Associate Professor Ashleigh Lin, Professor Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg and Professor Stephen Stick.
The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers have been awarded $5.3 million in prestigious Investigator Grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to further their innovative child health research.
The funding, announced by Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt today as part of $472 million in grants for health and medical research across Australia, will support critical research into safer anaesthesia for babies and children, childhood respiratory health, and improving the mental health of trans and gender diverse young people.
Professor Stephen Stick secured $1.9 million to consolidate existing work and develop new strands of research aimed at improving the respiratory health of children in priority areas such as asthma, cystic fibrosis and early childhood viral infections, including COVID-19.
Professor Stick, who is Director of the Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre – a powerhouse partnership between The Kids, Perth Children’s Hospital and the Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation – will use the funding to further several projects, including measuring how tissues in the nose fight childhood viruses to in turn help develop new prevention methods and vaccines.
He will also use friendly viruses to kill the antibiotic-resistant bacteria which can cause difficult-to-treat lung infections in children with cystic fibrosis (CF), and investigate whether wearable devices can detect health changes so children with CF can receive prompt treatment when needed.
Perioperative Medicine Team leader Professor Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg, who was recently a finalist for Scientist of the Year at the 2021 Premier’s Science Awards, secured $1.87 million to help expand her research program devoted to better predicting, understanding and reducing risks associated with anaesthesia for babies and children.
Professor Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg – who is also a consultant paediatric anaesthetist at Perth Children’s Hospital and Chair of Paediatric Anaesthesia at The University of Western Australia – has combined her clinical career with research and advocacy focused on improving global practice in the field.
Her five-year research program will feature studies and trials aimed at improving perioperative outcomes, improving knowledge around respiratory physiological changes during anaesthesia, reducing post-operative pain in children, and protecting babies’ brains during and after anaesthesia.
Program Head of Mental Health and Youth Research at The Kids Research Institute Australia, Associate Professor Ashleigh Lin, was awarded $1.57 million for a research program aimed at better understanding and improving the mental health of trans and gender diverse youth.
The program includes several projects aimed at addressing knowledge gaps and developing and trialling interventions. Associate Professor Lin’s team will seek to better understand key elements including the longitudinal trajectories of mental health in trans children, the social and emotional wellbeing of trans young people, and stigma and self-stigma in trans young people.
In partnership with the trans community and with parents of trans children and young people, they plan to co-design and trial interventions for individuals and families, including a ‘serious digital game’. Overall, the research program is aimed at delivering equitable mental health support to a group of young people who are unlikely to benefit from a one-size-fits-all approach to youth mental health.
NHMRC Investigator Grants provide the highest-performing researchers at all career stages with secure funding that enables them to pursue important new research directions and collaborations as they arise, rather than being tied to one specific research project.
The Kids Research Institute Australia Director, Professor Jonathan Carapetis, said the three research programs which had been awarded the prestigious grants demonstrated the depth and breadth of the Institute’s work.
“All three of these researchers are leaders in their respective fields, with each one of them undertaking vital work to tackle serious health issues that affect children and young people,” Professor Carapetis said.
“Investigator grants are highly competitive and highly prized – the fact that Steve, Britta and Ashleigh have secured them is a testament to the high-quality work they continue to undertake, and the contribution they’re each making to our core mission of working towards happier, healthier kids.”
All three of the grants will be administered through The University of Western Australia.
Minister Hunt’s media release can be read here.
For more information on NHMRC Investigator Grants, see here.