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Tim Oberlander
Tim Oberlander
Professor, MD
604–875–3570
toberlander@bcchr.ca
4500 Oak St Vancouver, BC V6H 3N1
About
Dr. Tim Oberlander is a physician-scientist whose work bridges developmental neurosciences and community child health. As a clinician, he manages pain in children with developmental disabilities. As a researcher, his primary interest has been in studying how early life experiences shape stress/pain and related neurobehavioral outcomes during childhood.
Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Reach (2017)
Medical Lead for the Complex Pain Service, BC Children’s Hospital
BCCH representative, Pain Services BC Health Improvement Network
BC lead, knowledge translation NCE – Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP)
Member, Pain in Child Health National Collaborators Committee
Dr. Oberlander’s work extends from molecular/genetic studies to population epidemiological studies that characterize neurodevelopmental pathways that reflect risk, resiliency and developmental plasticity. To this end, he has published pioneering studies on neurobehavioral outcomes in young children of depressed mothers who were treated with an SSRI antidepressant during pregnancy.
This work shows that the developing brain has a remarkable capacity for plasticity and recovery. Even in the face of adversity, some children do very well. The goal of Dr. Oberlander’s work is to figure out how and why this happens. Outcome measures include studies of pain reactivity, attention, mood and executive functions across early childhood.