Qualifications
PhD Pediatric Psychology, MA Developmental Psychology, BA Psychology
Research Interests
Pain and stress in infants, Long-term effects of neonatal pain in very preterm infants, Infant and
child behavior and neurodevelopment, Parenting stress, Maternal interaction, Brain and behavior
Current Research Activity

Pain in preterm infants: development and effects – Follow-up to 7.5 years, RE Grunau
Principal Investigator and Co-Investigators R Brant, A Devlin, A Diamond, M Liotti, S
Miller, U Ribary, A Synnes, D Weeks, H Weinberg, J Weinberg, M Whitfield (Funding
USA National Institutes of Health [NIH] $1,147,495 USD 2008 to 2013).

Stress and neurodevelopment in children born preterm, RE Grunau Principal Investigator
and Co-Investigators R Brant, S Miller, A Synnes, J Weinberg, MF Whitfield (Funding
Canadian Institutes of Health Research $640,606CAN 2008-2013); includes
developmental follow-up to 3 years corrected age.

Trajectories of Brain Development and Neurocognitive Outcomes in Children born
Preterm, Co-Principal Investigators S Miller & RE Grunau and Co-Investigators B
Bjornson, R Brant, K Poskitt, A Synnes, J Weinberg. (Funded by the Canadian Institutes
of Health Research $937,496 CAN 2011 to 2016); includes follow-up to 8 years.

Neonatal brain structure and function following prenatal antidepressant exposure, T
Oberlander Principal Investigator and Co-Investigators RE Grunau, S Miller, R Brant R,
V Chau V, K Lim, S Misri, D Rurak, S Wiebe (Funded by the Canadian Institutes of
Health Research $1,139,616 CAN 2012 to 2017).

Efficacy and safety of methylxanthines in very low birth weight infants (Caffeine for
Apnea of Prematurity [CAP] age 11 yr follow-up) B Schmidt with Co-Principal
Investigators, P Anderson, D Dewey, L Doyle, RE Grunau and international CoInvestigators (Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research $1,139,616 CAN
2012 to 2017).

Abnormal Brain Development in Newborns with Congenital Heart Disease, S Miller
Principal Investigator and Co-Investigators A Campell, RE Grunau, K Poskitt, A Synnes
(Funded March of Dimes $330,000USD and Canadian Institutes of Health Research
$798,370USD 2010 to 2015)

Pain in Child Health - II Strategic Training Initiative, McGrath P with Co-Principal
Investigators KD Craig, A Finley, RE Grunau, C Johnston, B Stevens, C Von Bayer and
16 Co-Investigators (Funding Canadian Institutes of Health Research $1,950,000CAN
2009 to 2015)

Executive Functions and stress reactivity in 5-7 year olds following prenatal serotonin
reuptake inhibitor exposure, T Oberlander Principal Investigator with Co-Investigators T
Boyce, R Brant, A Devlin, A Diamond, RE Grunau, S Misri, J Weinberg, A Young
(Funding Canadian Institutes of Health Research $610,470CAN 2008 to 2013
Recent Publications (selected)
*trainee supervised by RE Grunau

Holsti L, Grunau RE, Oberlander T, Osiovich H. Is it painful or not? Discriminant
validity of the Behavioral Indicators of Infant (BIIP) scale. Clinical Journal of Pain, 2008
January 24(1):83-88.

Grunau RE, Whitfield MF, Petrie-Thomas J, Synnes A, Cepeda IL, Keidar A, Rogers
M, MacKay M, Hubber-Richard P, Johannesen D. Neonatal pain, parenting stress and
interaction, in relation to cognitive and motor development at 8 and 18 months in preterm
infants. Pain, 2009 May; 143:138–146.

Klein VC, Gaspardo CM, Martinez FE, Grunau RE, Linhares MB. Pain and distress
reactivity and recovery as early predictors of temperament in toddlers born preterm. Early
Human Development, 2009 September; 85(9): 569-76.

*Doesburg SM, Herdman AT, Ribary U, Cheung T, Moiseev A, Weinberg H, Liotti M,
Weeks D, Grunau RE. Long-range synchronization and local desynchronization of alpha
oscillations during visual short-term memory retention in children. Experimental Brain
Research, 2010 Apr;201(4):719-727.

*Haley DW, Grunau RE, Weinberg J, Keidar A, Oberlander T. Physiological correlates
of memory recall in infancy: vagal tone, cortisol, and imitation in preterm and full-term
infants at 6-months. Infant Behav Dev. 2010 Apr;33(2):219-234.

Holsti L, Grunau RE. Considerations for using sucrose to reduce procedural pain in
preterm infants. Pediatrics, 2010 May;125(5):1042-1047.

Synnes AR, Anson S, Arkesteijn A, Butt A, Shelagh S, Grunau RE, Rogers M,
Whitfield MF. School Entry Age Outcomes for ≤ 800 Gram Birth Weight Babies. Journal
of Pediatrics, 2010 Dec;157(6):989-994.e1.

Grunau RE, *Tu MT, Whitfield MF, Oberlander TF, Weinberg J, Yu W, Thiessen P,
Gosse G, Scheifele D. Cortisol, behavior and heart rate reactivity to immunization pain at
4 months corrected age in infants born very preterm. Clinical Journal of Pain, 2010
Oct;26 (8):698-704.
*Doesburg SM, Ribary U, Herdman AT, Miller SP, Poskitt KJ, Moiseev A, Whitfield
MF, Synnes A, Grunau RE. Altered long-range alpha-band synchronization during
visual short-term memory retention in children born very preterm. Neuroimage, 2011
Feb; 54(3): 2330-2339.
*Brummelte S, Grunau RE, Zaidman-Zait A, Weinberg J, Nordstokke D, Cepeda IL.
Cortisol levels in relation to maternal interaction and child internalizing behavior in










preterm and full term children at 18 months corrected age. Developmental
Psychobiology, 2011Mar; 53(2):184-195.
Holsti L, Grunau RE, Shany E. Assessing pain in preterm infants in the neonatal
intensive care unit: moving to a “brain-oriented” approach. Pain Management, 2011
Mar;1(2), 171–179.
*Brummelte S, Grunau RE, Synnes AR, Whitfield MF, Petrie-Thomas J. Declining
cognitive development from 8 to 18 months in preterm children predicts persisting higher
parenting stress. Early Human Development, 2011 Apr;87(4):273-280.
*Doesburg SM, Ribary U, Herdman AT, Moiseev A, Cheung T, Miller SP, Poskitt K,
Weinberg H, Whitfield MF, Synnes A, Grunau RE. Magnetoencephalography reveals
slowing of resting peak oscillatory frequency in children born very preterm. Pediatric
Research, 2011 Aug;70(2):171-175.
Schmidt B, Anderson P, Doyle L, Dewey D, Grunau R, Asztalos E, Davis P, Tin W,
Moddemann D, Solimano A, Ohlsson A, Barrington K, Roberts R. Five-Year Follow-Up
of Participants in the International Caffeine for Apnea of Prematurity Trial. JAMA, 2012
Jan;307(3):275-282.
*Petrie Thomas J, Grunau RE, Oberlander T, Synnes A, Whitfield M. Focused
Attention, Heart Rate Deceleration and Cognitive Development in Preterm and Full-Term
Infants. Developmental Psychobiology, 2012 May;54(4):383-400
*Brummelte S, Grunau RE, Chau V, Poskitt KJ, Brant R, Vinall J, Gover A, Synnes A,
Miller SP. Procedural pain and brain development in premature newborns. Annals of
Neurology, 2012 Mar;71(3):385-96.
*Gover A, Brummelte S, Synnes A, Miller SP, Brant R, Weinberg J, Whitfield MF,
Grunau RE. A single course of antenatal steroids did not alter resting cortisol in very
preterm infants to 18 months corrected age. Acta Paediatrica, 2012 Jun;101(6):604-8.
*Vinall J, Miller SP, Chau V, *Brummelte S, Synnes A, Grunau RE. Neonatal pain in
relation to postnatal growth in infants born very preterm. Pain, 2012 Jul;153(7):1374-81.
 *Zwicker JG, Grunau RE, Adams E, Chau V, Brant R, Poskitt KJ, Synnes A, Miller SP.
Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology-II and neonatal pain predict corticospinal tract
development in premature newborns. Pediatric Neurology, 2013;48:123-129.
 Vinall, J, Grunau, RE, Brant R, Chau V, Poskitt K, Synnes AR, Miller SP. Slower
postnatal growth is associated with delayed cerebral cortical maturation in preterm
newborns. Science Translational Medicine, 2013 Jan;5(168):168ra8.
 Grunau RE (2013) Long term effects of pain in infants. In: Schmidt, R.F, & Willis, W.D
(Eds). Encyclopedic Reference of Pain.3nd Ed. New York. Springer Berlin / Heidelberg.
 Grunau RE (in press). Long-term effects of pain in children. In W. Zempsky, B. Stevens,
P. McGrath, S. Walker (Eds.) Oxford Textbook of Paediatric Pain, Oxford University
Press, Oxford UK.