The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers will share in $2.3 million awarded by the Western Australian Department of Health Innovation Seed Fund for vital research in areas including children’s cancer, antimicrobial resistance and severe pain suffered by children with disabilities.
The Innovation Seed Fund is part of the Future Health Research and Innovation Fund initiative and provides funding for early-stage innovations with the potential to improve the health and wellbeing of Western Australians.
Five important The Kids Research Institute Australia research projects have received support.
Head of the Sarcoma Translational Research Team at the The Kids Cancer Centre and Simon Lee Fellow, Dr Joost Lesterhuis, has received funding for two projects.
His first project will build on pre-existing research with the team at the Cancer Centre investigating a specific drug that dampens the immune response against cancer cells. This drug will be cheaper to manufacture and is less invasive to cancer patients.
His second project will investigate an immunotherapy gel that works to prevent cancer recurrence after surgery. This gel will work to attract and activates immune cells locally in the tumour area and remove any remaining cancer cells – significantly reducing recurrence after surgery.
Director of the The Kids Cancer Centre Professor Terrance Johns will lead a team investigating current cancer treatments, with the focus on repurposing ion channel drugs.
High-Grade Glioma (HGG) is the most common and deadly type of brain cancer affecting adults and children. The team will investigate pre-approved drugs to treat HGG and look to repurpose them with the hope of fast-tracking the movement of new, lifesaving treatments into the clinic.
A team led by Head of Airway Epithelial Research and Rothwell Family Fellow Associate Professor Anthony Kicic from the Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Centre (a powerhouse partnership between The Kids Research Institute Australia, Perth Children’s Hospital and the PCH Foundation) – will seek to establish a 'Phage Therapy Platform' in WA, from which patients affected by antimicrobial resistance bacteria (AMR) can be treated quickly and effectively with phage therapy.
The funding will help establish a 'WA-Phage Bioreactor Facility' where treatments will be manufactured at a scale sufficient for compassionate use to treat severe infections in patients with very limited or no treatment options.
Co-Head of Child Disability Associate Professor Jenny Downs will investigate the mobile app PainChek® and its potential to detect pain in children with disabilities.
Children with disabilities experience more pain than their typically developing peers, and pain management depends on pain detection – however, many children with disabilities have difficulties with communication and cannot report their pain.
PainChek® uses a smartphone camera to scan facial features and automatically recognises and records facial muscle movements indicative of pain. The team will investigate this app and determine its practicality for use in hospitals and for at home care.
The Kids Research Institute Australia Director Professor Jonathan Carapetis said these highly competitive grants allow our researchers to continue to do the critical work they do in tackling some of the significant health issues affecting kids.
"To receive these prestigious grants is a testament to the quality and hard work of our The Kids researchers and their teams," Professor Carapetis said.
Focusing on innovation will foster the translation of great WA science into products that can help prevent and treat disease in kids.