Postgraduate Research Opportunities at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research: Student project booklet 2013 docx

Postgraduate Research Opportunies at the Telethon Instute for Child Health Research Student project booklet 2013 Welcome to the Telethon Instute for Child Health Research Established in 1990, the Telethon Instute for Child Health Research exists to improve the health of children, adolescents and their families. We are unique in Australia. We adopt a muldisciplinary approach to major childhood illnesses such as cerebral palsy, childhood cancers and leukaemia, asthma and spina bida. This muldisciplinary approach is a key strength of our research programs. It also allows the Instute to oer a wide variety of research opportunies for postgraduate students. The Instute is closely associated with Princess Margaret Hospital for Children and the School of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of Western Australia. We are also aliated with UWA through the Centre for Child Health Research and with the state’s other four universies. You can nd out more about areas of research and opportunies for students at the Instute by: • Reading the Postgraduate Student Project Booklet. This gives a range of suggested projects and should be considered a guide to the opportunies available, not a denive list. • Referring to the Instute website - www.childhealthresearch.org.au • Contacng individual researchers for further informaon about research projects. • Contacng Kathy Vial for general queries on (08) 9489 7799 or email study@ichr.uwa.edu.au • Aending the Prospecve Students Evening at the Instute on Wednesday August 15th, 2012 at 4:00pm. Stan and Jean Perron Awards (for research conducted principally at TICHR) With the support of the Stan Perron Charitable Foundaon, since 2005 the Telethon Instute for Child Health Research (TICHR) has established several presgious awards aimed at supporng exceponal postgraduate research students who are undertaking their research at the Instute. Stan and Jean Perron Scholarships These Scholarships accompany PhD scholarships which commence in 2013 and are won by the recipients through their enrolling Universies in a separate applicaon process. The amount will be $5000 per year each for the duraon of the scholarship, paid in conjuncon with that scholarship. To be eligible for consideraon, a student has to enrol full-me for a research higher degree (PhD or equivalent) at the University, and conduct the research principally within the Instute under the supervision of one or more of the Instute’s researchers. This Scholarship is supplementary to a scholarship awarded to the student through the University. Successful applicants must have First Class Honours (or equivalent) and have been awarded an APA. At least three awards will be given in 2013 and applicaons will be judged on merit. For more informaon or a copy of the applicaon form please contact: Kathy Vial, Academic Services Manager, Telethon Instute for Child Health Research By mail: PO Box 855 West Perth WA 6872, or by email (kvial@ichr.uwa.edu.au), or by fax (08 9489 7700). (For telephone enquiries: 08 9489 7799). Applicaon due date: Friday 2nd November 2012. Reminder: Requirement for Concurrent Scholarship. Applicants are also required to have submied an applicaon form for the Australian Postgraduate Awards/University Postgraduate Awards directly to the relevant University Scholarships Oce (or equivalent) by the specied closing date (Wednesday 31st October 2012, for UWA). Stan and Jean Perron Award for Excellence Students intending to enrol in a PhD at the Instute may be interested to know of the Stan and Jean Perron Award for Excellence. The Award is designed to recognise outstanding research performance whilst a student is undertaking research at the Instute. The Award has the value of $5000 for one year, and will be awarded to the research higher degree student whose performance is deemed the best in the preceding 12 months. More than one award may be made in any year. If you’d like further informaon, please contact: Kathy Vial Academic Services Manager kvial@ichr.uwa.edu.au Aboriginal health Our Aboriginal researchers work with Aboriginal communies to help children overcome the many hurdles they face - higher rates of pre-term birth, lower birth weight, SIDS, infecous diseases and emoonal and behavioural problems. Bioinformacs and data services Bioinformacs is an excing and relavely new eld of science, encompassing the branch of life science that applies informaon technology to the eld of biology to help understand various biological processes. The primary goal of bioinformacs is to increase the understanding of biological processes. Child development and wellbeing There is a broad range of interacng factors that aect children’s development and wellbeing. Thousands of families are helping us as we invesgate language dicules, school readiness, and pathways to health and wellbeing. Diabetes, obesity and related disorders Our researchers are conducng research which aims to improve the lives of children and adolescents living with diabetes, obesity and other endocrine condions. Children with Type I diabetes require insulin injecons every day for the rest of their lives. Related to the increasing rates of childhood obesity is type 2 diabetes in children. Asthma, allergy & respiratory disease We are looking at the environmental and biological factors that could be linked to asthma, as well as the eects of UV light and vitamin D on the immune system. Our researchers are also working on improved treatments for children with cysc brosis and working towards prevenng this disease. Children’s cancer and leukaemia Leukaemia is the most common cancer in children and our research focus is on why some children don’t respond to therapy and relapse. We are invesgang paediatric brain tumours and ways to reduce their devastang impact. We are also looking at the genec, dietary and environmental risk factors for childhood cancer. Datasets and cohort studies The Telethon Instute has a range of long-term studies to expand our knowledge on all aspects of child health. A number of databases underpin our populaon-based research and these can now be linked to other datasets to provide a more complete picture of child health. Disability and developmental disorders From concepon through childhood, our research into disabilies and developmental disorders encompasses any condion that disrupts ‘typical’ child development. We are looking are Down Syndrome, Re syndrome, Ausm Spectrum Disorders, birth anomalies, cerebral palsy and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Research areas Drug discovery Our Drug Discovery Technology Group is focused on developing new therapies to target disease-causing interacons between proteins; both inside and outside of cells, as well as the development of ‘mimec’ vaccines against disconnuous epitopes. Genec impacts on health Our researchers are world leaders in the applicaon of genec and metabolomic approaches to idenfy biological markers of complex disease, helping us to nd beer treatments and ways of prevenng disease. Modern research tools allow us to look at all of our genes, to idenfy genec and metabolic biomarkers of complex diseases like infecons and diabetes. Infecous disease Worldwide, 10 million children under the age of ve die from infecon each year. Our infecous disease researchers are involved in understanding the inner workings of disease, including the pathway from immunity to infecon; disease surveillance; risk factors in the development of disease; vaccine development and trials. Pregnancy and maternal health Emerging research is focusing on pregnancy as a crucial me in determining of the future health and wellbeing of the child. We are looking at mulple factors during pregnancy that can inuence the way in which the unborn child is programmed for future life outside the womb including maternal lifestyle factors such as stress, hypertension, substance use, nutrion and obstetric risk. Environmental impacts on health The physical environment, which includes diet, housing and polluon, can have a large impact on child health and disease. These can aect health at all stages of childhood development. Our researchers use spaal epidemiology, data linkage and polluon monitoring to beer understand environmental inuences on childhood health. Impacts on policy and pracce One of the aims of the Telethon Instute is to improve the health of all children by translang research outcomes to inuence public health policy. Our impact on health policy and pracce in the last decade has been signicant including mandatory forcaon of breadmaking our with folate to prevent neural tube defects and the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey. Mental health Around one in ve Australian children will develop some form of behavioural problem by the me they reach adulthood. Poor mental health in childhood is a signicant predictor of mental health problems later in life and also impacts negavely on physical health and school achievement. Much of our work is dedicated to understanding how mental health problems develop and working towards mental illness prevenon. For more informaon about our research areas, visit www.childhealthresearch.org.au 1 TableofContents ABORIGINALHEALTH 4 WhatleadstogoodoutcomesinhealthandwellbeingforAboriginalchildrenandyouth? 5 Connectingculture,curriculumandcommunitiesinearlyyear’sAboriginaleducation. 6 CulturalSecurityinAboriginalhealthservicedelivery:AnauditofNMHS 7 StrengtheningsocialandemotionalwellbeingofAustralianAboriginalpeople :Howdoes racialidentityandrelatedself‐esteemmediatethementalwellbeingofAboriginalpeople?.8 PerinatalmentalhealthforAboriginalFamilies:Acommunityinitiative 9 Indicatorsofsuccessandwellbeingof'moorditj'urbanIndigenousWestAustralians 10 ASTHMA,ALLERGYANDRESPIRATORYDISORDERS 11 Rhinovirusi mpairsphysiologicallungdevelopment 12 Predictingthesafetyofairtravelinex‐prematureinfants 13 Dendriticcellsandtheinductionofallergicairwaysinflammation 14 TypeIInterferonimmunomodulationofallergicasthma 15 VitaminDdeficiencyalterslungdevelopment 16 Understandinglungdevelopmentdu ringpuberty 17 Optimisedexpressionandcharacterisationofrecombinanthumanrhinoviruscapsid proteins 18 Immunecharacterisationofnovelcatallergens 19 HumanrhinovirustypeC(HRV‐C) immuneresponsesinasthma 20 Theaerobiologyofnovelcatallergens 21 RoleofIRF7genenetworksinasthma 22 BIOINFORMATICSANDDATASERVICES 23 Evaluationsofvirtualmachineperform anceforNextGenerationSequencingplatforms 24 Investigatingchildhoodbraintumoursbyintegratingof'omicsplatformsusing Bioinformatics 25 Developingadvancedbioinformaticstechniquesforstoringandanalysingnext‐generation sequencingdata 26 CHILDREN’SCANCERANDLE UKAEMIA 27 Paediatricbraintumourmodeldevelopmentandpreclinicalassessmentofnovel therapies 28 Immunitytomelanoma 29 CHILDDEVELOPMENTANDWELLBEING 30 Pathwaystopreventableandunexplaineddeathsinchildhoodandyoungadulthoodin WesternAustralia 31 TheBuiltEnvironmentandChild HealthandDevelopment 32 PhysicalActiv ityintheEarlyYears 33 Schoolreadiness:Theimpactofbirth,parentalandcommunitycharacteristics 34 Pathways,PoliciesandPrevention:BetterEducationalOutcomesforWestern AustralianChildren 35 Long‐terminfluenceofearlynutritiononmetabolichealthORAnalysisofmetabolicprofiles inadolescentsbymassspectrometry‐basedme tabolomics:biomarkersformetabolic consequencesofearlyprogramming(scientifictitle) 36 DATASETSANDCOHORTSTUDIES(Noprojectsin2013) 37 DIABETES,OBESITYANDRELATEDDISORDERS 38 ExploringperinatalcomplicationsseeninacontemporaryType1Diabetescohort 39 Psychologicalprofileofobeseadolescentsu ndertakinglifestylechange 40 Attitudestowardsbariatricsurgeryamongparentsofchildrenaccessingalifestyle interventionprogramforobesity 41 2 ExploringperinatalcomplicationsseeninacontemporaryType1Diabetescohort 42 Analysisofhypoglycaemiaunawarenessinadolescents duringthefirst18months afterdiagnosisoftype1diabetes 43 Transitionofpatientswithendocrinediseasefrompaediatricandadolescentinto adultcare 44 TheimpactoftheBioente ricsIntragastricballoononpsychologicalwell‐beingofobese adolescents 45 Astudyofsleepdisturbances,highbloodpressureandmetabolicabnormalitiesin youngadults:the‘FinapresSleepStudy’ 46 DISABILITYANDDEVELOPMENTALDISORDERS 47 AccommodationforyoungadultswithDownsyndrome  48 Combiningalarg esamplewithapopulationdatabase–AussieRettandIn terRett 49 ContinenceandRettsyndrome 50 HowarefamiliesofgirlswithRettsyndromerespondingtoresearchsuggestingthatthe symptomsofRettsyndromemightbepreventedorhaltedwithadvancesinmedical knowledge? 51 Onlinesurveyofgastro‐intestinalissuesandmana gementinRettsyndrome 52 MECP2duplications:anewcauseofintellectualdisability 53 Comparisonofparent‐reportandMedicaredatainalongitudinalstudy 54 LongitudinalmodellingofRettsyndromeseverityusingquestionnaireandvideodata 55 Socio‐economicdifferencesandparentalsatisfactionwithservicesinRet tsyndrome andDownsyndrome 56 TrendsinprevalenceofintellectualdisabilityintheAboriginalpopulationinWA 57 Thecostofchildhoodintellectualdisabilityandautismspectrumdisorderwithout intellectualdisabilityinWesternAustralia:Acost‐of‐illnessstudy 58 DRUGDISCO VERY(Noprojectsin2013) 59 ENVIRONMENTALIMPACTSONHEALTH 60 Spatialanalysisofmalereproductivecongenitalanomalies 61 Sunlight,vitaminD andinflammatorydisease 62 PeelChildhealthstudy 63 Theexacerbationofrespiratoryvirusesbygeogenicdust 64 Theroleofepigeneticsinarsenicinducedlungdisea se 65 TheMentalHealthofAdultswhowereExposedtoAsbestosinChildhood 66 GENETICIMPACTSONHEALTH 67 Mechanismsofparasiticmodulationofthehumanepigenome 68 Characterisingtheroleofepigeneticsinhypospadias 69 IMPACTONPOLICYANDPRACTICE(Nopro jectsin2013) 70 INFECTIOUSDISEASE 71 Functionalcharacterisationofgenesassociatedwithotitismediasusceptibility inchildhood 72 Maternalprenatalstressexposureandpoorhealthandwellbeingforoffspringin childhoodandearlyadolescence 73 IdentifyingRiskFactorsforSevereOtitis MediainWesternAus tralianChildren 74 Immunitytorhinovirusinotitis‐pronechildren 75 AntecedentsandconsequencesofinvasivepneumococcaldiseaseinWesternAustralia 76 Identifyingopportunitiesforpreventingrespiratoryinfectionsinchildren throughintegratingpopulation‐basedhealthandlaboratorydata 77 Metabolomicstocharacterizehost‐pathogeninteractionsinba cterialinfections. 78 MENTALHEALTH(Noprojectsin2013) 79 PREGNANCYANDMATERNALHEALTH(Noprojectsin2013) 80 3 PRINCESSMARGARETHOSPITALFORCHILDREN 81 AssessmentofrespiratoryfunctioninchildrenwithNeuromusculardisease 82 EvaluationofapilotgroupprogramforpaediatricChronicpainpatients 83 SCHOOLOFPAEDIATRICSANDCHILDHEALTH 84 RecurrenceofhumanrhinovirusgroupCinchildrenthatsuffermultipleasthmaattacks 85 Contributionofgenevariationstoasthmaatta ckseverity 86 ABORIGINAL HEALTH 5  TitleofProject WhatleadstogoodoutcomesinhealthandwellbeingforAboriginal childrenandyouth? KeyResearchArea Aboriginalhealth ResearchGroup DevelopmentalPathwaysProject StartDate August2012 ChiefSupervisor ProfessorSteveZubrick(TICHR) OtherSupervisors DrRebeccaGlauert,DrErikaHagemann(TICHR) ProjectOutline The aim of this study is to examine protective factors and resilience that contributetogoodeducationaloutcomes,lowermortalityandmorbidityand lesscontactwiththejuvenilejusticesysteminAboriginalchildrenandyouth in Western Australia.The present study is part of the Developmental PathwaysinWAChildrenProject(DPP)ledbytheTelethonInstituteforChil d HealthResearch.Thestudywillbuilduponthefindingsofpreviousresearch conductedattheInstituteandwithintheDPPonAboriginalhealth.Aspartof the DPP it will be able to access and link population level data related to health,education,disabilityservices,mentalhealthandjuvenilejustice. Projectsuitablefor Honours Masters PhD EssentialQualifications ForPhDcandidates:aminimumof2AHonoursdegreeoraMastersdegreein arelatedfield. EssentialSkills Backgroundknowledgeinrelevantareas,suchasAboriginalhealth, developmentalhealth,psychology,disability,medical sociology/anthropology,socialepidemiologyandpopulationhealth. Knowledgeofquantitativedataanalyses. AdditionalSkills Experienceintheanalysesoflinkeddatasetswouldbeadvantageousbutnot essential. Funding ApplicantshouldapplyforAPA,UPAorotherscholarship Top‐upscholarshipavailable Fullscholarshipavailable Contactforfurther information NameDrRebeccaGlauert Emailrglauert@ichr.uwa.edu.au  Telephone94897754 [...]... Other Supervisors   Project Outline  Evaluations of virtual machine performance for Next Generation Sequencing  platforms  Bioinformatics and data services Bioinformatics 2013 A/Professor Kim Carter (TICHR) Mr Mark Calleja (TICHR) Bioinformatics  is  an  emerging  research field  involving  the use  of  computing  technology to answer biological questions. The field pulls together expertise  from informatics, mathematics and statistics, computer science, genetics and ... Investigating childhood brain tumours by integrating of 'omics platforms  using Bioinformatics  Bioinformatics and data services Bioinformatics 2013 A/Professor Kim Carter (TICHR) Dr Peter Dallas (TICHR) Dr Jen Bearfoot (TICHR) Bioinformatics  is  an  emerging  research field  involving  the use  of  computing  technology to answer biological questions. The field pulls together expertise  from informatics, mathematics and statistics, computer science, genetics and ... Title of Project Key Research Area  Research Group  Start Date  Chief Supervisor   Other Supervisors   Project Outline  Developing advanced bioinformatics techniques for storing and analysing  next‐generation sequencing data  Bioinformatics and data services Bioinformatics 2013 A/Professor Kim Carter (TICHR) Mr Mark Calleja (TICHR) Bioinformatics  is  an  emerging  research field  involving  the use ... must  therefore  be  continually  modified  for effective  use.  We  are  seeking  computationally‐minded  students  to  help  develop  innovative  and  cutting‐edge  techniques  for best  leveraging  these  exciting technological platforms.  Project suitable for Honours Masters PhD Essential Qualifications BSc (plus Honours for PhD candidates) in Computer Science, Information  Technology, Statistics, Molecular Biology or a related field ... Directorate  as  well  as  qualitative  interviews.  For the qualitative phase of the project,  an interview guide will be  developed  to  explore  the concept  of  “cultural  security”  as  it  applies  in  a  health care  setting  and  with  an  emphasis  on  the access  to  services  at the North Metropolitan Health Services Project suitable for Honours  Masters  PhD Essential Qualifications  Research Higher Degree in health,  education, Social Sciences or a related ... to  the success  of  the project will  be  the development  of  methods  for integrating  other  biotechnology  platforms  (eg  gene  expression,  proteomics  etc)  with  miRNA  data  to  develop  a  better  understanding  of  the key biological pathways underlying this terrible disease.  Project suitable for Honours Masters PhD Essential Qualifications  BSc (plus Honours for PhD candidates) in Computer Science, Information ... progression and that this knowledge provides the foundation for translation  studies targeting maximal antitumor responses Project suitable for Honours Masters PhD Essential Qualifications  Greater than credit average for Hons; BSc (Hons) or equivalent in biological  discipline for Masters or PhD Essential Skills  Good organisational skills, motivation and dedication Additional Skills    Funding  Contact for further  information       Applicant should apply for APA, UPA or other scholarship ... older  infants  by  performing  hypoxia  tests  and  monitoring  in‐flight  oxygen saturation in infants with a history of premature birth.  The objectives of the project are to investigate the ability of the hypoxia test  to predict the response of infants to air travel.  We hypothesise that:  1.  The accuracy  of  the hypoxia  test  to  predict  in‐flight  hypoxia  in  ex‐ premature infants will improve with increasing age. ...      Full scholarship available Contact for further  A/Prof Belinda Hales information  belinda@ichr.uwa.edu.au  9489 7871          18  Title of Project Key Research Area  Research Group  Start Date  Chief Supervisor   Other Supervisors   Project Outline  Immune characterisation of novel cat allergens  Asthma, allergy and respiratory disorders Molecular Paediatrics Group  Late 2012‐early 2013 A/Professor Belinda Hales (TICHR)... technology to answer biological questions. The field pulls together expertise  from informatics, mathematics and statistics, computer science, genetics and  other related fields.    Recent  advances  in  biotechnologies  have  enabled  the ability  to  generate  enormous multiple‐gigabyte text data files, that need to be efficiently stored,  analysed  and  visualised.  Beyond  somewhat  'standard'  methods  for image  processing,  . Postgraduate Research Opportunies at the Telethon Instute for Child Health Research Student project booklet 2013 Welcome to the Telethon Instute for. Child Health Research Established in 1990, the Telethon Instute for Child Health Research exists to improve the health of children, adolescents and their