Three Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) researchers have received federal grants to improve care for extremely preterm babies, examine links between genetics and infection severity and discover ways to reverse heart valve damage.

Dr Prue Pereira Fantini, Dr Sam Manna and Dr Holly Voges have been awarded National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Ideas Grants, worth a total of $3.8 million.

Dr Pereira-Fantini has secured $1.67 million to develop a new framework for the care ofextremely preterm babies born before 26 weeks’ gestation.

Image: Dr Prue Pereira Fantini

She said that while this group experienced the highest rates of chronic lung disease, lab-based evidence to support current treatment options was limited.

“Babies born between 22 and 25 weeks’ gestation are not simply smaller preterm babies,” Dr Pereira-Fantini said. They experience the highest rates of complications and long-term illness, often as a result of the invasive lung support they require to stay alive.

“This study will identify the changes that occur uniquely within the lungs of these tiny patients, enabling neonatal care teams to tailor treatments to their specific needs.”

Dr Pereira-Fantini hoped to build a strong, evidence-base to improve care and ensure extremely preterm babies were given the opportunity to thrive.

Dr Manna has received $1.28 million to establish whether the genes inside bacteria can influence the seriousness of a pneumococcal infection.

Image: Dr Sam Manna

Pneumococcal disease, caused by a type of strep bacteria, is a leading cause of pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis in young children. This invasive infection results in 300,000 deaths every year in children aged under five years.

Dr Manna said his team would use cutting-edge genomic technology to investigate the influence of bacterial DNA on the development of pneumococcal disease.

“The severity of pneumococcal infections depends greatly on which strain a person is infected with,” he said. Some types of bacteria don’t cause any symptoms at all while others may cause invasive, life-threatening diseases.

“Using high-tech DNA analysis, we will identify the genetic traits of the bacteria that will result in a higher likelihood of serious pneumococcal disease. We hope the findings could inform targeted vaccines in the future.”

Dr Voges has been awarded $860,000 to explore reversing heart valve damage using human stem cells, paving the way for new rheumatic heart disease (RHD) treatments.

Image: Dr Holly Voges

About 41 million people are impacted by RHD, which is caused by Strep A bacteria. The bacteria usually leads to a sore throat, but left untreated, these infections can cause more serious illnesses.

Dr Voges said there was a pressing global need for better treatment options for RHD.

“To find a cure for this autoimmune disease we need to work with human heart cells, as RHD does not occur in animals,” she said.

“We will determine how inflammation causes irreversible damage in human heart valve tissue, grown from stem cells and investigate how to reverse it.”

Read more about MCRI’s neonatal, translational microbiology and heart regeneration research.

*The content of this communication is the sole responsibility of Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and does not reflect the views of the NHMRC.