DAN Women & Babies Program

Administrative assistant: Brenda Grisdale
Phone: 416-480-6100 ext. 688123
Email: brenda.grisdale@sunnybrook.ca

Education:

• BA, 1976, faculty of social science, University of Windsor, Canada
• BScN, 1977, faculty of science and mathematics, School of Nursing, University of Windsor, Canada
• MD, 1984, faculty of medicine, University of Toronto, Canada
• M.Sc., 2002, health research methodology, McMaster University, Canada

Appointments and Affiliations:

• Associate scientist, Evaluative Clinical Sciences, DAN Women & Babies Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute
• Staff neonatologist, department of newborn and developmental pediatrics, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
• Neonatal research director, department of newborn and developmental pediatrics, Sunnybrook
• Associate professor, departments of pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynaecology, faculty of medicine, University of Toronto
• Associate professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto

Research Foci:

• Clinical trials, perinatal and neonatal outcomes, optimizing provision of breast milk for the preterm infant
• Assisting in the development and conduct of clinical trials

Research Summary:

Dr. Asztalos' primary area is in clinical epidemiology, with the body of her work in clinical trials. Her main areas of strength are the neurodevelopmental monitoring and follow-up of high-risk infants.

She was the principal investigator for the five-year follow-up study of children whose mothers participated in the Multiple Courses of Antenatal Corticosteroids (MAC-5) study, which was recently completed in 2012. She also just concluded a clinical trial on the safety and effectiveness of domperidone in breast milk production, the EMPOWER study.

She is also the principal investigator for LIFT_Canada, a Canadian multi-centre RCT which will evaluate whether bovine lactoferrin will improve survival of very low birth weight infants without significant morbidities.

Selected Publications:

See current publications list at PubMed.

Related News and Stories:

• Improving outcomes for the sickest and smallest babies: Chasing solutions to help preterm babies and their families survive and flourish (SRI Magazine, 2018)
• SRI scientists top the national average in successful CIHR project grants: Over a dozen projects approved (June 2, 2017)
• A delicate balance: Safe delivery: oxygen and preemies (SRI Magazine, 2013)
• A new place to call home: Women and Babies researchers move to Bayview Campus (Sept. 22, 2010)
• Handle with care: Helping babies live pain-free (SRI Magazine, 2009)