Centre of Research Excellence in Newborn Medicine

Globally, an estimated 15 million babies are born prematurely each year. Babies that are born premature or sick present with a range of immediate and longer terms needs that can significantly impact their future.

The Centre of Research Excellence in Newborn Medicine team is working to generate new knowledge in the areas of Newborn Resuscitation, Respiratory Support, Neuroimaging and Developmental Surveillance, and translate that knowledge into policy and practice, all with the overarching goal of improving the outcomes of preterm and sick infants.  

This is the third term of the CRE in Newborn Medicine and can expand this important work through a targeted program of research, purposefully linked to practice translation. 

Our vision

• Generate new knowledge in four critical areas of newborn care, including resuscitation, respiratory support, developmental surveillance and neuroimaging
• Engage in research projects that target specific gaps that we have identified with consumers, to ensure we continue to meet the needs of all preterm or sick babies and their families, and the health professionals that look after them
• Effectively translate existing knowledge from our previous research, as well as new knowledge from this CRE, using well-established and novel implementation strategies, including web-based and mobile technologies
• Identify and foster the development of future leaders in newborn medicine with a focus on training and mentoring as key priorities.
  
  

More information

• CRE of Newborn Medicine

Our people

Collaborations

Directors

Professor Lex Doyle

A Neonatal Paediatrician at The Royal Women’s Hospital who wants to improve long-term outcomes for high-risk babies. Professor Doyle has major research interests in evaluating neonatal intensive care, including how to improve on care, and its economic consequences. He has been a Chief Investigator on many randomised controlled trials of interventions before and after birth designed to improve the long-term outcome for the highest-risk babies, including the tiniest and most immature babies. Professor Doyle also leads or has led several research groups interested in the outcome for tiny babies well beyond the nursery and into adulthood; these are the Premature Infant Follow-up Programme at the Royal Women's Hospital, and the Victorian Infant Collaborative Study (VICS) Group (Convenor from 1991 until 2014). He is also a senior member of the Victoria Infant Brain Studies (VIBeS) Group. Because of his research activities he has 424 original scientific publications, 74 review articles or editorials, 1 book, and two completed theses (MSc [McMaster 1982]; MD [Melbourne 1989]) to date (February 2018).

Professor Peter Davis

A consultant neonatologist at The Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne since 1993. Peter trained in Brisbane, Australia and McMaster University, Canada where he developed an interest in Clinical Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Medicine. He is currently the Professor/Director of Neonatal Medicine and leads a young team of enthusiastic clinical researchers interested in improving the care of babies in the delivery room and in the intensive care unit. Professor Davis is a substantial contributor to the Cochrane Collaboration and a member of the neonatal subcommittee of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR). His research interests include non-invasive ventilation and newborn resuscitation.

Professor Peter Anderson

A research neuropsychologist and NHMRC Senior Research Fellow in the Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience at Monash University. He is the Founder and Chair of the Australian Paediatric Neuropsychology Research Network, on the Board of Directors for the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ), co-director of the Australian Centre for Child Neuropsychological Studies, and on the Executive of the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Newborn Medicine. 

His work focuses on understanding brain and cognitive development following early brain insults, and for the past 15 years his program has centred on neonatal conditions, especially infants born very preterm. Professor Anderson heads the Victorian Infant Brain Studies group based at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, which is internationally known for integrating neuroimaging in prospective longitudinal studies of sick neonates. He is also heavily involved in large longitudinal observational studies, designing and evaluating the benefits of early intervention and cognitive training programs, and assessing the long-term consequences of perinatal interventions.

Professor Anderson’s research has been continuously funded by NHMRC for the past 12 years, and he has published over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. His research is well cited and published in the leading medical, paediatric, neuroscience and psychology journals. Training the next generation of researchers is a core aspect of Professor Anderson’s program, having successfully supervised 25 PhD students to completion and mentored 20 post-doctoral fellows.

Board/Committee Memberships

Peter Davis

Cochrane Collaboration regional coordinator for Australasia: 2000–present; Member of Editorial Panel, Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2004–present; Editorial panel of Seminars in Fetal and Neonatal Medicine 2013–present; Editorial panel of Maternal Health, Neonatology and Perinatology  2013-present; Membership of the ILCOR since 2009.

Gehan Roberts

Health ambassador, Life’s Little Treasures Foundation.

Partners

• The University of Melbourne
• Royal Children’s Hospital
• The Royal Women’s Hospital
• Monash University
• Monash Children’s Hospital
• Mercy Hospital for Women
• UK – University College, London
• Netherlands – Utrecht
• USA – Boston, Philadelphia
• Canada – McMaster University
• Finland - Helsinki
• PIPER
• APIC (Adults born Preterm International Collaboration)
• Adelaide University (Makrides, Gibson)
• Life’s Little Treasures Foundation

Our projects

For a comprehensive list of the projects being undertaken, please visit our dedicated CRE of Newborn Medicine.