Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Health Canada and the Canadian Pediatric Society recommend that children over age 2 years consume reduced (i.e. 1%) fat rather than whole (3.25%) fat cow's milk to prevent obesity. New research supports that reduced fat milk early in life may promote rather than prevent obesity. The Cow Milk Fat Obesity pRevention Trial (CoMFORT) is an innovative clinical trial comparing a primary healthcare recommendation for whole vs. reduced fat milk on optimizing growth, development and nutrition among children aged 2-4 years. CoMFORT uses innovative methods, leveraging Canada's largest childhood cohort study (TARGet Kids!) which minimizes time, resources and cost, and maximizes relevance to families and clinicians. The objectives of this Fellowship are to 1) Conduct all primary and secondary analyses of the CoMFORT trial; 2) Compare methods used in CoMFORT to traditional randomized controlled trial (RCT) methods to determine new patient-oriented, efficient research strategies, and 3) Engage with families throughout results interpretation, knowledge translation and developing a strategy in TARGet Kids! for future clinical trials. PhD candidate and clinician scientist Shelley Vanderhout has been the lead trainee on the CoMFORT trial, from the first stages of development to study implementation in primary care practices. As Shelley develops her research program, this fellowship will provide her with the opportunity to fully develop innovative, family-oriented clinical trial skills from start to finish. She will develop written and online media and hold forums with policymakers and families to integrate results into clinical and public health policies and the lives of Canadian families. This Fellowship will equip Shelley to conduct efficient and meaningful research as a leading clinician scientist focused on innovative clinical trials, inform future clinical trial methods, and impact child health policies with the goal of improving child health in Canada and worldwide.