Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada and the Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) have launched a pan-Canadian research programme targeting rare childhood bone disorders.

The Skeletal Tracking to Accelerate Research (STAR) Program follows a five-year funding investment announced in August 2024 between the two institutions, supported by Shriners Children’s and Children’s Health Foundation.

A $400,000 grant, awarded after a competitive internal process and funded over two years, will support the initiative. The funds will aid in developing new treatments and identifying disease mechanisms.

Co-led by Children’s Hospital’s Dr Leanne Ward and Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada’s Dr Frank Rauch, the STAR Program aligns with the 2024 agreement’s vision to expand specialised paediatric musculoskeletal research and care.

It consists of three main elements: a learning and discovery network to promote ongoing collaboration, a clinical registry to track rare bone disorders, and demonstration projects for new diagnostics and therapies.

The initial joint project will study bone cells in girls with X-Linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) to determine if disease development is linked to random inactivation of healthy genes. The team will use molecular genetics tools for this investigation.

This collaboration supports Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada’s initiative to expand its care and research reach beyond Montreal, especially in Southwestern Ontario.

During its two-year initial phase, the STAR Program plans to broaden its registry and research to include more rare bone disorders and open the platform to further collaborators across Canada.

Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada research director Dr René St-Arnaud said: “This collaboration has shown us the power of what’s possible when two institutions with shared values and complementary expertise come together.

“We are proud to move forward with this first joint research programme, which will serve children with some of the most complex and underserved bone conditions.”

In December 2024, Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada and Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute jointly announced the launch of a fellowship programme focused on paediatric metabolic and genetic bone disorders.