Monthly Archives: September 2019

Generation Victoria (GenV) Solving complex issues affecting children and adults – a whole-of-state cohort with whole-of-campus implications

GenV’s vision is to help solve complex issues affecting today’s children and adults through an entire Australian state becoming a single platform that enhances research speed, capacity and translation. Led from the Melbourne Children’s Campus, the GenV Cohort will be open to the families of all 170,000 Victorian newborns over 2021-2. At its foundation are consent; existing geospatial, clinical and administrative data; biosamples; GenV-specific data; and melding observational and intervention design

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Global health, the Australian government aid program and the triple transition

Widening health inequities, emerging disease threats, and shortfalls in financing for health are challenging the gains made in global health over the past 20 years.  Many countries face a ‘triple transition’: Epidemiologically –  from infectious to chronic diseases; Financially – from donor to domestic financing of health, and Structurally – as health systems reorganise to achieve universal health coverage.  Dr Stephanie Williams will provide an overview of Australia’s global health contribution with practical examples of how the aid program is adapting to these changes.

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Precision medicine: Pharmacokinetic strategies to optimise transplant immune suppression (and other uses)

Kidney transplantation is the best treatment for children with end-stage kidney disease. However, the typical transplanted kidney fails substantially short of recipient life expectancy, due largely to chronic rejection. At the same time, the immunosuppressant drugs needed to prevent rejection sometimes cause morbidity and even mortality, from infection, cardiovascular disease and malignancy. Achieving the optimal balance between rejection risk and immunosuppressant toxicity is a critical challenge. Patients vary in how they respond to immunosuppressant drugs, so it’s very hard to get it right every time.

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