Dear Friends and colleagues,

The CHU de Québec-Université Laval research center, in collaboration with the three other major pediatric research centers in Quebec, are pleased to present the fourth edition of the provincial conference on mother-child research wich took place on the 29 and October 30, 2020 in a virtual form! We would have been delighted to welcome you to Quebec city, but virtual formula was needed to protect participants and their families and participate in the collective effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus while maintaining the objectives of the congress which are of:

• Allow exchanges between researchers and students around mother-child research;
• Facilitate the exposure of participants to new themes / research disciplines;
• Serve as a forum for disseminating the latest advances in mother-child research in Quebec. As such, a special COVID-19 session will be added to the program.

This year the congress broke new ground by adapting a theme: decompartmentalized health.

From planning a pregnancy to the fetal period, from birth to early development of the child, to the adolescent and his or her behaviors, health cannot be understood outside of its broader context that includes environment, family, infrastructure and community. This research decompartmentalization, at the intersection of several individuals, ages and disciplines, facilitates the emergence of new knowledge, both in basic and clinical research. This is the only way to approach the complex problems and contemporary challenges in mother-child research

On behalf of the scientific committee and in my name as President of this congress, I would like to thank the 289 registered participants including the presenters of the 109 selected abstracts. We warmly thank the prestigious presenters, Dr Bruno Piedboeuf and Dr Michel Lucas, the session chairs, the guest presenters, the evaluators, the session facilitators and our members of the scientific committee for contributing to the quality and scientific diversity of the congress and its smooth running.
Thanks to our digital platform, videoconferencing exchanges could take place, not only for the oral presentations but also around each of 77 posters, between the presenters and the participants. We hope that this virtual formula has enabled fruitful and collaborative exchanges.

D^r Richard E. Bélanger To see the full schedule and access the virtual rooms, you must be connected to the event. For login instructions and to prepare for virtual poster sessions, you can refer to this guide for the participant.

Mother-child research spheres presented:

Session 1 - Family, parenthood, ethics and mental health

Session 2 - Genetics, epigenetics, biomarkers and developmental biology

Session 4 & 6 - Neonatology and prematurity

Session 5 - Maternal-fetal medicine and pregnancy complications

Session 7- Public and environmental health, epidemiology and organization of pediatric health care

Session 8- COVID-19: molecular mechanisms, therapies and family/psychosocial impacts

Complet program with abstracts

Congratulations to the winners of the Best Presentation Awards,

presented by our partner, the Foundation of Stars (in alphabetical order).

Best oral presentations:

Zahia Attari - McGill University
Joanie Mélançon - Laval University
Patrick Ntantu Nkinsa - University of Montreal
Sharina Patel - McGill University

Best poster presentations:

Marie-Eve Brien - University of Montreal
Thiphanie Cavé - University of Sherbrooke
Aurélie Lacouture - Laval University
Émilie Thivierge - University of Montreal

Acknowledgments

Scientific Commitee

Richard E. Bélanger, CRCHU de Québec-Université Laval, President
Émilie Beaulieu, CRCHU de Québec-Université Lava
Jennifer Saint-Laurent, CR-CHUS
Jean-François Lepage, CR-CHUS
Sylvie Girard, CR-CHU Sainte-Justine
Marie-Noëlle Simard, CR-CHU Sainte-Justine
Brett Burstein, RI-MUHC
Wissam Shalish, RI-MUHC

The members of the scientific committee thank their colleagues who joined the evaluating committee:

Arnaud Gagneur, Serge McGraw, Thuy Mai Luu, Sylvie Breton, Josée-Anne Gagnon, Katryn Paquette, Aimée Ryan, Jean-François Lepage, Audrey Hébert, Yara Barrense Diaz, Natalia Poliakova, Slim Haddad, Gina Muckle, Geneviève Roch, Côté Sylvana , Anne-Marie Côté, Gurbet karahan, Kakkar Fatima, Anne-julie Lafrenaye-Dugas, Andre Machado Xavier

Session facilitators

Aline Dumas, Anne-Julie Lafrenaye-Dugas, Caroline Moisan, Pascale Piedboeuf, Nadie Rioux