WA Child Research Fund (WACRF) grants worth $6,147,529 will significantly boost health research for Western Australia's young people.
Co-funded by the McGowan Government and the Channel 7 Telethon Trust, the WACRF supports research aimed at improving outcomes for child and adolescent health across the State.
Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson has announced that 11 diverse child health research applicants are sharing the funding this year.
They include "Kids are not small adults" - a Telethon Kids Institute (TKI) and University of Western Australia (UWA) project which will carry out the first preclinical assessment of age-appropriate immunotherapies for childhood cancers.
TKI's Co-Head of Brain Tumour Research Raelene Endersby is leading this work to help identify new, effective, and safe treatments - specifically for children with cancer - to take into WA-led clinical trials.
WA burns specialist Fiona Wood has been funded for a TKI/UWA project to better understand the lifelong impact of paediatric burns on health.
With research indicating that even minor burn injuries cause long term metabolic changes and damage to the immune system, this study aims to find out why some children cannot respond to vaccines after a burn.
It will also work to identify suitable clinical interventions for those children with long-term immune system damage.
The full list of recipients can be found at https://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/Articles/U_Z/WA-Child-Research-Fund-recipients/202122-WA-Child-Research-Fund-recipients.
The WACRF is administered annually by the Department of Health - through the Office of Medical Research and Innovation - and in 2022-23 is providing grants of up to $600,000 over three years to support a research project in the area of child and adolescent health.
As stated by Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson:
"We want to provide our children with the best opportunities in life, and this medical research could lead to life changing outcomes.
"These exciting medical research projects are just a few of the highly innovative and incredibly important studies underway in Western Australia.
"The McGowan Government is committed to further developing and enriching WA's health and medical research ecosystem, and ensuring research findings can be translated into tangible benefits for all Western Australians.
"Our support for WA's child health researchers is key to finding new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases and chronic conditions."
As stated by Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson:
"Early intervention has the potential to positively impact someone's entire life trajectory, which is why children's health research is so vital.
"I am so pleased the McGowan Government is able to support these important medical research projects, in conjunction with the Channel 7 Telethon Trust."
