The American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine recognizes Holland Bloorview’s senior clinician scientist for her outstanding achievements in cerebral palsy research advances
Dr. Darcy Fehlings has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM).
“I would like to express my deepest congratulations to Dr. Fehlings on receiving such a well-deserved award,” says President and CEO Julia Hanigsberg. “As one of the world’s leading experts in cerebral palsy, the compassion, dedication and brilliance she brings to her research, clinical care and education at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital is transforming the lives of children with cerebral palsy and their families around the world. Congratulations, Dr. Fehlings!”
The organization grants this prestigious award to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to advance the health and well-being of individuals with cerebral palsy and other childhood-onset disabilities.
As a senior clinician scientist who leads the CP Discovery research lab at the Bloorview Research Institute (BRI), developmental pediatrician at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto, Dr. Fehlings has devoted her clinical and research work to enable meaningful and healthy futures for children and youth living with cerebral palsy (CP).
Dr. Fehlings’ work focuses on the innovation and evaluation of interventions for children with CP including hypertonia interventions, early detection, constraint therapy, dystonia and pain management.
Highlights of her key research and academic achievements include:
- contributing to the neuroscience of childhood-onset disabilities (i.e. leadership in Translational Neuroscience Networks including CP-NET);
- publishing ground-breaking research on the genomics of CP and studying the underlying mechanisms of rehabilitation/developmental interventions;
- linking research and important clinical issues to drive changes in clinical practice (i.e. importance of identifying and managing pain in children with neurodevelopmental disabilities as well as dystonia in CP);
- driving change in evidence-informed clinical practices for childhood-onset disabilities through knowledge mobilization activities; and
- supporting the ‘future’ of evidence-informed care for childhood-onset disabilities such as training graduate students and developmental paediatric fellows in scholarly activities focused on childhood-onset disabilities.
Dr. Fehlings has held positions as the inaugural head of the University of Toronto’s Division of Developmental Paediatrics and chair of the Royal College Specialty Committee in Developmental Pediatrics. She is recognized as one of the top experts in cerebral palsy worldwide by Expertscape, an online database ranking of medical experts, over the past decade. She also served as the president of AACPDM in 2015.
“This award recognizes Dr. Fehlings’ groundbreaking advances and contributions to the field of cerebral palsy and the impact her research is making to improve the health outcomes of countless children and youth living with CP and their families,” says Dr. Evdokia Anagnostou, vice president of research and director of the BRI.
Q & A with Dr. Fehlings
What does receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award mean to you?
I am deeply honoured to receive this award from the AACPDM. I strongly believe in team science and would like to acknowledge all of the team players who contributed to moving the bar in research with me to positively impact children with cerebral palsy and their families.
What are the latest advances in cerebral palsy research that you’re seeing in your field?
I see three streams of research that are having impact. The first is a focus on evaluating strength-based interventions such as encouraging ‘fun’ participation in the community and promoting physical fitness (i.e. Interactive Computer Play Exergame Recumbent Bike).
The second is research activities that fall under the umbrella of translational neuroscience such as understanding the underlying neural mechanisms of action of our rehabilitation interventions. These include constraint therapy or understanding the genetic underpinnings to etiologic risk of CP.
The third is knowledge implementation science activities to drive change in early detection and early intervention for cerebral palsy.
What is your hope for the future for children and youth living with CP and their families?
From a research perspective, my hope is to move boldly forward in partnership with individuals with CP and their families to innovate, evaluate and promote ‘positively disruptive’ interventions that will make a positive difference in the well-being of children with CP and their families.
Dr. Darcy Fehlings was presented with the award at the AACPDM ceremony on Thursday, October 24th in Quebec City.
The AACPDM is an academy of over 1,100 health professionals dedicated to advancing the health and well-being of all individuals with cerebral palsy and other childhood-onset disabilities.
