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As Head of Aboriginal Research Development at Telethon Kids, Glenn Pearson believes his work brings us closer to identifying the real and whole Australian story
Congratulations to four outstanding early-career researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia, who have been awarded BrightSpark Foundation fellowships and project funding for 2026.
Two projects led by The Kids Research Institute Australia have been awarded more than $2.5 million to fund innovative ideas focused, respectively, on combating persistent ear infections and investigating how dangerous fungi invade the bodies of immunocompromised people.
Researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia have been awarded a $1.1 million NHMRC ‘Targeted Call for Hearing Health’ grant to conduct the first ever study following Aboriginal babies from birth through to five years to uncover the true prevalence of middle ear infections and hearing loss.
Research projects sharing in a $2.1 million funding boost will seek to translate research findings into changes that benefit patients and help the health system run more efficiently.
Two The Kids Research Institute Australia research teams have been awarded more than $3.5 million to fund innovative projects.
Middle ear infections are one of the main reasons that children visit a GP, are prescribed antibiotics and need surgery. Aboriginal children are particularly susceptible and commonly suffer from hearing loss which can affect speech and learning.
Otitis media (OM), or middle ear infection, is one of the most common childhood illnesses globally. In Australia, OM remains a leading cause of antibiotic prescriptions in children, despite growing awareness of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the need for stewardship. Preventing OM not only reduces the burden of disease but also plays a critical role in curbing unnecessary antibiotic use and slowing the rise of AMR.
Aboriginal health is everyone's business. The needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and kids is integrated into all relevant areas of our work. Improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids and families is an overarching priority for every team at The Kids.
Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) is a common infection at birth with the potential to cause significant and permanent morbidity, most commonly hearing loss. Targeted cCMV testing programmes use hearing loss as an indicator of an infant being at high risk of the infection and thereby can 'target' or focus testing on those at greatest risk. Australian and International guidelines recommend that high-risk infants be offered cCMV testing, yet across Australia, a formal testing system does not exist.