Telethon Institute awarded two national Centres of Research Excellence
Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research has been awarded two prestigious Centres of Research Excellence awards. One will tackle the tough issue of why many programs have failed to deliver improved health for Aboriginal people and the other will focus on the treatment of cystic fibrosis.
The National Health and Medical Research Council's Centre of Research Excellence grant 'From marginalised to empowered: transformative methods for Aboriginal health and wellbeing' will provide $2.5million funding over five years.
Institute Director Professor Fiona Stanley said the innovative research program would generate vital information to help close the gap.
"The key issue to be addressed in this program is why the majority of health and social services have failed to bring about any significant improvements in the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people," Professor Stanley said.
"It's time to get to the core of why these programs aren't working and find out what it is about those that do deliver that makes them effective."
Professor Stanley said Aboriginal people were best place to lead this type of research.
"Aboriginal families deal with these frustrations on a daily basis. I am very proud that eight post-doctoral and doctoral Aboriginal researchers will be undertaking these important studies."
The head of the Institute's Aboriginal Kulunga Research Network, Glenn Pearson, said the research will look at cultural and other factors, such as racism, in how services are delivered and received by Aboriginal people.
"We wont just be comparing Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal outcomes, we'll focus on the disparity between Aboriginal communities in the hope that we can identify why some programs and services are more effective than others," Mr Pearson said.
The Institute had double success in also being awarded a Centre of Research Excellence to study chronic lung disorders that start in early life, such as cystic fibrosis.
The NHMRC will provide almost $2.5million funding over five years for the collaborative project Australian Respiratory Early Surveillance Team for Cystic Fibrosis (AREST CF) that brings together leading respiratory researchers across three states.
The head of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children and Principal Investigator, Professor Stephen Stick said the award recognises the ground-breaking work of AREST CF led by researchers at the Institute and PMH.
Professor Stick said "This is very important research that will have a profound impact on the quality of life of many children and their families."
--Ends--