Research at Monash Children’s Hospital
At Monash Children’s Hospital, our dedicated researchers span the entire fields of medical, nursing, allied health, laboratory and public health disciplines. Working together with our Monash Partners collaborators, our research teams aim to improve the health of our most vulnerable babies and children, as well as the entire population.
Monash Children’s Trial Centre performs clinical trials to help provide safety and effectiveness information regarding medicines and vaccines, to allow them to be used safely in children as quickly as possible.
Our research vision: That all children cared for at Monash Children’s Hospital have the opportunity to take part in research improving the health of Australian children.
Our academic and research partners
Monash University
Monash University is proud to be the academic and research partner for the new Monash Children’s Hospital.
The new Children’s Hospital, and the partnership between Monash University and Monash Health, presents an exceptional opportunity to combine our strengths in education, paediatric research, and paediatric care to deliver critical research breakthroughs to patients in the local community.
Find out more about this partnership here.
Monash Partners
As part of Monash Partners, one of Australia’s first four accredited Advanced Health Research and Translation Centres, Monash Children’s Hospital works with centres of excellence at Monash University, Alfred Health, Baker IDI, Burnet Institute, Cabrini Health, Epworth HealthCare, and the Hudson Institute of Medical Research, including The Ritchie Centre.
We also collaborate locally with The Royal Children’s Hospital and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute. Our research teams work closely with interstate and international collaborators across multiple areas of child health.
Research programs
Research at Monash Children’s Hospital occurs in collaboration with The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Monash University Department of Paediatrics.
We have internationally recognised research teams in:
- Sleep disorders in children
- Vaccine safety
- Newborn lung disorders
- Early childhood infections
- Newborn immune systems
- Cerebral palsy and neurorehabilitation
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Children’s Cancer
Examples of our research
Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance (PAEDS)
PAEDS is a national collaboration of major children’s hospitals that conducts active, hospital-based surveillance of serious childhood conditions, particularly vaccine-preventable diseases and adverse events following immunisation.
Contact: Professor Richard Doherty, Infection and Immunity
NeoNIN
Monash Newborn is the Australian site for this international collaboration in newborn infections, understanding how to better prevent and treat infections in our most vulnerable babies. Multiple Monash University students have completed Bachelor of Medical Science degrees in conjunction with NeoNIN.
Contact: Dr Kenneth Tan, Monash Newborn
In what position should we be sleeping preterm infants in the NICU?
Sick preterm babies receiving intensive care are often placed on their front (the prone position) for sleep. However, prone sleeping in older infants is associated with risks for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Our recent study also shows that term babies sleeping prone have lower brain oxygen levels. We therefore aim to determine whether prone sleeping is compromising the brain oxygen level in these preterm babies.
Contact: Associate Professor Flora Wong
Medulloblastoma typing
Monash Children’s Hospital Cancer Centre researchers in collaboration with the Hudson Institute of Medical Research are working to establish and pilot an Australian-first service for analysing the most common type of paediatric solid brain cancer tumour, medulloblastoma, to enable more effective treatment for these paediatric brain cancer patients.
Contact: Associate Professor Peter Downie
Cognition and bimanual upper limb performance in children with unilateral cerebral palsy
This multicentre study is describing the association between cognition and upper limb bimanual performance in children with hemiplegic CP, and interpreting these findings in the context of the type and severity of brain injury obtained from MRI.
Contact: Brian Hoare, VPRS
GVS-MCC
A successful scientific public health collaboration between the US FDA and WHO, the Global Vaccine Safety Multi-Country Collaboration includes two Australian sites (Monash Health and Royal Children’s Hospital). This research enables, for the first time, rare conditions to be explored whether they have any association with prior vaccinations.
Contact: Professor Richard Doherty, Infection and Immunity
Arousal studies in children at increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Using a harmless stimulus of a pulse of air to the nostrils, this study is exploring differences in arousal from sleep in children at increased risk of SIDS compared to low risk infants.
Contact: Associate Professor Gillian Nixon
Our researchers
- Associate-Professor Michael Fahey: Neurology and Rehabilitation
- Associate-Professor Gillian Nixon: Sleep and Respiratory Medicine
- Associate-Professor Margo Davey: Sleep
- Associate-Professor Peter Downie: Children’s Cancer
- Dr Paul Wood: Children’s Cancer
- Dr Brian Hoare: Occupational Therapy
- Associate-Professor David Armstrong: Respiratory Medicine and Cystic Fibrosis
- Dr Philip Bergman: Endocrinology and Diabetes
- Dr Ed Giles: Gastroenterology and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Dr Jacinta Coleman: Transitional Medicine and Eating Disorders
- Associate-Professor Marcel Nold: Neonatal Immunology
- Dr Ken Tan: Neonatal Medicine
- Associate-Professor Flora Wong: Neonatal Medicine and Respiratory Physiology
- Dr Atul Malhotra: Neonatal neurorehabilitation
- Associate-Professor Arvind Sehgal: Neonatal Cardiology
- Dr Simon Craig: Emergency Medicine
- Dr Peter Gowdie: Rheumatology and General Paediatrics
- Dr Robert Roseby: Indigenous Health and Health Services Research
