Ishnoor is a doctoral student at the University of Calgary. She is supervised by Dr. Sarah MacEachern in the Precision Neurodevelopment Lab. Ishnoor completed her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and Native Studies alongside a Research Certificate in Science at the University of Alberta.

Up to 80% of youth diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders exhibit behaviours of concern, including aggression and self-injury. The reasons for these behaviours can be hard to understand, need a specialized doctor to treat, and can lead to many problems for these youth and their families. A modifiable risk factor for behaviours of concern is sleep, where improving sleep can improve behaviour. Sleep disturbances impact up to 86% of neurodiverse youth and can exacerbate the frequency, severity, and duration of these behaviours. Sleep education is the first-line treatment of sleep disturbances and is successful in improving sleep in other pediatric populations. However, the design and delivery of sleep education interventions must be adapted to the cognitive, functional, and behavioural needs of neurodiverse youth with co-occurring behaviors of concern. At present, there is no avenue for expert and timely delivery of tailored sleep education for this population.

In the past year, Ishnoor has engaged with 38 neurodiverse youth, caregivers, and physician partners to co-design Nova Sleepcare, an in-clinic, physician-delivered sleep education intervention for neurodiverse youth who have behaviours of concern. Now, Ishnoor is working towards testing the feasibility and efficacy of Nova Sleepcare in three pediatric centers across Canada to investigate if Nova Sleepcare can help youth sleep better and have less behaviours of concern. If successful, this intervention could be used to help improve behaviours of concern for neurodiverse youth across Canada.