7Name of Researcher:
Cheryl Missiuna, McMaster Univer-
sity
Degrees and Professional Qualifications (including fellow-
ships):
PhD (Special Education); MSc (Educational Psychol-
ogy); BSc (OT); OT Reg OT)
Area of Research:
My program of research focuses on im-
proving service delivery and quality of life for children with
developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and their fam-
ilies. This work is broad ranging from: increasing awareness
of DCD through knowledge translation efforts
(http://dcd.canchild.ca/en/dcdresources/workshops.asp);
facilitating earlier identification of children with DCD in pri-
mary care and early childhood education settings; longitu-
dinal studies of the secondary physical and mental health
consequences of DCD; and health services studies with
provincial Ministries to develop, implement and evaluate an
OT service delivery model (Partnering for Change) that will
hopefully transform school health support services in On-
tario for children with DCD.
Research Related Awards and Honours:
John andMargaret Lillie Chair in Childhood Disability
•
Research (awarded, 2014-19)
Director, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability
•
Research (2006-13)
Dr. John Whittaker Memorial Award for Contribu-
•
tions in Childhood Disability (2012)
Recent Grants/Funding History:
Cairney, J., Missiuna, C., Timmons, B.W., (Co-PIs),
•
Howard, M., Kwan, M., Price, D., Rivard, L., Veld-
huizen, S., Wade, T., Wahi, G. (2013-18). Impact of
developmental coordination disorder on the physical
health of young children: A five-year study of motor
coordination, physical activity, physical fitness and
obesity. Canadian Institutes of Health Research
($1,579,006).
Missiuna, C. (PI), Pollock, N., Bennett, S., Camden,
•
C., Campbell, W., McCauley, D., Gaines, R., Cairney,
J. (2013-15). Implementation and evaluation of Part-
nering for Change, an innovative model that will
transform health service provision for school-aged
children with developmental coordination disorder.
Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care
($994,600).
Missiuna, C. (PI), Hecimovich, C. (Principal Decision
•
Maker), Pollock, N., Russell, D., Cairney, J., Bennett,
S., Ruttan, B. (Decision Maker), Gaines, R., & Rosen-
baum, P. (2008-11). Partnering for change (Demon-
stration Project): Promoting health and participation
of school-aged children with developmental condi-
tions in their communities. Canadian Institutes of
Health Research ($199,994).
Research Collaboration:
One of the main reasons I ac-
cepted a faculty position at McMaster University was the
presence of CanChild, Centre for Childhood Disability Re-
search
(www.canchild.ca). CanChild is an internationally
renowned education and research centre that broadly ad-
dresses the issues and concerns of children and youth with
disabilities and their families. When I joined CanChild, there
were only a few scientists but they were progressive, had
shared values and varied perspectives and were tremen-
dous mentors. It was my privilege to serve as CanChild’s Di-
rector from 2006-13, a time in which we were able to build
capacity and strengthen our knowledge translation efforts.
CanChild now has over 50 scientists and research associates
and our evidence-based website is accessed thousands of
times each week. My personal programof research has ben-
efitted tremendously frommy close research collaborations
with Nancy Pollock, a McMaster faculty member and OT
clinician scientist, and Cathy Hecimovich, a decision-maker
in the Ontario health system, as we have developed and im-
plemented Partnering for Change, a newmodel of OT serv-
ice delivery in schools. I have also worked closely with Dr.
John Cairney, who holds a Professorship in Child Health Re-
search and this has resulted in a new research collaborative,
the Infant and Child Health (INCH) Lab
(www.inchlab.ca).
To view this profile in its entirety, please click here LINK
http://www.acotup-acpue.ca/English/sites/default/files/Pro- files/Cheryl%20Missiuna%20%28McMaster%20Univer- sity%29.pdf