- New program to identify researchers with a passion for child health
- Supported by the State’s Future Health Research and Innovation Fund and Brightspark Foundation
Fellowships worth almost $1 million will be awarded to four early career researchers to develop their vision and approach to improving child health.
The Fellowships program, co-funded by the Cook Government’s Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund and the Brightspark Foundation, has been established to ensure emerging local expertise in research and innovation stays in Western Australia.
Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson said the program was designed to help early-career researchers become better qualified, experienced and positioned to seek longer term child health research funding.
The FHRI Fund and Brightspark Foundation partnership will inject more than $5 million over three years into the Fellowship program, with an additional $2.1 million being provided by research entities.
The four inaugural Fellowships, which start next year, will be supported by Telethon Kids Institute. These include:
- Curtin University’s Ms Denby Evans will study the airways of premature babies whose lung function usually declines as they age. Ms Evans plans to identify what aspect of the cell structure and behaviour contributes to lung disease, opening the door to new treatments and improved lung health after preterm birth;
- The University of Western Australia’s (UWA) Dr Brittany Dewdney will explore different ways of removing brain tumours in children. This work has the potential to change surgical approaches on children and lead to improved immunotherapy clinical trials;
- Dr Samantha Carlson from UWA aims to protect more WA families from vaccine preventable diseases by improving childhood vaccine uptake. Dr Carlson will work with the community, health care providers, and organisations to codesign research projects and activities to ensure people are vaccinated on-time; and
- Dr Hannah Thomas from UWA will work with Kimberley communities to identify, understand and action community-led skin health research. Untreated skin infections can lead to acute rheumatic fever and subsequent rheumatic heart disease – a preventable disease.
A total of 20 Fellowships will be awarded through the co-funded program over three years to improve child health through research.
Comments attributed to Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson:
“I am excited to announce these new early career Fellowships that focus on child health research and will make a significant difference to young lives here in Western Australia.
“A priority for the Cook Government is how we can utilise medical research and its outcomes to benefiting and supporting more Western Australians.
“This initiative is designed to identify local talent as researchers begin their career. It will support and nurture fresh ideas and harness the passion and enthusiasm for the benefit of the child health research sector.
“Congratulations to the inaugural recipients of the 2024 early career Fellowships.
“We encourage and support medical researchers to base their careers here in the West and be a part of our fast growing medical research hub that is attracting both national and international recognition.”
