Eleven researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia will benefit from the latest round of Stan Perron Charitable Foundation Research Fellowship and Platform grants, with two researchers receiving prestigious Perron Platform grants and a further ten awarded Research Fellowships.
This significant investment will help drive a suite of ambitious projects aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of Western Australian children facing serious health challenges.
The Stan Perron Charitable Foundation has a long tradition of facilitating research that delivers real-world impact for children, adolescents and young people.
The Kids Executive Director Professor Jonathan Carapetis AM said the alignment between the Foundation’s mission and The Kids’ vision had helped to accelerate discoveries across a broad range of health issues.
“From chronic and complex childhood diseases to cutting-edge precision health, the Foundation has backed projects that push boundaries and bring hope,” Professor Carapetis said.
“This year’s Perron Platform grants and Research Fellowships will empower our researchers to continue driving discovery and delivering impactful improvements to children’s health and wellbeing.”
The following researchers were awarded Perron Platform grants:
- Professor Aleksandra Filipovska (also with The University of Western Australia) will make diagnosing and treating mitochondrial disease much faster and easier by using powerful AI tools to analyse complex cell images in minutes instead of months. With a new GPU server, the team hopes to speed up research, develop better treatments, and improve testing for children affected by these conditions. This is especially important in Western Australia, where long distances and limited services often delay diagnosis and add stress for families.
- Associate Professor Laurens Manning (also with The University of Western Australia) is accelerating research and clinical trials to improve penicillin formulation and treatment methods to end rheumatic heart disorder (RHD). His team is exploring the current formulation of BPG in the context of it being used as secondary prophylaxis against acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and RHD.
The following researchers were awarded Stan Perron Charitable Foundation Research Fellowships:
- Associate Professor Kefyalew Alene (also with Curtin University) will lead the development of geographically targeted, data-driven strategies to improve influenza control for children across WA. His project will generate practical, evidence-based tools to guide prevention efforts and enhance childhood influenza vaccination. Ultimately, his project aims to strengthen the state’s capacity to protect children from influenza and serve as a scalable model for other vaccine-preventable diseases.
- Dr Ingrid Amgarth-Duff (also with The University of Western Australia) will lead Australia’s first clinical trial of an oral head lice treatment, co-designed with WA communities to improve access, reduce stigma and promote health equity.
- Dr Keely Bebbington (also with The University of Western Australia) will implement and evaluate an enhanced psychosocial model of care for young people living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in WA. Her program will position WA as a national leader in psychosocial care for youth with T1D, bridging a critical service gap and improving health and wellbeing outcomes for young people and their families. It will also generate a scalable model for broader implementation across diabetes centres nationwide.
- Dr Anita Campbell (also with The University of Western Australia) is addressing sepsis care and prevention by advancing antibiotic treatment trials, implementing novel therapeutic trials for children with critical infections and developing culturally secure sepsis awareness, care and prevention tools.
- Dr Jack Farrugia (also with The University of Western Australia) aims to improve the mental health of marginalised young people in regional WA by strengthening access to existing inclusive in-person and digital services, improving service navigation, and supporting mental health practitioners to implement inclusive and culturally safe practices.
- Senior Research Fellow Vincent Mancini (also with The University of Western Australia) will lead a portfolio of research projects to investigate and empower the role of fathers and father figures to improve child wellbeing.
- Dr Sebastien Malinge (also with The University of Western Australia) is leading a comprehensive and innovative research program to improve quality of care and long-term survival for children with leukaemia.
- Professor Andre Schultz (also with The University of Western Australia) will lead a multifaceted cohort study to identify modifiable risk factors for Aboriginal children developing chronic lung disease.
- Dr Ruth Thornton (also with The University of Western Australia) will advance the development of a novel treatment for glue ear, investigate why some children are more prone to chronic and recurrent lung infections with an aim to identify treatment and prevention targets, and develop tests to inform vaccination policies.
First published Wednesday 18 March 2026.
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