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Discover. Prevent. Cure.
We're searching for answers to some of the most common and complex childhood diseases, conditions and issues. In addition to our four research themes (Indigenous Health, Brain and Behaviour, Chronic and Severe Diseases, Early Environment), you can also discover more about specific research we're involved in and the technology we use.
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Different audiences rely on us for very different things. Whether you're a valued donor, curious professional researcher, inquisitive member of the public, or a corporate supplier looking to offer support - we've collated the resources you need.
Meta-analyses and single-site studies have established that children are less infectious than adults within a household when positive for ancestral SARS-CoV-2. In addition, children appear less susceptible to infection when exposed to ancestral SARS-CoV-2 within a household. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) has been associated with an increased number of paediatric infections worldwide. ...
The relationship between diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes and long-term glycemic control varies between studies. We aimed, firstly, to characterize the association of DKA and its severity with long-term HbA1c in a large contemporary cohort, and secondly, to identify other independent determinants of long-term HbA1c. ...
Regular intramuscular (i.m.) benzathine penicillin G (BPG) injections have been the cornerstone of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) secondary prophylaxis since the 1950s. Patient adherence to IM BPG is poor, largely due to pain, the need for regular injections every 3-4 weeks and health sector delivery challenges in resource-limited settings. There is an urgent need for new approaches for secondary prophylaxis, such as an implant which could provide sustained penicillin concentrations for more than 6 months. ...
Pneumococcal disease (PD) remains a major health concern with considerable morbidity and mortality in children. Currently licensed pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) confer protection against PD caused by most vaccine serotypes, but non-vaccine serotypes contribute to residual disease. V114 is a 15-valent PCV containing all 13 serotypes in Prevnar 13™ (PCV13) and additional serotypes 22F and 33F. This pivotal phase 3 study compared safety and immunogenicity of V114 and PCV13. ...
Understanding immunity in humans to Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) is critical for the development of successful vaccines to prevent the morbidity and mortality attributed to Strep A infections. Despite decades of effort, no licensed vaccine against Strep A exists and immune correlates of protection are lacking; a major impediment to vaccine development. ...
Pregnant women are at higher risk of severe complications following influenza infection compared to the general population. Influenza vaccination during pregnancy can offer direct protection to pregnant women and passive immunity to infants up to 6 months of age via maternal antibodies. Pregnant women are a high priority group for influenza immunization. ...
Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a major otitis media (OM) pathogen, with colonization a prerequisite for disease development. Most acute OM is in children <5 years old, with recurrent and chronic OM impacting hearing and learning. Therapies to prevent NTHi colonization and/or disease are needed, especially for young children. Respiratory viruses are implicated in driving the development of bacterial OM in children. ...
The incidence of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in adults is inadequately defined and the impact of SARS-CoV-2-related non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) is underexplored. Using laboratory data, we described the detection rate of RSV in adults ≥16 years in Western Australia (WA) between 2017 and 2023. ...
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has emerged as a key method for the continuous monitoring of COVID-19 prevalence including circulating SARS-CoV-2 lineages. WBE addresses the limitations of traditional clinical COVID-19 surveillance such as clinical test availability, fluctuating testing rates, and increased reliance on rapid antigen tests. ...
Invasive group A streptococcal (Strep A) infections occur when Streptococcus pyogenes, also known as beta-hemolytic group A Streptococcus, invades a normally sterile site in the body. This article provides guidelines for establishing surveillance for invasive Strep A infections. The primary objective of invasive Strep A surveillance is to monitor trends in rates of infection and determine the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with laboratory-confirmed invasive Strep A infection, the age- and sex-specific incidence in the population of a defined geographic area, trends in risk factors, and the mortality rates and rates of nonfatal sequelae caused by invasive Strep A infections. ...
Encephalitis is most often caused by a variety of infectious agents identified through diagnostic tests utilizing cerebrospinal fluid. We investigated the clinical characteristics and potential aetiological agents of unexplained encephalitis through metagenomic sequencing of residual clinical samples from multiple tissue types and independent clinical review. ...
Few studies have evaluated the effect of maternal influenza vaccination on the development of allergic and autoimmune diseases in children beyond 6 months of age. We aimed to investigate the association between in utero exposure to seasonal inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) and subsequent diagnosis of allergic and autoimmune diseases. ...