Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) has celebrated four decades of transforming children’s health by hosting a 40th Anniversary Gala dinner at State Library Victoria.

The May 16 event brought together more than 300 leaders from research, clinical care, government, philanthropy, commerce and the community to honour the Institute’s legacy, celebrate its 40 years of impact and inspire the next era of innovation.

During the evening, Guest of Honour Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced $5 million to establish a Distinguished Fellow in Prevention and Early Intervention in Child Health based at MCRI. The funding will support the salaries of the Distinguished Fellow, as well as Postdoctoral Fellows, Research Assistants and PhD Scholarships, along with research costs.

It will provide leadership to support health and medical research into prevention and early interventions in prevalent childhood conditions including obesity, cardiovascular disease, mental health and disability.

“With one eye down the barrel of a microscope and the other firmly fixed on the horizon, for 40 years the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute has been forging a better future for children,” Prime Minister Albanese said. “Each of you can be proud of the legacy that you have shaped, the lives that you have saved and the promise of what you are yet to achieve over the next four decades, and beyond.”

The Prime Minister spoke 40 years after then Prime Minister Bob Hawke launched the Murdoch Institute for Research in Birth Defects in 1987.

Image: Guest of Honour Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

MCRI Director Professor Kathryn North AC thanked the Prime Minister for the Federal Government’s generous contribution. “These commitments reflect a growing recognition of the vital role research and innovation play in improving the lives of children and their families,” Professor North said.

She also welcomed Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan’s State Government announcement of $2 million towards the creation of a Victorian Paediatric Clinical Trials Network (VPCTN). Led by MCRI, in partnership with the Monash Children’s Clinical Trial Centre and Barwon Health, the VPCTN will ensure more children have access to cutting-edge treatments closer to home.

Premier Allan said, “We’re making the latest clinical trials accessible to more Victorian children, because families deserve the best care.

“Victoria is home to world-leading researchers, and we’re backing them to connect and expand their work.”

Celebrating four decades of pioneering discoveries and shaping child health policy was not just a chance to look back, but also to reaffirm what was needed to improve the lives of children today and to anticipate what the future of child health looks like for generations to come.

We were also proud to mark the official launch of the Horizon Fund, a perpetual endowment designed to provide flexible, long-term support for research, helping ensure MCRI can respond to the challenges of today while preparing for the health complexities our children will face tomorrow.

“Our inaugural Director, Professor David Danks AO, with the passionate support of Dame Elisabeth AC DBE, laid the scientific foundations of this Institute and our focus on some of the sickest children with severe genetic disorders,” Professor North said.

Their vision, alongside the generosity of the Institute’s founding donors - the Murdoch family, Sir Jack Brockhoff, the Miller Foundation and The Scobie and Claire Mackinnon Trust who were represented at the dinner - continues to guide MCRI’s purpose to give all children the opportunity to live a healthy and fulfilled life.

“Professor Danks was followed by Professor Bob Williamson, who deepened our scientific and international credibility and strengthened our partnership with The Royal Children’s Hospital,” Professor North said. “And then my predecessor, Professor Terry Dwyer, who broadened our remit to include population and public health.”

MCRI is one of the world’s top three children’s medical research institutes with more than 1,800 researchers studying over 150 diseases and collaborating across 120 countries.

MCRI Co-Chair Sarah Murdoch commended Australia’s momentum in global collaboration, science, technology and translation.

“Landmark advances in genomics, stem cells and artificial intelligence are opening up possibilities for new treatments that not only didn’t exist before, but could not have been dreamed of,” she said.

Watch: 40 years of breakthroughs changing children’s lives: MCRI | The Australian

 
MCRI Board Chair Patrick Houlihan said MCRI was ready to take advantage of this extraordinary moment in science.

“We are ready to deliver even greater impact for children and families,” he said. “What will determine the scale of that impact is the strength of the partnerships we build from here.”

James, aged 16, who was born with half a heart due to a rare condition known as hypoplastic left heart syndrome, told guests MCRI’s stem cell scientists were his family’s glimmer of hope.

“My story is just one of many,” he said. “Every day, children and families are facing moments like mine – moments filled with uncertainty, and questions, all searching for answers. And, every day, MCRI researchers are working tirelessly to change what’s possible for kids like me.”

Watch: Murdoch Children’s Research Institute - For all. Forever.