Our Story

For many years prior to the birth of CAPRI, pediatric rheumatologists from across Canada had worked together collaboratively to improve care for children with rheumatic diseases, and on issues relating to training and advocacy. In 2006, a meeting was held in Vancouver, BC, attended by nearly all Canadian pediatric rheumatologists at which it was agreed that a research network was needed. We recognized that research in childhood rheumatic diseases could only be done effectively by working together collaboratively. Our group decided to focus on childhood arthritis, and from that meeting, a New Emerging team grant was submitted to the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR) and was successful. This was the birth of the CAPRI and the Research on Arthritis in Canadian Children-Emphasizing Outcomes (ReACCh-Out) study.

Since these first steps, CAPRI has grown in research scope and membership, and has been enormously successful in expanding our research together. Our network includes pediatric rheumatologists and researchers from every pediatric rheumatology centre in Canada, and together we have been successful in expanding Canadian research on JIA to look at biologic outcome predictors, physical activity in children with JIA, and now an international collaborative study of personalized predictors of treatment response in JIA. We have implemented the successful CAPRI JIA Registry to provide a longitudinal data set and platform for new studies; this strategy is working fantastically well, with a number of successful new studies starting. 

From our humble beginnings as a small group focused on childhood arthritis, we  have expanded our scope to all aspects of health research across the spectrum of pediatric rheumatic disease. It is exciting to see the growth of our Canadian pediatric rheumatology research group, and to be a part of the vibrant collaborative spirit that is driving us forward!