Medical Research

2023 Bloom Research Grants awarded

The Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation has awarded $5.7 million in funding to research projects investigating childhood brain cancer, asthma and pregnancy health.

The recipients of the 2023 Bloom Research Program Grants were acknowledged at an awards night at the Lion Hotel.

Innovative research encouraging vaccinations

Research funded by the Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation, and published in JAMA Pediatrics, a high-ranking journal of the American Medical Association, trialled the use of SMS reminders, called ‘nudges’, to encourage flu vaccinations in children and adolescents with chronic medical conditions.

Safe and effective dosing of antibiotics in neonates

Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation funded research project, neoGent, led by Associate Professor Luke Grzeskowiak, explored the current neonatal dosing guidelines for gentamicin, an antibiotic commonly used to treat neonatal sepsis. The best dosage of this potentially lifesaving antibiotic is a fine balancing act. Too little and it may not effectively treat the infection. Too much and it can become unsafe, with the potential to cause kidney damage and hearing problems.

Research Helping Mums Sustain Breastfeeding

We’ve funded research by Dr Amy Keir to establish improved breastfeeding support for women with late preterm babies. The multidisciplinary team includes Lactation Consultants Susie Jones, Laura Summers and Jess Ramsay. The research has shaped a greater understanding of the challenges families and healthcare professionals face in providing breast milk to babies born early and how to overcome them.

Type 1 diabetes in children

In a recent study led by Dr Megan Penno, an investigation was conducted into the development of dysglycaemia (abnormally fluctuating glucose levels) using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in very young children. Our study is the first of its kind characterising changes in glucose patterns using CGM prior to the clinical onset of T1D in children aged one to seven years at increased risk of the disease.

Paediatric CAR-T Cancer Immunotherapy Research Project

Professor Simon Barry from the Hospital’s research team. in partnership researchers from Carina Biotech, our Foundation is raising funds in support of a new immunotherapy project targeting a treatment for solid cell cancerous tumours in children.

The Impact of Medical Research

Meet Dr Nigel Farrow: an inspirational researcher your funding supports.

“I’m trying to find a cure for the airway disease associated with cystic fibrosis. I didn’t want to be one of those parents who sits back and asks, ‘when is it going to happen?’. My response was let’s get in and make it happen,” Dr Nigel Farrow said.

Obesity and Influenza Vaccine

In Australia, more than 25% of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. Obesity is known to increase the severity of influenza (flu) infection, but little is known about its impact on flu vaccine responses in children. A prospective study funded by the WCH Foundation shaped a better understanding of this. It showed that obesity didn’t impair the vaccine response at six months following vaccination and that adequate vaccine responses were observed across obese and non-obese groups of children.