Cohen Lab

Dr. Eyal Cohen trained in paediatrics at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Canada and Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney, Australia, and completed an M.Sc. in health research methodology at McMaster University in 2008. He co-founded the Complex Care Program in the Division of Paediatric Medicine at SickKids where he is a Senior Scientist in the SickKids Research Institute. He is a Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto with cross-appointments in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. He is also a Scientist with the CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research at McMaster University. Currently, Dr. Cohen is Program Head of the Child Health Evaluative Sciences program in the SickKids Research Institute and the Co-Director of the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children at the University of Toronto.

About the lab

The Cohen Lab is one of the first group of researchers to develop a program of research focused on children with medical complexity (CMC) and their families. Specifically, our focus in this area has been on the following overarching themes:

Theme 1:

Defining who CMC are and how to best ascertain them using valid and reproducible algorithms.

Theme 2:

Better understanding the health outcomes and needs of CMC and their families.

Theme 3:

Developing, evaluating and disseminating evidence-based interventions to improve health outcomes for CMC.

Theme 4:

Understanding how the health system performs when complex children and youth transition to adult care.

Our lab team

The Cohen Lab research team consists of a diverse group of individuals from interdisciplinary backgrounds. Dr. Cohen acts as an undergraduate and graduate student supervisor or co-supervisor, and thesis committee member for a number of students, including several in his lab.

Collaborators

Given the novelty of this research path and its intrinsic inter-disciplinary nature, both across clinical health fields (e.g., medicine, nursing, rehabilitation sciences) and across methodologic orientation (e.g., health services research, qualitative inquiry, social sciences, etc.), the Cohen Lab has developed an extensive network of colleagues with potential intersecting interests in this area.

The Orkin Lab

Dr. Julia Orkin is a staff paediatrician in the Division of Paediatric Medicine at SickKids and holds an Associate-Scientist Track position at SickKids Research Institute. She is the Medical Director of the Complex Care program and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. She is the Paediatric Clinical Lead for Ontario Health GTA Region and is the Chair of the Community Paediatric Committee at the Canadian Paediatric Society. The Orkin Lab’s research focuses on studying and optimizing care delivery and health outcomes for children with medical complexity and their families.

Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Health Children

The Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children at the University of Toronto and SickKids in Toronto, Canada, is a research centre focused on early interventions and social policy to allow children and youth to thrive.

Established in 2019 through a landmark gift from Dr. Edwin S.H. Leong, a prominent global business leader, philanthropist, and University of Toronto alumnus, our Centre brings together researchers to address and reduce inequities in child health outcomes resulting from the social and structural determinants of health.