One Historic Gift.
Thirty Years of Partnership.
One Historic Gift.
Thirty Years of Partnership.
Transforming the Future of Women and Children’s Health
This record-breaking $93.5 million commitment is the largest in University of Alberta history and secures a future where every woman and child can thrive. This historic 10-year investment in the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI) is provided by the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation ($70M) and the Alberta Women’s Health Foundation ($23.5M).
As a landmark partnership between the foundations, the University of Alberta, and Alberta Health Services, this gift fuels a third decade of collaborative discovery. Meet the resilient women, families, children and visionary researchers turning this investment into life-changing breakthroughs.
The Power of Partnership
This historic investment is made possible through a unique, multi-partner model dedicated to transforming health outcomes for all Albertans.
Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation
A foundational commitment to WCHRI is securing a third decade of stability for world-class pediatric research in Alberta. This long-term investment ensures that life-saving discoveries move rapidly from the laboratory to the bedsides of children across the province, fostering a future of better health outcomes.
Alberta Women’s Health Foundation
Dedicated to closing the gaps in women’s health research across the entire lifespan. By investing in the strength of women, we ensure specialized care and innovative breakthroughs are available at every age and every stage of life.
Alberta Health Services
AHS provides the vital clinical environment where research meets reality. This partnership ensures that WCHRI discoveries are integrated into our health system, improving outcomes for patients at the front lines of care.
A National Pillar of Health Innovation
The Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI) is the only institute of its kind in Canada and one of the few globally dedicated to women's and children’s health across the entire lifespan. By intersecting these two vital fields, WCHRI closes critical gaps in research that often go overlooked. From foundational discoveries in the origins of disease to specialized innovations for women and children at every age and stage, we are the engine of discovery for over half the population.
Stories of Strength and Discovery
For families in Maskwacîs, getting support for neurodiversity often meant traveling far from home. But through this work with WCHRI-supported researcher Grant Bruno, that’s starting to change. By sharing my family’s lived experience, I’m helping to bring that support closer to our community — in a way that reflects who we are and how we understand it.
Kerrin Simon + Kenai Ermineskin
From Awareness to Lived Reality
For families in Maskwacîs, accessing neurodiversity support often meant traveling far from home. But through a partnership with WCHRI-supported researcher Grant Bruno, Kerrin Simon is helping change the map. By turning her family’s lived experience into actionable research, she is ensuring that the future of autism support is local, culturally rooted, and led by the community itself.
From Awareness to Lived Reality
Research provided more than data; it provided community and a new way for our family to grow together.
A Full Circle Journey
From parent to PhD researcher, I’ve seen how investment in research turns advanced knowledge into improved care for every family.
Seen, Heard, and Valued
Research provided the care and purpose I needed to move from patient partner to specializing as a Registered Nurse.
Giving Our Children a Voice
Research transformed our hospital experience, replacing physical restraint with a compassionate approach that empowers our children during care.
Where Great Ideas Grow
This partnership nurtures ambitious ideas, allowing our students and researchers to build labs that improve family health.
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$93.5M
New Partnership Gift
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400+
Researchers Supported
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30
Years of Strategic Partnerships
“With our strategic funding partners, researchers and health-care teams, we aren’t just closing these gaps — we’re creating limitless potential for the future of children’s and women’s health around the world.”
The Faces of Research
Research is often measured in breakthroughs and data, but its true value is found in the lives it changes. Meet the families, researchers, women and children who represent the heart of this work.
Read about the faces of research
The Sinnamon Family
Having the Stollery’s world-class care close to home meant everything. Today, as a parent partner, I help shape research to make those experiences better for other families. It brings a sense of purpose — knowing that what we went through can help make care more compassionate for the next child.
Margie Davenport
With WCHRI’s support, we’ve transformed how we understand pregnancy and physical activity. What was once approached with caution is now recognized as essential to maternal and fetal health. This work has shaped national and international guidelines — and continues to improve care for families around the world.
Sarah Chambers
For so long, I felt dismissed and unsure, like I was imagining what was happening to my body. My diagnosis brought relief, but also answers. Now, through research, I’m part of something that’s creating change — not just for me, but for other women who deserve to be heard and understood.
The Kemp Family
George received two heart transplants before the age of three. Today, he’s doing well — but we know his journey isn’t over. That’s why we support research. It’s not just about today’s care — it’s about giving children like George the chance at a longer, healthier future.
Paige and Darcey Foerster
For years, migraines shaped Paige’s life — impacting her childhood and limiting what felt possible. But through research and care, things began to change. Today, her future looks different. She’s planning for university, building independence and moving forward in ways she once only hoped for.
Grant Bruno
Through WCHRI, I’ve been able to connect community and research in meaningful ways. By working alongside families and grounding the work in Indigenous perspectives, we’re addressing real gaps in care. This work is about more than research — it’s about building trust, strengthening connections and creating change that reflects the needs of the community.
Thrive: Transforming lives for women and children
