HEALTH RESEARCH GRANTS HELP GIVE RESEARCHERS WINGS

 

The Foundation has a long tradition of funding Western Australian research that aims to solve problems and deliver tangible outcomes to the benefit of children, adolescents and young people.

In its latest funding round, the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation awarded a series of People and Platform grants designed to support outstanding health-related research.

Support from the Foundation will enable researchers at Telethon Kids Institute to commence projects on topics ranging from disability, mental health and lung disease to diabetes, Aboriginal leadership, and the development of child-focused pandemic policies.

Professor Jonathan Carapetis, Director of Telethon Kids Institute, said the Foundation had been a longstanding and much-valued supporter of the organisation’s work.

“Over the past three decades the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation has made an incalculable contribution to child health research in Western Australia,” Professor Carapetis said.

“These latest grants will help to give wings to some of our smartest scientists, who are leading a series of diverse, innovative and thoughtful projects that otherwise may not have been possible.

“Telethon Kids Institute remains deeply grateful for the Foundation’s continued commitment to nurturing home-grown research, and to giving both our emerging and more experienced researchers the tools to help make a difference in the lives of kids and families.”

Elizabeth Perron, Chair of the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation, said the work of Telethon Kids Institute was vital to ensuring children and young people in Western Australia had the best possible chance to live happy and healthy lives.

“The Foundation has enjoyed an enduring association with Telethon Kids Institute, and we look forward to many more years of working together to support excellence in research,” Elizabeth said.

Researchers from Telethon Kids Institute to receive People grants in 2022 include:

  • Dr Yael Perry – Co-Head, Youth Mental Health at Telethon Kids Institute

    • Digital interventions to improve the mental health of West Australian LGBTQA+ young people — in affiliation with The University of Western Australia (UWA)

  • Associate Professor Jenny Downs – Head, Child Disability at Telethon Kids Institute

    • A knowledge-to-practice roadmap for improving quality of life in children with disability — in affiliation with UWA

  • Associate Professor Ewan Cameron – Director of Malaria Risk Stratification within the Geospatial Health and Development team at Telethon Kids Institute and Associate Professor with Curtin University’s School of Population Health

    • Designing equitable and effective, child-focused COVID-19 policies with a virtual WA — in affiliation with Curtin University

  • Associate Professor Shannon Simpson – Co-Head, Children's Lung Health at the Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre and an Associate Professor with Curtin University’s School of Allied Health

    • Arresting and reversing lung disease for the children of WA who were born too soon — in affiliation with Curtin University

 

Researchers from Telethon Kids Institute to receive Platform grants include:

  • Professor Tim Jones, Co-Director Rio Tinto Children’s Diabetes Centre, Telethon Kids Institute, Clinical Professor at UWA, and Director Research Child and Adolescent Health Services; with a team of researchers from Telethon Kids Institute, Perth Children’s Hospital, Macquarie University and Monash University

    • DiabConnect: an innovative integrated diabetes data management platform for patients and families, researchers, and clinicians. Other researchers involved in this project include Professor Liz Davis, Dr Rad Aniba, Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite, Professor Sophie Zoungas, Associate Professor Yvonne Zurynski, Dr Anne Carrigan, Dr Craig Taplin, Helen Clapin and Leanne Cromb. This grant will be administered through UWA.

  • Professor Chris Blyth, Director of the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines & Infectious Diseases at Telethon Kids Institute and Professor of Paediatrics at UWA; with Cheryl Bridge, Head of the Kulunga Aboriginal Unit at Telethon Kids, and Mrs Valerie Swift, Aboriginal Cultural Guidance Advisor for the Wesfarmers Centre

    • Aboriginal Leadership and Training Platform for the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases — in affiliation with UWA.

The People & Platforms 2023 round opens midday Monday 3 April and closes midday 6 June 2023. Click here for more information.

The Foundation has a long tradition of funding Western Australian research that aims to solve problems and deliver tangible outcomes to the benefit of children, adolescents and young people.

Published: March 2023

 
Megan Putland