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Hearing aids for babies with mild loss may not help language

New research from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) has raised questions about the benefits of fitting hearing aids early to babies diagnosed with mild hearing loss. The study, led by MCRI PhD student Peter Carew, showed clear benefits in children born with moderate hearing loss. However, they observed no evidence that language outcomes improved as a result of earlier diagnosis and amplification in those born with mild hearing loss. The study examined language data collected over a 20-year period from four groups of a total of 146 children, aged five to eight, with mild to moderate bilateral hearing loss. Over these two decades, age of detecting congenital hearing loss fell dramatically, from around 2 years of age in the early 1990s to around 2 months by the 2010s. This was in the context of Victoria moving from opportunistic detection in the early 1990s (offered only to individual newborns at...
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Research News

Students with ADHD failing to meet minimum education standards

A high number of Australian children with Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are struggling academically, with an alarming 40% of students failing to meet the literacy and numeracy (NAPLAN) national minimum standards, new research by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) has found.
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Institute News

Dr Catherine Satzke wins prestigious Frank Fenner award

Wishing a big congratulations to MCRI's Dr Catherine Satzke, who has received the prestigious Frank Fenner award from the Australian Society for Microbiology!​ The national award, given to only two recipients each year, recognises distinguished contributions to Australian research in microbiology by scientists in a formative stage of their career. Catherine, a Senior Research Fellow in the Pneumococcal Research group, studies the relationship between carriage of pneumococci bacteria, disease and vaccination, as well as measuring the impact of vaccines globally. She led the PneuCarriage project, which identified the best pneumococcal serotyping method. The two top-performing methods have been established in Melbourne and South Africa, and are being used across several studies to determine the impact of pneumococcal vaccines in the Asia Pacific region. Catherine will be presented with the award at the Australian Society for Microbiology Annual Scientific Meeting in July. "I'm very excited and honoured to receive this award,...
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Research News

First BTF investment aims to improve lives through innovation

Originally posted on www.health.gov.au The development of a promising new treatment for peanut allergy in children will be the first project to receive $10 million in funding under the Turnbull Government’s Biomedical Translation Fund (BTF). The Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, and the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Arthur Sinodinos, today announced the first investment commitment under the BTF. The BTF combines $250 million of Commonwealth funding to be at least matched by private capital secured by independent licensed fund managers to realise a substantial $500 million fund. The purpose of this fund is to invest in Australian biomedical ideas with great potential for commercialisation. “The BTF is designed to change and improve the lives of Australians. This innovative solution to a lethal allergy experienced by so many kids and their parents in Australia and around the world has resulted from the great collaborative efforts of Prof Mimi Tang...
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