Two research teams led by The Kids Research Institute Australia have been awarded more than $2 million to fund innovative projects focused on improving outcomes for Aboriginal children in out-of-home care and improving treatment for children with devastating mitochondrial disorders.
The two projects were among 248 projects to receive a share of $239 million in funding under the latest round of National Health and Medical Research Council Ideas Grants, announced by Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt today. Ideas Grants aim to support innovative and creative research projects addressing a specific question.
Co-designed approach to improve outcomes for Aboriginal kids
A research team led by Dr Brad Farrant has secured $1.3 million for a project, co-designed with Aboriginal Elders and families, which will bring an intergenerational approach to the intergenerational problem of poor outcomes experienced by Aboriginal children in out-of-home care.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are admitted to out-of-home care at ten times the rate of non-Aboriginal children and are twice as likely to experience poor outcomes. These health and wellbeing inequities remain despite decades of research and vast resources expended by governments and non-government organisations.
The researchers and Elder/Co-researchers argued that, because half of Aboriginal parents with children in out-of-home care have experienced out-of-home care themselves, it was critical to take a family-centred and intergenerational approach to improving health and wellbeing outcomes for such children.
“Building on the solid foundation of our previous work with Elders and the Aboriginal community via the Ngulluk Koolunga Ngulluk Koort (Our Children, Our Heart) project, this research will change the paradigm and see us co-design a personalised intervention support program to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal children in out-of-home care and their families,” Dr Farrant said.
The project will be led by the Ngulluk Koolunga Ngulluk Koort Elder/Co-researchers – Aunty Millie Penny, Uncle Albert McNamara, Aunty Muriel Bowie, Aunty Charmaine Pell, Uncle Allan Kickett, Aunty Oriel Green, Kerry Hunt, and Aunty Doris Hill – working with Dr Farrant, Dr Sharynne Hamilton, Mrs Carol Michie and Miss Nicole Ilich, all from The Kids Research Institute Australia. Associate Professor Raewyn Mutch from The University of Western Australia, Associate Professor Carrington Shepherd from Curtin University, and Associate Professor Melissa O’Donnell, of the University of South Australia, will also be involved.
Unique technology to tackle mitochondrial disease
The second The Kids Research Institute Australia-led project to receive an Ideas Grant will see a team led by Professor Aleksandra Filipovska apply innovative RNA editing technology to reverse mutations that cause mitochondrial diseases.
Mitochondrial diseases are the most common group of inherited metabolic diseases worldwide, affecting as many as 1 in 5,000 live births. Caused by mutations in mitochondrial genes, leading to defects in mitochondrial function, they may occur at any age, affect any body organ, and can have a devastating impact, resulting in severe disability and often death. There are no known cures and it is not possible to predict the future of a child with mitochondrial disease.
Professor Filipovska and team have created unique RNA editing tools that can reverse disease-causing mutations – reverting them from a mutated to a normal condition in patient cells and in vivo models. Working with Professor Oliver Rackham, of Curtin University, and Dr Stefan Siira, of The University of Western Australia, she will use the grant to test the technology’s ability to correct mutations and improve disease symptoms.
“Our creative and innovative methods and models will enable us to define a new generation of treatments for mitochondrial diseases and provide much-needed hope for patients and families afflicted with these devastating disorders,” Professor Filipovska said.
Both grants will be administered through The University of Western Australia.
The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers will also be involved in a number of Ideas Grants led by other institutions, including a project which aims to reduce stillbirth among Aboriginal families – being led by Curtin University – and a project led by Murdoch University involving developing novel diagnostics for sepsis point of care in infants, children and adults.
For more information on the latest round of Ideas Grants, see the Minister’s media release.