Dr. Liton Furukawa stands at the forefront of ethical health research as a postdoctoral fellow and Research Ethics Review Officer at Royal Roads University, skillfully navigating complex ethical landscapes while fostering collaboration across diverse stakeholders. She leads this pioneering project as PI funded by the Increasing Capacity for Maternal and Pediatric Clinical Trials (IMPaCT) and Michael Smith Health Research BC.
Guided by Dr. Mary Bernard, Program Head and Research Ethics Board Chair, Dr. Furukawa is distinguished as one of only four IMPaCT-funded postdocs across Canada in 2025, uniquely representing British Columbia. As a multisensory intervention specialist and educational psychologist, she innovatively weaves music, art, and rhythm into transformative therapies for neurodiverse children.
Dr. Furukawa’s groundbreaking project is a BC-based initiative with promising international collaboration through matched funding, positioning it at the forefront of innovative autism and ADHD research. The project addresses a critical gap in current therapies that primarily manage symptoms without targeting the underlying causes, limiting long-term improvements in children’s social and emotional functioning. By pioneering an Interactive Multisensory Physical Movements model combined with traditional behavioral therapies, this research engages children aged 5-12 with ASD and ADHD through immersive, technology-driven activities that stimulate multisensory integration and full-body involvement.
In BC, Dr. Furukawa works as a PI integrating cutting-edge scientific tools – such as holography, eye tracking, and virtual reality – with established behavioral therapies to revolutionize the development of social skills and emotional regulation. This novel intervention aims to transcend conventional methods by offering a dynamic, engaging therapeutic experience tailored to the mental and physical needs of each child. Anticipated outcomes include marked improvements in social interaction, reductions in behavioral challenges, and enhanced participation in daily activities, promising to elevate the quality of life for affected children.
The impact of this research will extend beyond individual benefits, potentially transforming understanding and care provision for neurodevelopmental disorders within the BC health system. By demonstrating the efficacy of combining advanced technology with behavioral science, Dr. Furukawa’s project could set a new standard for personalized interventions that address core deficits rather than symptoms alone. This innovation holds the promise to reduce healthcare burdens, improve long-term outcomes, and inspire scalable, technology-empowered therapeutic models across Canada and internationally.
Approximately 15–25% of pregnancies end in miscarriage; however, actual numbers are unknown in Canada. In addition, data for various other pregnancy losses (e.g., ectopic pregnancies) is currently not disseminated in British Columbia (BC). As a result, services have not been developed to meet the growing population’s need for integrated health care following pregnancy loss. This project will identify health system improvements to more accurately reflect BC’s pregnancy loss rates and the health care needs of patients and families. The project has three phases: (1) an evaluation of pregnancy loss data in BC, (2) conversations with patient partners and health care providers, and (3) the co-development of pregnancy loss care resources, alongside patient partners and health care providers, for use within the provincial health authorities. This C2 application is for Phases 1 and 2 of the project. The team will convene and collaborate with patient partners and health care providers to review pregnancy loss rates in BC and identify critically needed pregnancy loss resources and future research priorities—a critical step to designing pregnancy loss care services that meet the needs of BC’s growing and diverse populations.
The purpose of this project is to work together with a group of young adults with cancer who identify as men in BC to better understand their experiences seeking support for cancer related infertility and achieving other life-stage specific milestones. In a recent review of research exploring reproductive concerns in cancer survivors, Dong et al. (2023), highlights that studies focus on women cancer patients, with relatively less attention given to those who identify as men, including those who are racialized and those who identify as trans-gender men, creating a lack of support for them when confronting the risk of cancer-related infertility and other life-stage specific challenges. Guided by participatory action and patient-oriented research, we will host two workshops over 12 months, one virtual and the other in-person, with young men (ages 15-39). Our aim: understanding their views on fertility;infertility, support-seeking experiences, and co-establishing a research agenda;communication strategy to challenge cultural and gender stereotypes in oncofertility and supportive care and enhance engagement of men in research and the co-development of programming.
The purpose of this initiative is to develop leadership capacity in the Canadian health care system. This will be done by identifying and addressing gaps in applied research and practical knowledge within and between the researcher and decision-maker communities. These individuals will be brought together as networks so they can better understand and learn from each other. The networks (one national and five regional nodes) will carry out research on how to identify and apply the qualities of effective leadership in regional settings across Canada and how to adapt the knowledge learned into professional development and degree programs offered in those regions.
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