Researchers across Western Australia have been awarded major medical research grants through the WA Child Health Research Fund (WACRF) to advance studies into childhood health and disease. Among the successful recipients are two projects involving researchers from the Lions Eye Institute – each focused on improving the health and wellbeing of children through innovative eye and vision research.
Investigating early organ damage in children with diabetes
Professor Chandra Balaratnasingam and his co-investigators, Dr Antony Clark and Dr Benjamin Host, aim to investigate whether the retina can reveal early warning signs of damage in other organs in children with diabetes. Children with diabetes face risks to multiple organs, including the eyes, kidneys, cardiovascular system and nerves, but much of the damage is often uncovered only after irreversible changes occur. The project aims to develop a non-invasive, child-friendly eye imaging tool that’s designed to detect subtle retinal injury before overt disease manifests elsewhere.
If successful, this approach could help clinicians identify at-risk children earlier, opening a window for preventive interventions before more damaging systemic effects take place.
The project has received ethics and governance approvals and has commenced participant recruitment and imaging. The 2024-25 grant round received 57 applications; this was one of seven projects that were selected for funding.
Understanding long-term outcomes for preterm children
Another WACRF-funded project, “Early Life Interventions and Long-Term Outcomes: A WA Feasibility Study of Preterm Children Exposed to Cycled Environmental Care after Birth,” is led by Professor Jane Pillow from The University of Western Australia. The study brings together a multidisciplinary team of 15 researchers and consumers that includes Professor David Mackey AO, Dr Gareth Lingham and Dr Samantha Lee from the Lions Eye Institute.
The WACRF funding will support studies to follow-up participants in the CIRCA DIEM Study to assess how cycled light and noise during the initial hospitalisation period after preterm birth impacts growth and development, eyesight, hearing and processing of sounds, lung function and general well-being.
The findings from this feasibility study will lay the groundwork for larger-scale research efforts aimed at improving standards of neonatal and early childhood care across Australia and beyond, building on the Telethon-funded eye studies the Lions Eye Institute team has undertaken with the children in the ORIGINS and Raine studies. These existing studies will provide a baseline dataset of eye measurements in full-term children.
The importance of medical research funding
The Lions Eye Institute is deeply grateful to the WA Government and the Channel 7 Telethon Trust for their ongoing commitment to world-class child health research. Medical research funding opportunities like this enable groundbreaking studies that drive better health outcomes for children and families across the state.
For more information, visit the WA Government announcement: Almost $4 million awarded through WA Child Research Fund 2024-25 | Western Australian Government
If you would like to help support our ongoing research projects, you can click here.
