Pascal Lavoie

MDCM, FRCPC, PhD

Investigator, BC Children's Hospital
Neonatologist, BC Children's Hospital and BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre
Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia

My research focuses on understanding why newborn babies are more vulnerable to infections, and how we can better protect them, especially from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and sepsis. I study both how common and severe these infections are (epidemiology), and how the newborn immune system responds to germs. To answer these questions, I combine lab-based science and clinical research. This includes studying the immune system at a molecular level, using tools like genomics, bioinformatics, and other "-omics" technologies, as well as working with patients and families through large clinical and population health studies. As a clinician-scientist and neonatologist, I also provide hands-on care to critically ill newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at BC Women’s Hospital. This dual role ensures that my research remains grounded in the real-world challenges faced by newborns and their families, and directly informs the development of evidence-based interventions to reduce the global burden of neonatal infections.