Our research priorities

MCRI is dedicated to discovering solutions for today’s emerging child health issues.

Premature birth

Obesity

Mental health

Allergies & auto-immune conditions

Cancer

Premature birth

Every year 5,000 Australian babies are born very premature (two months before due date). More than 85% will survive but 10% will develop cerebral palsy and 50% will develop intellectual, learning or behavioural problems.

The Victorian Infant Brain Study (VIBeS) is using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to understand the evolution of brain abnormalities and determine which interventions will improve outcomes for preterm babies. The study has already shown that a large proportion of premature babies experience developmental delay at age two.

Obesity

One in five Australian children is overweight or obese before they start school and are likely to remain that way through to adolescence. Obesity increases the risk of developing type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and osteoarthritis. In 2005, the financial cost of obesity to Australia was $3.767 billion. This does not include the social and personal cost.
MCRI researchers are actively involved in a national consortium addressing these issues as well as leading studies of Victorian children and ultimately hope to prevent obesity and overweight in Australian children.

Mental health

By 2020, the World Health Organisation predicts that depression and related disorders will be the number one burden of disease.
A team of researchers led by Professor George Patton found a link between frequent teenage cannabis use and the onset of depression and anxiety. The research has been cited by the US Office of Drug Control Policy in their national youth anti-drug campaign.

Ongoing research by the group aims to understand the origins of adolescent depression, self-harm and suicide in order to develop effective prevention and treatment.

Allergies & auto-immune conditions

The incidence of allergic and auto-immune diseases, where the body’s defence system attacks its own cells, is on the rise among Australian children.

The incurable Crohn’s disease (inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract) has increased 20 fold in Victoria in the past thirty years. Hospital admission rates for anaphylaxis, the most severe form of food allergy have trebled in the past five years.

Our researchers aim to study 1000 children from the time of birth to determine which environmental factors might be linked to the development of these serious disorders.

Cancer

The incidence of cancer in children remains unchanged, despite improved treatment outcomes. Every year the Children’s Cancer Centre treats approximately 160 newly diagnosed cancer patients under 18yo. At least 30 Victorian children die each year of incurable cancers. Of the children who survive, some will experience long term side effects from cancer treatment.

Professor Terry Dwyer is leading the International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium to address the link between environmental factors and the development of childhood cancers with support from the National Institutes of Health.

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