CAN Network.

Terry Pirovolakis, a co-founder of CureSPG50 alongside his wife Georgia, encountered the formidable challenge of addressing his child's SPG50 diagnosis in 2019. Leveraging robust fundraising and community backing, he spearheaded ground-breaking research, successfully treating his own child within three years through a Canadian CTA and two more children via an FDA IND. Furthermore, Mr. Pirovolakis established Elpida Therapeutics, a non-profit, committed to addressing ultra-rare, non-commercially viable conditions through gene therapies. Collaborating with industry leaders, Elpida initially focuses on SPG50, CLN7 and CMT4J, with plans to address two more ultra-rare diseases in 2026, allocating profits to sustain and expand programs. Pirovolakis extends his impact by assisting other patient foundations, conducting Gene Therapy 101 classes, and engaging in collaborations, all driven by the overarching goal of saving as many children as possible.

Beth Potter, PhD, is a Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa. Her research focuses on registries and clinical trials to generate evidence toward improved care and outcomes for children with rare diseases. She leads the Registry sub-platform for the RareKids-CAN Network.

Breanne Stewart (BSc, BScN, RN) serves as the Network Director for RareKids-CAN: Pediatric Rare Disease Clinical Trials and Treatment Network. She provides strategic leadership, oversees network operations, and drives collaboration across the organization. With a focus on shaping RareKids-CAN's strategic direction, Breanne is dedicated to fostering partnerships and advancing high-quality clinical trials and innovative research initiatives for individuals affected by rare diseases. Since joining MICYRN in 2018 as the inaugural Associate Director of Clinical Trials, she has been passionate about optimizing research processes in Canada to improve timely access to therapies for patients and their families.