ResearchHub Login
BCCHR Researchers Find a Researcher

Anamaria Richardson
BSc, BEd, MD, FRCPC

Investigator and General Pediatrician, BC Children's Hospital

My current research interests focus on exploring what it means to be a community provider and a researcher. As a general pediatrician, holding positions in both developmental pediatrics and psychiatry I see mostly children with complex behavioural phenotypes. As a community based pediatrician, work is based away from institutional supports and this has lead to my current research interest. Community providers have expertise grounded in daily micro-experiments but traditional research forums do not allow for our ‘naturalistic’ methodologies – this results in a major lack in ability to share this knowledge. As a community provider I seek to understand the interplay between colonialism and our academic institutions and how to decentralize knowledge. I am more than a “Knowledge User” as my understanding of etiology and pathology is grounded in what I learn from patient interactions, not by researchers.

The population of patients I work with includes those impacted by profound autism and associated behaviours – this includes a focus on Self-Injurious Behaviours (SIB). I am working towards establishing an understanding of SIB in terms of impact on individual, family and society. This patient population experiences extreme marginalization and massive health inequities by virtue of a behaviour. I am currently looking towards understanding SIB, by creating a shared definition, including what severity means (is 1 time eye gouging once per week more severe the 100 hits from hand to head a day?). I am hoping to develop a national registry and establish Canada as the go to in SIB.

My work is informed by the varied hats I wear – run a clinic in Vancouver (Groundwork Medical Clinic), do outreach to Bella Coola, Powell River and Fort St John as a community pediatrician, complete autism assessments as I can and with pilot projects, do local outreach through Social Pediatrics to Lu’ma Medical Clinic and an undocumented Latin migrant clinic. It is further shaped by being a white appearing Latina – all the privilege but none of the racism yet guided by what my mom experienced.

Academic Affiliations

  • Clinical Assistant Professor, , Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
  • Research Theme: Brain, Behaviour & Development
  • Research Group(s): Mental Health and Behaviour; Neurodevelopmental and Neurological Disorders

Contact Information

Location

4500 Oak Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6H 3V4

anamaria.richardson@cw.bc.ca

Granville Pediatrics and Family Clinic

Our journey, our stories: The lived experiences of parents/caregivers of children with severe neurodevelopmental disorders and behavioural complexity requiring examinations under anaesthesia

Paediatrics & Child Health

Aaron Ooi and Diana Salcedo and Hayley Wroot and Anamaria Richardson

DOI: 10.1093/pch/pxaf067

11 / 2025

Severe self-injurious behaviours: A significant paediatric problem

Paediatrics & Child Health

Anamaria Richardson and Myka Estes and Sarah J MacEachern

DOI: 10.1093/pch/pxaf076

11 / 2025

Erratum: An HNRNPK-specific DNA methylation signature makes sense of missense variants and expands the phenotypic spectrum of Au-Kline syndrome (The American Journal of Human Genetics (2022) 109(10) (1867"1884), (S0002929722004037), (10.1016/j.ajhg.2022.08.014))

American Journal of Human Genetics

Choufani, S. and McNiven, V. and Cytrynbaum, C. and Jangjoo, M. and Adam, M.P. and Bjornsson, H.T. and Harris, J. and Dyment, D.A. and Graham, G.E. and Nezarati, M.M. and Aul, R.B. and Castiglioni, C. and Breckpot, J. and Devriendt, K. and Stewart, H. and Banos-Pinero, B. and Mehta, S. and Sandford, R. and Dunn, C. and Mathevet, R. and van Maldergem, L. and Piard, J. and Brischoux-Boucher, E. and Vitobello, A. and Faivre, L. and Bournez, M. and Tran-Mau, F. and Maystadt, I. and Fern{\'a}ndez-Ja{\'e}n, A. and Alvarez, S. and Garc{\'i}a-Prieto, I.D. and Alkuraya, F.S. and Alsaif, H.S. and Rahbeeni, Z. and El-Akouri, K. and Al-Mureikhi, M. and Spillmann, R.C. and Shashi, V. and Sanchez-Lara, P.A. and Graham, J.M. and Roberts, A. and Chorin, O. and Evrony, G.D. and Kraatari-Tiri, M. and Dudding-Byth, T. and Richardson, A. and Hunt, D. and Hamilton, L. and Dyack, S. and Mendelsohn, B.A. and Rodr{\'i}guez, N. and S{\'a}nchez-Mart{\'i}nez, R. and Tenorio-Casta{\~n}o, J. and Nevado, J. and Lapunzina, P. and Tirado, P. and Carminho Amaro Rodrigues, M.-T. and Quteineh, L. and Innes, A.M. and Kline, A.D. and Au, P.Y.B. and Weksberg, R.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2025.07.001

Characteristics of children with autism and unspecified intellectual developmental disorder (intellectual disability) presenting with severe self-injurious behaviours

International Journal of Developmental Disabilities

Fong, A. and Friedlander, R. and Richardson, A. and Allen, K. and Zhang, Q.

DOI: 10.1080/20473869.2022.2113321

Parental experiences in the use of fluoxetine for management of disruptive behaviours in children and youth with autism and pathological demand avoidance " a mixed methods exploratory study (Fluoxetine study)

Research Square

Lim, R. and Yip, J. and Richardson, A.

DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4079890/v1

Iron Deficiency and Restless Sleep/Wake Behaviors in Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Mental Health Conditions

Nutrients

Ipsiroglu, O.S. and Pandher, P.K. and Hill, O. and McWilliams, S. and Braschel, M. and Edwards, K. and Friedlander, R. and Keys, E. and Kuo, C. and Lewis, M.S. and Richardson, A. and Wagner, A.L. and Wensley, D.

DOI: 10.3390/nu16183064

An HNRNPK-specific DNA methylation signature makes sense of missense variants and expands the phenotypic spectrum of Au-Kline syndrome

American Journal of Human Genetics

Choufani, S. and McNiven, V. and Cytrynbaum, C. and Jangjoo, M. and Adam, M.P. and Bjornsson, H.T. and Harris, J. and Dyment, D.A. and Graham, G.E. and Nezarati, M.M. and Aul, R.B. and Castiglioni, C. and Breckpot, J. and Devriendt, K. and Stewart, H. and Banos-Pinero, B. and Mehta, S. and Sandford, R. and Dunn, C. and Mathevet, R. and van Maldergem, L. and Piard, J. and Brischoux-Boucher, E. and Vitobello, A. and Faivre, L. and Bournez, M. and Tran-Mau, F. and Maystadt, I. and Fern{\'a}ndez-Ja{\'e}n, A. and Alvarez, S. and Garc{\'i}a-Prieto, I.D. and Alkuraya, F.S. and Alsaif, H.S. and Rahbeeni, Z. and El-Akouri, K. and Al-Mureikhi, M. and Spillmann, R.C. and Shashi, V. and Sanchez-Lara, P.A. and Graham, J.M. and Roberts, A. and Chorin, O. and Evrony, G.D. and Kraatari-Tiri, M. and Dudding-Byth, T. and Richardson, A. and Hunt, D. and Hamilton, L. and Dyack, S. and Mendelsohn, B.A. and Rodr{\'i}guez, N. and S{\'a}nchez-Mart{\'i}nez, R. and Tenorio-Casta{\~n}o, J. and Nevado, J. and Lapunzina, P. and Tirado, P. and Carminho Amaro Rodrigues, M.-T. and Quteineh, L. and Innes, A.M. and Kline, A.D. and Au, P.Y.B. and Weksberg, R.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2022.08.014

Biased data lead to biased algorithms

CMAJ. Canadian Medical Association Journal

Richardson, A.

DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.80860

Do light truck vehicles (LTV) impose greater risk of pedestrian injury than passenger cars? a meta-analysis and systematic review

Traffic Injury Prevention

Desapriya, E. and Subzwari, S. and Sasges, D. and Basic, A. and Alidina, A. and Turcotte, K. and Pike, I.

DOI: 10.1080/15389580903390623

Deterrent to healthy lifestyles in our communities [13]

Pediatrics

Desapriya, E.B.R. and Pike, I. and Basic, A. and Subzwari, S.

DOI: 10.1542/peds.2007-0370

Graphics and Knowledge Creation

Working with a population of people who largely express themselves without spoken language, I have started to wonder about alternative communication devices for medical research, and for learning. I have moved away from utilizing graphics as an afterthought through KT, but looking at what graphics can teach, where new ways of knowing can be found.

https://pop-culture.arts.ubc.ca/comics-studies/csc-projects/eua-graphics-2/eua-graphics-online-comics-showcase/

Self-Injurious Behaviours

Self-injurious behaviours (SIB) have laid the foundation for my understanding of actionable equity. Medicine gets lost in diagnoses, and SIB is transdiagnostic. Management of SIB requires practitioners to be uncomfortable. As residents we are not taught discomfort – hesitation and pause are considered a fault, as opposed to a manner in which one processes best outcomes when there are no ‘best practice guidelines’.

Currently establishing an epidemiological snapshot of SIB in Canada with a CPSP Survey, developing a process for transdisciplinary assessment and intervention through development of a clinic, working towards establishing a National Registry for Self-Injurious Behaviours, and developing clinical practice guidelines.

Honours & Awards

Wall Scholar, 2021-2022

Family Support Institute “Champion of Diversity, Equity & Social Justice” 2025

Our Research

At BC Children’s, we are making discoveries that save lives and transform health care for children in our province and around the world. Our research portfolio includes basic, clinical, population, and public health research.

EXPLORE OUR RESEARCH

Stay in the Know

Sign up for compelling stories about innovative science, the doctors and researchers who turn ideas into discoveries and treatments, and the kids and families whose lives are changed.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

BC Children's Hospital Research Institute operates on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples — xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Further, this acknowledgement, gratitude, and respect extends to all of the First Nations communities on whose territories the Research Institute builds relationships and operates in British Columbia.

Contact

© 2026 BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute. All rights reserved.

Crafted with by Forge and Smith

Our Research

Training

Services

Organization

Donate NowParticipate in ResearchResearchHub Login
BC Children's HospitalBC Children's Hospital Foundation