A bio-ecological integrative approach to understand the 'hidden costs' of COVID-19 on children

How will the pandemic affect children's brains, immune systems, and ability to thrive? COVID-19 has rapidly and dramatically changed society. As such, the pandemic might leave a vestige on our health and well-being due not only to direct threats from infection with the virus, but also due to enduring stressors linked to the economic downturn and unintended consequences of social distancing policies. As the first few years of life constitute a sensitive period for long-term embedding of experiences and exposures, children might be at particularly high risk from these stressors. A cross-disciplinary team of 11 fellows from CIFAR's Child & Brain Development and Humans & the Microbiome programs, including two Canada CIFAR AI Chairs, will integrate biological, behavioral, and sociological data to assess the long-term effects of the pandemic on children. In order to do this, they will first develop an approach to link datasets about epigenetics, the microbiome, immune-makers, and functional genomics of immune-response with administrative databases. Then, they will create and distribute 'at home' kits for citizen scientists to contribute these various types of data. These activities will enable the measurement, evaluation, and long-term follow-up of the 'COVID-19 experience' on children at a population level.