About With the Brain in Mind..
With the Brain in Mind focuses on the importance of positive early brain development in giving children the best possible start in life. By providing opportunities to learn about the latest research and best practices in early childhood brain development we aim to increase the capacity of parents, professionals, and policy makers to facilitate positive changes in the lives of children and young adults.
Margaret Clarke, MD, FRCPC
Dr. Clarke is currently a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry and is also an Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta. She is currently the Executive Director of the Sinneave Family Foundation.
She is helping to guide a new agenda for child development by serving on the National Expert Advisory Committee on the Centre’s of Excellence for Children’s Well-Being and the Board of the Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research.
Dr. Clarke teaches and supervises many undergraduate and graduate students from medicine, nursing, psychology and education as part of her strong commitment to interdisciplinary education. She has designed new clinical practice guidelines and educational programs for physicians, judges and others in areas such as fetal alcohol syndrome. Dr. Clarke has also developed a number of innovative community outreach programs in schools, women’s shelters and rural communities all aimed at getting earlier and better identification of children and youth with developmental and mental health concerns.
She was recently named one of the 100 top physicians of the century by the Alberta Medical Association and received a Centennial Medal in recognition of her unique contributions to the field of child health and development in Alberta.
Laura Ghali, PhD
Dr. Laura Ghali is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Paediatrics. Her current work involves translating new knowledge in developmental neurosciences into early years programming and service delivery. She is involved in assessing current training initiatives in early child development as well as evaluating the effects of parenting programs and pre-school interventions on school readiness, early literacy and health outcomes.
Maddison Spenrath
Maddison Spenrath is a graduate student in the School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia. She is currently involved in translating the science of human development into a variety of materials and resources for parents and professionals, for the purpose of improving environments for children and families.