On November 16, 2012, the Canadian
Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) and the Royal Society of Canada
(RSC) will present a special, one-day Symposium entitled The New Science of Child Development, which will explore the multi-faceted factors shaping the health,
education, and psychological well-being of children.
Ten leading experts from across Canada and the United States will gather
in Ottawa to share perspectives from the fields of neuroscience,
behavioural psychology, social psychology and epigenetics, and together
provide a holistic view of a "new science of child development."
The scientific debate over which influences human development more,
nature or nurture, is over. Rather, evidence now shows that it is the
interaction between biology and experience during the early years that
affects an individual's future health and life trajectory.
The scientists gathering at the Symposium will show how the early stages
of development are key to mitigating health issues in later life. They
will explain that by understanding the role of the early environment in
development, we can better shape programs and policies that optimize
the conditions that will enable children to reach their full potential.
"CIFAR is pleased to be the presenting sponsor of this Symposium," says
President and CEO, Dr. Alan Bernstein. "Our Fellows have been exploring
this core question through their multidisciplinary research networks
for almost 30 years; we look forward to engaging a broader community on
how we can all work together to improve the development of our
children, Canada's most important resource."
Dr. Tom Boyce, Co-Director of CIFAR's program in Experience-based Brain and Biological Development, will provide the keynote address. Boyce, who co-edited the recently
released, seminal report Biological Embedding of Early Social Adversity: From Fruit Flies to
Kindergartners, published by the National Academy of Sciences, will discuss how social
stratification and stress are embedded within a child's neurobiology
affecting health outcomes later in life.
Nine other thought provoking presentations will take place during the
Symposium. The discussions will be of interest to a range of healthcare
professionals, including those working in early childhood education and
public health policy, and will also serve as a forum for a broader
audience that includes educators, psychologists and others who have an
interest in the health and development of future generations.
The Symposium is directly linked with an Expert Panel Report of the RSC
and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) on Early Childhood Development. Several of the report's authors are participants in the Symposium. The
Expert Panel report is being released on November 15, 2012 and will be
freely available for download from the RSC website at that time.