Daphne Korczak

Director, Children’s Integrated Mood and Body (CLIMB) Depression Program
Department of Psychiatry

Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
Department of Psychiatry 

Dr. Daphne Korczak is the Director of the Children's Integrated Mood and Body (CLIMB) Depression Program, a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Clinician-Scientist in the Department of Psychiatry at SickKids and University of Toronto. Her research focuses on the relationship between depression in childhood and premature cardiovascular disease risk in adulthood, with the aim of identifying putative targets for intervention; a secondary area of research is youth suicide prevention, in which Dr. Korczak leads the first RCT of a suicide prevention intervention in Canada. Within these areas of research, Dr. Korczak leads (PI) several externally funded studies. Dr. Korczak is also a strong child mental health advocate, Chair, Mental Health Task Force, Canadian Paediatric Society, also lead (PI) of a novel study examining the real-time impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and families in Canada.

Education

• 2000: MD, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada (Field of Study: Medicine)
• 2004: FRCP(C), University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada (Field of Study: Paediatric Medicine)
• 2006: FRCP(C), University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada (Field of Study: Psychiatry)
• 2012: M.Sc., McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada (Field of Study: Health Research Methods)

Experience

• 2006–Present: Staff Psychiatrist, Department of Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 2010–Present: Director, Paediatric Postgraduate Teaching Program in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 2016–Present: Director: Children’s Integrated Mood and Body (CLIMB) Program, Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 2016–Present: Associate Member, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Achievements

• 2019–2024: Chair, Mental Health Task Force, Canadian Pediatric Society
• 2018–2021: Vice-Chair, Research and Scientific Program Committee, Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• 2019–2022: Academic Scholar Award, Department of Psychiatry – University of Toronto
• 2016–2018: O’Brien Scholarship in Child and Youth Mental Health Research, The Hospital for Sick Children and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
• 2013: Outstanding Achievement Award, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University
• 2008: Scotiabank Prize in Children’s Mental Health, Scotiabank for Research in Children’s Mental Health.

1. Goldstein BI, Korczak DJ. Links between Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Disorders and Cardiovascular Risk [published online ahead of print, 2020 Jul 3]. Can J Cardiol. 2020;S0828-282X(20)30586-9. Impact Factor 4.403. 
2. Korczak DJ, Madigan S, Colasanto M. Children’s physical activity and depression: A meta-analysis. Pediatrics. 2017 139(4):e20162266. Impact Factor 5.196. Principal Author.
3. Korczak DJ, Orner M, LeBlanc J, Wong S, Feldman M, Parkin P. Major Depressive Disorder in Canadian School-Aged Children: Rare Disorder or Rarely Detected?. Academic Pediatrics. 2017 March:17(2):191-197. Impact Factor 2.438. Principal Author.
4. Korczak DJ, Szatmari P, Morrison K, Duku E, Lipman E. Child and adolescent psychopathology predicts increased adult body mass index: results from a prospective community sample. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. 2014 Feb-Mar;35(2):108-117. Impact Factor 2.323. Principal Author. 
5. Korczak DJ, Pereira S, Koulian K, Matejcek A, Giacca A. Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Major Depressive Disorder: Evidence for a biological link. Diabetologia. 2011 Oct;54(10):2483-2493. Impact Factor 6.814. Principal Author.