CSAR is starting to recruit into NECTAr – A National Platform for Neonatal Brain Health 🍁🧠

Advancing care, research, and outcomes for babies with HIE

We are excited to share that recruitment has started for NECTAr—a pan-Canadian platform dedicated to Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), focused on patient care optimization, training, and education.

NECTAr is led by Pia Wintermark at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (Child Health and Human Development Program), bringing together a national, multidisciplinary network committed to improving outcomes for newborns affected by HIE.

🧠 Why NECTAr matters

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) occurs when a baby’s brain and organs do not receive enough oxygen at birth. This life-threatening condition:

• Accounts for approximately 23% of neonatal deaths worldwide

• Often leads to long-term neurodevelopmental challenges, including learning and functional difficulties

• Still lacks effective therapies to repair established brain injury

Despite advances such as therapeutic hypothermia, major gaps remain in understanding how to optimize care and improve long-term outcomes.

🔬 What NECTAr will do

NECTAr aims to transform care and research for infants with HIE through a coordinated national effort. Key priorities include:

• Improving early treatment strategies by collecting high-quality, multicentre data and comparing practices across hospitals

• Developing and testing novel therapies aimed at repairing brain injury

• Supporting families and parents throughout their care journey

• Training the next generation of clinicians and scientists in neonatal brain health

By bringing together clinicians, researchers, and families, NECTAr creates a platform for collaborative, practice-changing research.

🇨🇦 A national platform with global impact

NECTAr is supported through Brain Canada’s Platform Support Grants (PSG) program, which aims to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration and accelerate the translation of research into real-world impact.

These platforms:

• Provide access to cutting-edge tools and shared databases

• Enable collaboration beyond individual institutions

• Serve as hubs for advancing neuroscience and neonatal care across Canada

🤝 Working together to improve outcomes

The launch of NECTAr represents an important step toward coordinated, national neonatal research infrastructure in Canada. By aligning clinical care, research, training, and family engagement, this platform has the potential to significantly improve outcomes for some of the most vulnerable newborns.

We are excited to be part of this initiative and look forward to contributing to its success.