SickKids VS

Newborn mortality is one of the biggest challenges facing global child health. One SickKids scientist is determined to change that with an inexpensive kit that gives parents the tools they need to keep their newborn healthy and safe. Join us as we track the kit’s impact in northern Pakistan — and its potential to save children's lives around the world.

Despite advancements in treatment, leukemia survival rates have remained unchanged for years—until now. A groundbreaking clinical trial is transforming outcomes for children. Hear from the SickKids experts who led this game-changing breakthrough and the family whose journey was forever changed by it.

When Harper was four, she was surgically tethered to a machine the size of a dishwasher. It kept her alive as she waited for a heart transplant. But it meant her life was confined to a hospital indefinitely. A new study explores the complex emotions and impact for families surviving in limbo

An accident at the beach left 15-year-old Lauryn in extreme discomfort for years. Pain is one of the body’s most important signals for survival but sometimes signals in the brain can get crossed and the hurt continues long after an injury has healed. Hear from a team that’s re-wiring brains to put pain in its place.

Organ failure is a race against time. Even when a transplant is possible, plenty can still go wrong. But major advances are improving the odds and creating new outcomes for patients, as you’ll hear in this tale of two strangers — Brad and Regan, whose lives became forever intertwined.(For bonus content or to advance similar research, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. The SickKids VS Podcast is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill).

Many families rush to hospital emergency departments every day. Some don’t know why a child is sick. Some do. But they all share a common concern: how long will we have to wait? Hear how one emergency physician (who’s also a computer scientist) is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to address wait times so more patients and caregivers can see health-care experts sooner.(To advance breakthrough research and care like this, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. SickKids VS is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

More children survive cancer than ever before. But the disease and the treatments take a toll. In adulthood, many survivors face serious or life-threatening effects stemming from their therapies. Dr. Paul Nathan works tirelessly to improve the lives of survivors, and he’s been collaborating with someone who has a unique perspective on how to take post-cancer care to a whole new level. (To advance breakthrough research and care like this, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. SickKids VS is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

As a baby, Noel was diagnosed with a severe form of epilepsy. There are many types and causes, so to really help patients like him, it’s not enough to know they have the disorder — but rather why they have it. To find out, Noel’s family joined a groundbreaking global study to see what happens when you dig into the genome for answers.(To advance breakthrough research and care like this, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. SickKids VS is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

Around one in five kids struggle to breathe at least twice a year. They miss school and soccer games. And they often end up in hospital for treatment — but fail to receive a diagnosis. Breathing disorders, whether mild or severe, can be deadly. Meet the doctor who designed a new tool to better predict the risk of getting asthma. (To advance breakthrough research and care like this, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. SickKids VS is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

Seth was 10 when he collapsed on the schoolyard without warning. As a baby, he’d been diagnosed with a disease in which the heart can suddenly quit. Some people with his condition can go their whole lives without experiencing this. Others die from it. And there’s no way of knowing who’s at risk – until now. (To advance breakthrough research and care like this, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. SickKids VS is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

Dr. Ronni Cohn is leading SickKids through a new frontier in medicine — to diagnose faster, treat smarter, and predict better. The CEO (who’s also a geneticist and paediatrician) reveals how Precision Child Health works as we kick off a new season of breakthroughs, from using AI to help ease wait times in the emergency department and pinpointing the roots of unexplained seizures to anticipating which kids may experience sudden cardiac death. (To advance breakthrough research and care like this, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. SickKids VS is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

A new wave of venture philanthropists is pooling their money to fuel major medical discoveries. The return on their investment? Saving lives. Meet these changemakers plus the scientist behind a new way to diagnose brain tumours in kids. (For bonus content or to advance similar research, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. The SickKids VS Podcast is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

Dr. Isaac Odame is making life easier for children with sickle cell disease—about half of whom in Canada will be seen at SickKids. Hear how he implemented an early detection and treatment program, and how he's tackling even bigger obstacles, including toxic treatments, anti-Black racism, and limited care capacity in other parts of the world. (For bonus content or to advance similar research, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. The SickKids VS Podcast is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

Five-year-old Michael is one of less than 100 people in the world with SPG50, an ultrarare genetic disease. In March 2022, a SickKids team dosed Michael with the first-ever gene therapy for SPG50 in an unprecedented clinical trial. We tell the remarkable story of what it took to deliver a customized drug for Michael’s particular genetic variant, and what it means for SickKids’ vision of precision medicine. (For bonus content or to advance similar research, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. The SickKids VS Podcast is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

For families whose children have had major heart surgeries, the idea of exercise can be terrifying. Is their heart strong enough? What if their heart fails? This fear is understandable but can be damaging in the long run. That’s why Dr. Barbara Cifra launched a first-of-its-kind exercise counselling program for children with congenital heart disease. Hear how the program empowers patients to shed their fears, know their limits, and live life to the fullest.(For bonus content or to advance similar research, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. The SickKids VS Podcast is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

The kids aren't all right. During COVID, depression, anxiety and eating disorders skyrocketed. Families struggled. And a SickKids team started gathering data. Their real-time findings went on to influence policy and deepen knowledge of children's mental health. (For bonus content or to advance similar research, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. The SickKids VS Podcast is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

Not all medical instruments are surgical. Hear from a trio of music therapists as they share unique approaches—and songs—for soothing pain, building bonds, and unlocking new ways of communicating for kids who are nonverbal. (For bonus content or to advance similar research, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. The SickKids VS Podcast is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

A cancer diagnosis alone is scary and stressful, especially when it involves a child. But the emotional and logistical fallout also upends a family's day-to-day life. Discover what happens when a first-of-its-kind program deploys resource navigators—Dennis and Lisa, who work tirelessly to show families that they are not alone. (For bonus content or to advance similar research, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. The SickKids VS Podcast is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

SickKids VS takes you to the frontlines in the fight for child health, where we speak candidly to world experts, patients, and their families about big breakthroughs. Hear about the science behind music therapy; what happens when a team helps families with the daily stresses of childhood cancer; how a scientist delivers a world-first gene therapy for one child’s rare disease, and many more incredible stories.Subscribe today. Season 4 starts May 11.

Nine-year-old Hunter is living with an incurable brain tumour and, naturally, she has questions. Hear how a SickKids Child Life Specialist is helping Hunter cope with the worst kind of prognosis. (For behind-the-scenes extras and show notes or to fund research like this, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast.) Generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill, this is the SickKids VS Podcast.