- More than $6.5 million for child and adolescent health research
- 11 child health research projects share funding ahead of Telethon 2023
- Grants funded by the Cook Government and Channel 7 Telethon Trust
A new round of WA Child Research Fund (WACRF) grants worth more than $6.5 million is set to significantly boost health research for Western Australia's youngest citizens.
Co-funded by the Cook Government and the Channel 7 Telethon Trust, the WACRF supports research aimed at improving outcomes for child and adolescent health across the State.
This year 11 diverse child health research applicants are sharing the funding, including several projects that address winter illness - timely following WA's recent seasonal spike in respiratory conditions.
The funding will support Clinical Professor Andr Schultz from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and Telethon Kids Institute (TKI) to examine why some Aboriginal children develop bronchiectasis, a serious lung condition resulting from bronchiolitis that reflects permanent lung damage. The team is hoping to find ways to prevent bronchiectasis for these vulnerable children.
Another grant will support UWA's Professor Mark Nicol to lead work developing next-generation probiotics to prevent childhood pneumonia.
The potential benefits of this work include reduced hospitalisations, reduction in antimicrobial resistance and other diseases associated with early life exposure to antibiotics, and improved long-term respiratory health for children.
The WACRF will also support Professor Peter Richmond from UWA and TKI and his team to use results from a WA-led clinical trial testing a vaccine for Pneumococcal PCV in combination with other vaccines. This research aims to develop a way to improve the protection of vulnerable children from severe infection.
The WACRF is administered through the Department of Health's Office of Medical Research and Innovation. Grants of up to $600,000 each over three years are awarded to successful child and adolescent health research projects.
The full list of recipients can be found on the WA Child Research Fund website.
Comments attributed to Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson:
"The Cook Government is committed to supporting and developing important health and medical research outcomes for Western Australian children.
"These projects are just a few of the incredibly important studies that our medical researchers and innovators are working on to ensure better health outcomes for WA kids.
"This research work is key to finding new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases and chronic conditions in our children."
