The Newborn Brain Society is proud to unveil the recipients of the Early Career Award, selected by the Quality Improvement and Research Committee.
Since its inception in 2022, this award has supported promising investigators focused on advancing knowledge and care for the fetal and neonatal brain. Each recipient will receive a $10,000 grant to fund their innovative research projects.
Learn more about the 2024 awardees, their backgrounds, and their projects below.
Benjamin Lear, MD
Research Fellow, Department of Physiology, University of Auckland
Project: Origins and biomarkers of mild hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
Learn about Benjamin Lear
Dr. Benjamin Lear is a research fellow and medical student at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Under the mentorship of Professor Laura Bennet and Professor Alistair Gunn of the Fetal Physiology and Neuroscience group in the Department of Physiology, Ben’s research centres around the pathogenesis, detection and treatment of perinatal brain injury using chronically instrumented fetal sheep. Using this model, Ben has become an expert in histological anatomy of the brain and the processing and interpretation of biochemistry and physiological signals. The NBS early career award allows Ben to investigate the pathogenesis of mild to moderate brain injury caused by labour-like oxygen deprivation in term-equivalent fetal sheep. Many babies with mild hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy develop some form of brain injury. The emotional and socioeconomic toll on survivors and their families is devastating, and yet there is no proven treatment due to challenges in early detection and limited understanding of the pathophysiology. Ben hopes that findings will identify potential therapeutic avenues, as well as test the feasibility of potential biomarkers, such as electroencephalogram changes and heart rate variability, in predicting outcomes.
Ayokunle Olumodeji, MBBS, FWACS, FMCOG
Associate Lecturer, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Lagos State University College of Medicine, Lagos, Nigeria
Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria
Project: Increasing Adoption of Routine Antenatal Magnesium Sulfate Use for Fetal Neuroprotection in Imminent Preterm Deliveries: A Cluster-Randomized Trial in Lagos
Learn about Ayokunle Olumodeji
Ayokunle Olumodeji, MBBS, FWACS, FMCOG, is an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in Nigeria. He is also an Associate Lecturer in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM). Dr. Olumodeji is a fellow of both the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (FMCOG) and the West African College of Surgeons (FWACS). His professional focus is on improving maternal and newborn health.He is an active member of the Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) team at LASUTH, where he plays a key role in enhancing healthcare quality for mothers and newborns. His research focuses on improving maternal and neonatal outcomes, with a strong commitment to utilizing his expertise to train healthcare professionals. Dr. Olumodeji is dedicated to advancing the well-being of women and newborns across Nigeria.
Thiviya Selvanathan, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia
Staff Physician, Division of Neurology, BC Children’s Hospital
Investigator, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute
Project: Social disparity, thalamic volumes and cognition in adolescents with neonatal HIE
Learn about Thiviya Selvanathan
Dr. Thiviya Selvanathan is a pediatric neurologist and clinician scientist at BC Children’s Hospital with specialized training in neonatal neurology. She is also an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Selvanathan’s research uses advanced neuroimaging techniques to explore the impacts of early-life brain injury and NICU clinical care on brain development in infants at high risk for developmental disabilities such as those born preterm or with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Her work extends to investigating long-term brain health in children who have experienced neonatal brain injury, with a goal to enhance child health outcomes.
Anna Shiraki, MD, PhD
Medical Personnel, Department of Pediatrics, Nagoya University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan
Post-doctoral Researcher, Department of Pediatrics, the University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland (effective April 2025)
Project: Sleep state-dependent thalamocortical functional connectivity in preterm and term-born infants
Learn about Anna Shiraki
Anna Shiraki is a Japanese child neurologist with a research focus on neonatal neurology. She earned
her medical degree from Nagoya University School of Medicine and completed a junior residency in
general medicine at Tosei General Hospital, followed by pediatrics training, including neonatal
medicine, at Anjo Kosei Hospital in Japan. Since 2019, Anna has been pursuing a Ph.D. at Nagoya
University Graduate School of Medicine under the mentorship of Dr. Kidokoro, focusing on
simultaneous electroencephalography and functional near-infrared spectroscopy in infants. She will
complete her Ph.D. in January 2025. Her main work, published in SLEEP (2024), revealed the sleep
state-dependent development of functional connectivity in preterm infants. However, her findings
also underscored the limitation in evaluating thalamocortical connections―critical neurogenetic
networks that formed during the last trimester of pregnancy. To address this gap, she will join the
University of Geneva as a postdoctoral researcher in April 2025 under the mentorship of Professor
Hüppi. Anna aims to clarify sleep state-dependent functional thalamocortical connectivity using
functional MRI, advancing knowledge of prenatal brain development and identifying the basis of
neurodevelopmental challenges in preterm infants. Anna’s research will lay the groundwork for
neonatal functional MRI studies and inspire advancements in neonatal care.