The Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation is proud to announce its 2025 research grant recipients, leading a diverse array of groundbreaking projects aimed at improving health outcomes for children and families.
Almost $3 million has been committed to these projects over the coming years, supporting vital research into mental health and rare diseases:
- Associate Professor Anne Sved Williams and her team will develop and evaluate telehealth delivery of a program for mothers with Borderline Personality Disorder, enabling them to access mental health support from home, no matter where they live.
- Dr Alyssa Sawyer and her team will evaluate an attachment-informed perinatal care program designed to strengthen parent–infant bonds, build parental confidence, and promote lifelong wellbeing.
- Professor Michael Stark and his team will trial late amino acid administration in infants requiring urgent surgery for serious and rare abdominal defects through the DELA3Y Trial, to improve recovery outcomes for these vulnerable babies.
- Professor Jozef Gecz and his team will develop oligonucleotide therapies for two rare disorders causing epilepsy. This groundbreaking research could not only provide real treatment options for these rare disorders but also open the door to transformative therapies for many others.
- Professor Kim Hemsley and her team will conduct pre-clinical evaluation of a potential drug treatment for childhood dementia, offering a beacon of hope for children and families affected by this devastating condition.
- Dr Karissa Barthelson and her team will use zebrafish models to investigate skeletal phenotypes in Morquio syndrome, to uncover new insights into the condition, paving the way for improved treatments.
These projects aim to create transformational change in healthcare for families across South Australia and beyond.
