A The Kids Research Institute Australia ear health researcher has received a prestigious national fellowship to support her search for new therapies to improve the lives of kids who suffer repeat middle ear infections.
Dr Ruth Thornton was awarded a Mid-Career Fellowship by the Passe & Williams Foundation – a not-for-profit organisation which funds life-changing medical research, surgery and care aimed at improving the health of people with ear, nose and throat conditions.
Every year, more than 368 million children around the world aged under five experience painful middle ear infections – also known as otitis media (OM).
For children with chronic and recurrent middle ear infections, grommet insertion is often needed. One third of these children require repeat surgery.
Previous research by Dr Thornton – who is Co-Lead of the Bacterial Respiratory Infectious Disease Group (BRIDG) at the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, based at The Kids Research Institute Australia, and a Senior Research Fellow within The Centre for Child Health Research at The University of Western Australia – has shown this recurrence of disease is due to bacteria surviving within the ears of children in a sticky glue known as biofilm.
Dr Thornton’s research program under the four-year Passe & Williams fellowship will further explore these biofilms, with a view to developing and implementing OM therapies that prevent ongoing infections and their consequences.
“Chronic and recurrent ear infections can cause a lot of pain and distress for children and their families, and can also result in problems with delayed speech and language development and education,” Dr Thornton said.
“This, combined with the fact that standard treatments just don’t always work, is why it’s so important that we find ways to interrupt the cycle and ensure these kids can continue to develop free of the ongoing burden of ear infections.
This fellowship will enable me to advance new therapies for the children that desperately need them, thus preventing the need for repeat surgery and allowing kids to lead happier, healthier lives.
A total of 12 innovative proposals received Passe & Williams funding from its 2022 Award Round. The Foundation, which has provided grants worth more than $72 million since its establishment in 1991, will this year invest $3.6 million in research spearheaded by leading scientists and clinicians across the ear, nose and throat sector.
Passe & Williams awards are highly competitive, with applications this year the third highest on record. This year is also the first time since 2016 that the Mid-Career Fellowship has been on offer, with Dr Thornton receiving one of only two fellowships of this kind.
The Mid-Year Fellowship enables outstanding individuals to expand on their postdoctoral (or equivalent) experience and establish themselves as independent researchers, with a view to pursuing a research career in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS) in Australia and/or New Zealand.
Dr Thornton’s project will include completing a clinical trial using an anti-biofilm treatment during grommet insertion and for five days post-surgery; developing lab tests to invent slow-release anti-biofilm treatments for use during surgery – so parents no longer have to administer ear drops following surgery; and establishing a bank of ear, nose and throat samples to help boost the development of improved therapies and facilitate international collaborations.
“I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Passe & Williams Foundation for their belief and support in my work,” Dr Thornton said.
Hopefully together we will be able to make a real difference in the lives of children and their families, preventing them from suffering the ongoing effects of middle ear infections.
For more information on the Foundation and on this year’s grant recipients, see here.