National Grants for Innovative Child Health Research
Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research has been awarded more than 3 million dollars from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to undertake cutting edge research into a range of diseases and disabilities.
Institute Director, Professor Fiona Stanley, said the NHMRC grants were highly competitive, and the Institute's top scientists had performed well above the national average.
"I'm particularly pleased that a number of these research projects focus on the very early prevention of disease and disability which is where we can make the most profound difference," Professor Stanley said.
"Some of our other successful projects are looking at improving the effectiveness of treatments for children with cancer and better care for children with serious disabilities."
Research led by Professor Pat Holt and Dr Deborah Strickland will explore how respiratory virus infections provoke asthma attacks in allergic children that are so severe that they can lead to emergency hospitalization.
"This project will seek to define how immune responses to viruses and air-borne allergens interact to create very severe inflammation in the airways to trigger the most severe type of asthma attacks," Professor Holt said.
"It's important that we learn more about the underlying mechanisms if we are to develop better treatments or prevent the disease from occurring in the first place."
Dr Andrew Whitehouse will look at prenatal and early post natal risk factors for autism spectrum disorders.
"In particular we will focus on fetal growth as well as the hormone environment to which the fetus is exposed," Dr Whitehouse said.
"The hope is to identify early biological markers, which may provide insights into the causes of autism, in turn promoting earlier diagnosis and intervention."
The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Subiaco has more than 450 staff dedicated to improving child health and wellbeing.
Established in 1990, it has forged an international reputation for excellence in research in fields including childhood cancers, asthma and allergies, mental health, birth defects, child development, infectious disease and Aboriginal child health.
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PROJECTS
Prof Pat Holt: Respiratory viral infections as triggers of acute severe asthma exacerbations in atopics: mechanistic studies in an experimental model
Prof Ursula Kees: Targeting Drug-Resistance in Paediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukamia
Dr Andrew Whitehouse: Prenatal and early postnatal risk factors for autism spectrum disorders
Prof Ursula Kees: Role of connective tissue growth factor in the pathobiology of lymphoid tumours and response to therapy
A/Prof Helen Leonard: Towards evidence-based care for Rett syndrome: a research model to inform management of rare disorders