Catherine S. Birken

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Other Academic and Clinical Appointments

Inaugural Chair, The Edwin S.H. Leong Chair in Child Health Intervention, The Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto (2021 – present)

Professor, Department of Paediatrics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto (2019 – present)

Senior Scientist, Child Health and Evaluative Sciences, SickKids Research Institute (2019 – present)

Associate Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto (2012 – present)

Associate Staff Physician (Clinician Investigator), Division of Paediatric Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children (2011 – Present)

At a Glance

• Dr. Birken's research is in prevention of childhood overweight and obesity in early childhood.
• She is co-lead of TARGet Kids!, a primary care, practice-based research network to advance child health research.

About Dr. Catherine Birken

Dr. Birken is a general paediatrician in the division of Paediatric Medicine, Professor at the University of Toronto, and a Senior Scientist, Child Health Evaluative Sciences at The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute. She is cross appointed to institute for Health Policy Management and Evaluation in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Birken’s clinical care activities include attending at SickKids in the in-patient unit, and in the outpatient SickKids Obesity Management Program for children with complex obesity. Her research focus is the promotion of healthy growth, development, and well-being in young children, including the prevention of childhood obesity, and she is co-lead of TARGet Kids! primary care practice-based research network to advance child health preventative research. Dr. Birken is funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research for the study of growth, health behaviours and school readiness in children. She is collaborating with mental health research groups and educational leaders studying the impact of COVID-19 on health, mental health, and school outcomes for children. She is currently leading randomized controlled trials with public health nurse led virtual parenting intervention, and the Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative in Canada in preconception care. Dr. Birken is the inaugural recipient of the Edwin S.H Leong Chair in Child Health Intervention. Her goals strongly align with the vision of the Centre to promote child health equity through interventions, helping all children and their families to flourish.

Research Synopsis

Dr. Birken’s clinical care activities include attending at SickKids in the in-patient unit, and in the outpatient SickKids Obesity Management Program for children with complex obesity. Her research focus is the promotion of healthy growth, development, and well-being in young children, including the prevention of childhood obesity, and she is co-lead of TARGet Kids! primary care practice-based research network to advance child health preventative research. Dr. Birken is funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research for the study of growth, health behaviours and school readiness in children. She is collaborating with mental health research groups and educational leaders studying the impact of COVID-19 on health, mental health, and school outcomes for children. Dr. Birken is currently leading randomized controlled trials with public health nurse led virtual parenting intervention, and the Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative in Canada in preconception care. 

Recent Awards and Distinctions (Selected)

POWER Award for Excellence in Post-Graduate Teaching, The Hospital for Sick Children (2019)

National and International Committee Memberships

Member, COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF), Field Studies Working Party – Pediatric Network (2020 – present)

Member, Precision Child Health Steering Committee (PCH), University of Toronto (2020 – present)

Member, Paediatric Clinical Practice Guidelines for Child Obesity Executive Committee (2019 – present)

Inaugural Member, Child Health Institute Steering Committee and Oversight Committee, Hospital for Sick Children (2018 – present)

Member, Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative (HeLTI) Research Committee (2017 – present)

Member, College of Reviewers, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2017 – present)

Member, MPSHI – Social Paediatrics Committee, Interest Group Initiative, Hospital for Sick Children (2010 – present)

Recent Publications

1. Wu LC, Hattangadi N, Keown-Stoneman CDG, Maguire JL, Birken CS, Stremler R, Constantin E, Charach A. Sleep Duration and Internalizing Symptoms in Children. J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2022 Aug;31(3):115-123. Epub 2022 Aug 1. PMID: 35919906; PMCID: PMC9275369.
2. South CA, Keown-Stoneman CDG, Birken CS, Malik VS, Zlotkin SH, Maguire JL; TARGet Kids! collaboration. Underweight in the First 2 Years of Life and Growth in Later Childhood. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Jul 1;5(7):e2224417. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.24417. PMID: 35904782; PMCID: PMC9338407.
3. Omand JA, Li X, Keown-Stoneman CDG, Borkhoff CM, Duku E, Lebovic G, Maguire JL, Mamdani MM, Parkin PC, Reid-Westoby C, Randall Simpson J, Tremblay MS, Janus M, Birken CS; TARGet Kids! Study Group. Body Weight at Age Four Years and Readiness to Start School: A Prospective Cohort Study. Child Obes. 2022 Jul 13. doi: 10.1089/chi.2022.0018. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35834646.
4. Dennis CL, Brown HK, Brennenstuhl S, Vigod S, Miller A, Castro RA, Marini FC, Birken C. Preconception risk factors and health care needs of pregnancy-planning women and men with a lifetime history or current mental illness: A nationwide survey. PLoS One. 2022 Jun 22;17(6):e0270158. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270158. PMID: 35731809; PMCID: PMC9216596.
5. Gehring ND, Johnston BC, Birken C, Buchholz A, Cooper J, Erdstein J, Fitzpatrick-Lewis D, Hadjiyannakis S, Hamilton J, Hatanaka D, Henderson M, Lebel T, Moore SA, Morrison KM, Page S, Pearce N, Sebastianski M, Sherifali D, St-Pierre J, Zenlea I, Ball GDC. A survey of stakeholders' perceived importance of health indicators and subgroup analyses to inform the Canadian clinical practice guideline for managing paediatric obesity. Pediatr Obes. 2022 Jun 3:e12949. doi: 10.1111/ijpo.12949. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35666072.
6. Yoshida-Montezuma Y, Sivapathasundaram B, Brown HK, Keown-Stoneman C, de Souza RJ, To T, Borkhoff CM, Birken CS, Maguire JL, Anderson LN. Association of Late Preterm Birth and Size for Gestational Age With Cardiometabolic Risk in Childhood. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 May 2;5(5):e2214379. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.14379. PMID: 35622362; PMCID: PMC9142868.
7. Charalampopoulou M, Choi EJ, Korczak DJ, Cost KT, Crosbie J, Birken CS, Charach A, Monga S, Kelley E, Nicolson R, Georgiades S, Ayub M, Schachar RJ, Iaboni A, Anagnostou E. Mental health profiles of autistic children and youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Paediatr Child Health. 2022 May 5;27(Suppl 1):S59-S65. doi: 10.1093/pch/pxab111. PMID: 35615409; PMCID: PMC9126276.
8. Massara P, Spiegel-Feld C, Hamilton J, Maguire JL, Birken C, Bandsma R, Comelli EM. Association between gut MIcrobiota, GROWth and Diet in peripubertal children from the TARGet Kids! cohort (The MiGrowD) study: protocol for studying gut microbiota at a community-based primary healthcare setting. BMJ Open. 2022 May 9;12(5):e057989. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-057989. PMID: 35534076; PMCID: PMC9086606.
9. Giannoumis M, Mok E, Borkhoff CM, Birken CS, Maguire J, Parkin PC, Li P, Constantin E. Association of accelerometry-derived social jetlag and sleep with temperament in children less than 6 years of age. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022 May 9. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.10056. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35532114.
10. Elliott LJ, Keown-Stoneman CDG, Birken CS, Jenkins DJA, Borkhoff CM, Maguire JL; TARGet KIDS! COLLABORATION. Vegetarian Diet, Growth, and Nutrition in Early Childhood: A Longitudinal Cohort Study. Pediatrics. 2022 Jun 1;149(6):e2021052598. doi: 10.1542/peds.2021-052598. PMID: 35499383.

In the News

‘Our brains were not actually designed to work that way’: How online learning harms kids’ well-being and what parents can do to help. Toronto Star. January 12, 2022.

Pandemic Screen Time Linked to Anxiety, Depression in Older Kids. Medscape. January 3, 2022.

Children’s mental health may suffer if they spend too much time on electronic devices. New York Post. December 31, 2022.

Children’s mental health may suffer if they spend too much time on electronic devices, study suggests. Fox News.  December 30, 2021.

Study links kids’ screen time during pandemic with rise in mental, behavioral issues. United Press International (UPI). December 28, 2021.

Recreational amenities could reopen before stay-at-home order expires: health minister. CP24. May 17, 2021.

Let the children play: Getting children and youth outdoors now for an active recovery. SickKids. May 14, 2021.

Let the children play. Healthy Debate. May 7, 2021.

Current Lab Members (within the Department of Nutritional Sciences)

Kate Braddon – MSc student

Arin Deveci – MSc student

Vincent Wong – MSc student