Announcing $6.12m NHMRC-funded research program

3 March 2016 | Research and clinical trials

Minimising harm to babies exposed to adverse early life events such as premature birth and birth asphyxia will be the focus of a $6.12m NHMRC-funded research program announced this week.

The five-year program will be led by a group including the Director of the Women’s Newborn Research Centre, Professor Peter Davis.

It will also include Professor Stuart Hooper, head of The Ritchie Centre in the Hudson Institute and Monash University’s and its co-head, Professor Euan Wallace.

It brings together 30 Australian and international experts in the fields of neonatology, physiology, obstetrics, as well as clinical and basic science, to find ways to minimise harm stemming from events that occur shortly before or after birth.

“Ensuring newborn babies get the best possible start to life is good for the babies themselves, their families and society as a whole”, Prof Davis from the Women’s said.

“A substantial number of babies, particularly those born prematurely, are at high risk of problems later in life.

“Developing techniques to gently manage their transition to the outside world pays substantial dividends. This support means that Australia can continue to lead the way in the field of neonatal resuscitation.”

Prof Davis said that the close collaboration between clinicians and scientists involved in this program of research was unusual in international terms, but had resulted in major changes in the way babies were managed and promised even more improvements in the future.

A total of 96 grants will be funded from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Medical Research Endowment Account (MREA) which distributes approximately $850 million to health and medical research in Australia this year.