Building bridges in child health research through international collaboration
Xuedi Li is a member of the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children and an Epidemiologist with the TARGet Kids! research network (www.targetkids.ca), a large primary care practice-based children’s cohort in Canada co-led by Dr. Catherine Birken and Dr. Jonathon Maguire. In her role, she designs longitudinal cohort studies, develops analysis plans, performs statistical analyses, and supports grant applications. Her research focuses on child health behaviours, growth and development, and early chronic disease prevention using longitudinal data. Recently, Xuedi visited Hong Kong to explore potential collaboration opportunities with Professor Patrick Ip’s research team at Queen Mary Hospital and Hong Kong University. Professor Ip is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at The University of Hong Kong, and serves on the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre’s International Scientific Advisory Committee. Below, Xuedi shares a summary of her visit.
In October 2024, with the generous support of the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children, I had the opportunity to represent TARGet Kids! during a visit to Professor Patrick Ip’s research team at Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong. This visit followed Professor Ip and his team’s trip to Toronto in May 2024, where they presented their extensive work on child and adolescent health at the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children. During their visit, we discovered many shared research interests, including child growth and development, mental health, health behaviours, and educational outcomes. Our initial discussions inspired both teams to consider potential collaborations, given the alignment of our research objectives and measures. The goal of my visit to Hong Kong was to deepen this connection, learn more about their cohorts and databases, and explore potential research collaborations.
This visit was truly eye-opening. From the moment I arrived, Professor Ip and his team were incredibly welcoming, open, and generous in sharing more about their work in Hong Kong. On the first day, I had the opportunity to present an overview of TARGet Kids! and the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children, sharing our research initiatives and areas of interests. In return, Professor Ip's team introduced me to their extensive cohort and database systems in Hong Kong, emphasizing their well-established data infrastructure. Their research spans multiple cohorts, including a birth cohort, a school readiness cohort, a population-based student health database, and a physical activity cohort, addressing a wide range of health domains such as growth, mental health, and dental and eye health. I was also impressed by their substantial international collaborations with the European Commission, Mainland China, South Korea, and others worldwide. Professor Ip is a strong advocate for fostering collaboration between our groups to advance shared research goals.
On the second day, I met with Professor Ip’s trainees and Dr. Winnie Tso, a developmental pediatrician who played a key role in establishing the Chinese Early Development Instrument cohort in Hong Kong. Together, we explored the overlap in our measured variables and assessment tools, including areas such as child screen use, height and weight, cardiometabolic risk, mental health, and academic achievement. I gained valuable insights into Hong Kong’s healthcare system, which is well- structured and supported by extensive services and programs, making data readily accessible for research. Our discussions also highlighted shared challenges in fostering effective collaboration across healthcare and education sectors, an area with great potential for impact.
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Professor Ip and his team for their hospitality, the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children for making this visit possible, and the TARGet Kids! team for their invaluable support on making this trip to Hong Kong. Being able to observe the team’s working environment and engage in conversations with Professor Ip and his team provided insights beyond what virtual meetings typically offer. Both teams recognize the potential impact of combining our aligned measures and shared research goals.
Looking ahead, we are excited to pursue collaborative grant opportunities and explore research questions and data analyses around child health behaviours, mental health, and school outcomes. This visit reinforced the strong alignment between our teams, setting a promising foundation for future collaborations that could advance child health research across both jurisdictions.