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Wednesday, 3 September 2014

A study into treating life-threatening allergies is among 15 child and adolescent research projects led by scientists from The University of Western Australia that have shared in $3million in State Government funding.

Announcing the second round of the Telethon-Perth Children's Hospital Research Fund (TPCHRF), Acting Health Minister John Day said grants between $43,000 and $217,000 had been awarded to short-term research projects.

"Research is vital to maintaining a world-class health system and the findings that will come from this research stand to make a real difference to patient care and health outcomes for young West Australians," Mr Day said.

A study into the role that viral and bacterial pathogens play in causing pneumonia in children, and research to develop a fast and accurate test to diagnose sepsis in newborns, are also among  the projects that received funding.

The successful projects lead by researchers based at UWA and its affiliates, the Telethon Kids Institute and Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, were chosen by an expert steering committee from a record number of 73 applications covering a wide range of disciplines.

The TPCHRF was established in 2012 in recognition of the critical importance of child health research with the State Government working with the Channel 7 Telethon Trust to deliver the initiative.

The successful UWA researcher projects include:

  • SeqNextGen: Translating NextGen sequencing for the diagnosis of developmental anomalies and rare diseases (Winthrop Professor Jenefer Blackwell, Telethon Kids Institute)
  • PneumoWA: a case control study of the role of viral and bacterial pathogens in causing pneumonia among Western Australian children (Associate Professor Chris Blyth, School of Paediatrics and Child Health)
  • Development of a new paradigm to accelerate translation of research discoveries into new treatments for patients. (Dr Anthony Bosco, Telethon Kids Institute)
  • Developing a simple, rapid and accurate diagnostic test for neonatal sepsis(Dr Saskia Decuypere, Telethon Kids Institute)
  • Mechanisms of a novel Helicobacter pylori -based immunotherapy to treat allergic disease. (Dr Alma Fulurija, School of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)
  • To identify epigenetic biomarkers of congenital heart defects in a family based epidemiology study. (Clinical Professor Jack Goldblatt, School of Paediatrics and Child Health)
  • New uses for old drugs: repurposing treatments for childhood brain cancers (Dr Nick Gottardo, Telethon Kids Institute)
  • Identifying strategies for the prevention and treatment of rhinovirus-induced asthma (Adjunct Associate Professor Belinda Hales, Telethon Kids Institute)
  • Bedside to bench and back to the paediatric obesity clinic: enabling a powerful West Australian epigenetic resource (Associate Professor Rae-Chi Huang, Telethon Kids Institute)
  • Manufacturing mature glucose-responsive insulin-secreting cells for type 1 diabetes therapy (Associate Professor Fang-Xu Jiang, UWA Centre for Medical Research/Harry Perkins Institute for Medical Research)
  • Evaluation of Haemophilus haemolyticus as a preventative therapy for ear disease (Assistant Professor Lea-Ann Kirkham, School of Paediatrics and Child Health)
  • To investigate nasopharyngeal and gut microbiome profiles in ABC and CBC children regarding their dietary patterns ( Winthrop Professor Peter LeSouëf, School of Paediatrics and Child Health)
  • Evaluating the use and effectiveness of passive immunisation in reducing RSV-associated morbidity in high-risk infants ( Dr Hannah Moore, Telethon Kids Institute)
  • Improving gut biodiversity with soluble fibre in early life to prevent inflammatory disease - a pilot study to study effects on early immune development (Winthrop Professor Susan Prescott, School of Paediatrics and Child Health, Telethon Kids Institute)
  • A randomised control trial of nitazoxanide for the treatment of bronchiolitis in infants ( Dr Claire Waddington, Telethon Kids Institute).

Media references

Tammy Gibbs (Telethon Kids Institute)  (+61 8) 9489 7963 / (+61 4) 08 946 698
Carolyn Monaghan (Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research)  (+614) 48 021 932
Natasha Mutch (Acting Health Minister John Day)  (+61 8) 6552 5300 / (+61 4) 28 144 010
David Stacey (UWA Media Manager)  (+61 8) 6488 3229 / (+61 4) 32 637 716

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