Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Our ignorance of pediatric anatomy is frustrating, especially considering the critical role this phase plays in understanding the evolution and development of the human brain. The material resources needed to study children's anatomy have always been lacking due to the extreme rarity of pediatric corpses. Thanks to technological advancements, however, we can now build an atlas based on high-resolution MRI that will map the development of pediatric neuroanatomy and provide reference work for diagnosing neurological pathologies. Our atlas will facilitate an understanding of the anatomical and functional development of the brain throughout life, adding knowledge of early childhood, when the most significant development and growth occur, to our already extensive knowledge of the embryological stage of formation and adult brain anatomy. This atlas will be of great value to graduate students in various areas of the neurosciences, providing them with valuable information on the development of the human brain during childhood. It will also shed light on studying other anatomical regions in the pediatric population, an age group undergoing constant anatomical transformation. The University of British Columbia will benefit from having first access to this knowledge, which it will also be privileged to share with the whole world. Objectives: 1- To build a 3D Pediatric Brain Atlas from zero to two years of age using technological advances in computer imaging utilizing Magnetic Resonance Imaging acquisitions. 2- To produce an innovative teaching and training tool for medical students, residents, and fellows: the Pediatric Holobrain, an Augmented Reality teaching tool to be implemented in neuroanatomy classes and neurological training programs.