RESEARCH DONE DIFFERENTLY
Strategic initiatives
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Precision Child Health IF
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Together with our campus partners, MCRI has established a number of initiatives to tackle the major health challenges facing children and adolescents.
RSE
Australian research, global reach Genomics • Leading the implementation of genomic medicine across Australia. • Using 50 years of Newborn Screening to lead to early interventions for rare genetic conditions. • Markedly improving diagnostic accuracy and diagnostic rates through genomic sequencing. • Acute Care Genomics is working to provide genomic test results in as little as five days to quickly pinpoint the cause of each child’s condition and inform their clinical care.
Stem Cell Medicine • Developing blood stem cells to revolutionise treatment for blood cancers like leukaemia. • Growing mini-tissues and organs from stem cells – the next frontier in medical research.
• Developing stem cell-derived beating heart cells to improve outcomes for children with heart disorders. • Developing models of disease for diabetes, childhood leukaemia, muscle and kidney disorders and congenital heart disease to develop new and targeted therapies.
Lifecourse • Collecting longitudinal data from birth to study the origins of common diseases. • Improving public health, clinical practice and policy for all children through the power of these unparalleled data resources. • Developing life-changing treatment and preventions for children with peanut allergies. • Establishing one of the world’s largest longitudinal studies of children – GenV – to give every child in Victoria, and Australia, the opportunity for better lifelong health and learning.
Global Health • Developing a new rotavirus vaccine that will protect newborns and significantly improve the lives of over 500,000 children worldwide. • Reducing child deaths from pneumonia globally through comprehensive care programs, trials and guidance on the best vaccines. • Becoming a global health centre to coordinate, support and implement new vaccines; measure and track global disease; and develop interventions to address issues facing the poorest children in the world. • Working to reduce the impact and prevalence of conditions including rheumatic heart disease, scabies and tuberculosis among disadvantaged children.