Meet Nicholas

Nicholas is involved in autism research, working under the supervision of Dr. Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation chair in autism. Nicholas’ focus is on building community capacity for autism care through evaluating medical training programs.

He started working in the autism research field in July 2022 as a research assistant and began his graduate studies project in September 2022. He hopes to continue to do projects in the autism research field for his entire career.

Outside of his research, Nicholas enjoys following the latest trends in music, watching Disney and Marvel movies, Nintendo gaming and going for walks in nature.

Let’s find out more about Nicholas:

How did you decide to do this work?

Growing up with autism, I have had people in my life, including healthcare professionals, make harmful assumptions about me. Instead of letting it defeat me, I wanted to take power by working to educate people and professionals on what “autism” means and focusing on strengths and empowerment of autistic individuals, while recognizing the challenges in a neuro-affirmative manner.

What have you learned?

The biggest take-home message from my research is that, despite autism not being well taught in medical schools and training programs, there is a desire for pediatric residents to learn more about how to improve the quality of life for autistic individuals.

How do you think your research will help inform future Stollery (and community) physicians and how might it impact future practices?

I sincerely hope that my work can make a difference in the way autism is taught in medical training programs, both in terms of improving the quality of care for autistic patients and also by increasing community capacity of new pediatricians who are comfortable working with autistic children.

What is your favourite kids’ book?

My favourite children’s book is Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss. I truly believe the book highlights my philosophy that people can do wonderful things when given a chance, and it is a book my parents read to me as a kid (and adult) that has inspired me to be who I am today.

Do you have a favourite Disney Princess or superhero?

I have a soft spot for Belle, as she was my aunt’s favourite Disney character. My aunt passed away a year before I was born, and I grew up with Beauty and the Beast in her memory.