Search
Research
The second rheumatic heart disease forum reportBuilding on the foundation of the first RHD forum, over 150 interested participants met to discuss critical issues on the RHD landscape.
Research
Group A Streptococcal Diseases and Their Global BurdenWe review GAS transmission characteristics and prevention strategies, historical and geographical trends and report on the estimated global burden disease...
Research
Prematurity-associated lung disease: is it asthma?Shannon Elizabeth Simpson Smith BMedSci (hons), PhD PhD, MSc, BSc Head, Strong Beginnings Research Program Manager 08 6319 1631 08 6319 1178
Research
The longitudinal microbial and metabolic landscape of infant cystic fibrosis: the gut-lung axisIn cystic fibrosis, gastrointestinal dysfunction and lower airway infection occur early and are independently associated with poorer outcomes in childhood. This study aimed to define the relationship between the microbiota at each niche during the first 2 years of life, its association with growth and airway inflammation, and explanatory features in the metabolome.
Research
Rheumatic Fever Follow-Up Study (RhFFUS) protocol: A cohort study investigating the significance of minorIn Australia, rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is almost exclusively restricted to Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people with children being...
Research
Culture, Connection and Care: The Role of Institutional Justice Capital for Enhancing the Wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children in Out-Of-Home CareEnsuring that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children removed from their families by child protection services remain connected to their kin, Country and culture is a priority to begin to redress the intergenerational trauma and harm caused by colonisation. This article describes the views of staff working in three mainstream out-of-home care organisations, where children are cared for by non-Indigenous foster carers.
Research
Can lung disease be averted by focusing on early-life inequities?Shannon Simpson BMedSci (hons), PhD Head, Strong Beginnings Research 08 6319 1631 Shannon.simpson@thekids.org.au Head, Strong Beginnings Research
Research
Prenatal depressive symptoms and childhood development of brain limbic and default mode network structurePrenatal depressive symptoms are linked to negative child behavioral and cognitive outcomes and predict later psychopathology in adolescent children. Prior work links prenatal depressive symptoms to child brain structure in regions like the amygdala; however, the relationship between symptoms and the development of brain structure over time remains unclear.
Research
Charting developmental trajectories from 12 to 36 months and associated early risk and protective factorsTo investigate developmental trajectories in early childhood and predictors of class assignment.
Research
Normative data for multiple breath washout outcomes in school-aged Caucasian childrenThe multiple breath nitrogen washout (N2MBW) technique is increasingly used to assess the degree of ventilation inhomogeneity in school-aged children with lung disease. However, reference values for healthy children are currently not available.
Research
Measuring the Burden of Epilepsy Hospitalizations in CDKL5 Deficiency DisorderInformation on the hospital service use among individuals with CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder, an ultrarare developmental epileptic encephalopathy, is limited, evidence of which could assist with service planning. Therefore, using baseline and longitudinal data on 379 genetically verified individuals in the International CDKL5 Disorder Database, we aimed to investigate rates of seizure-related and other hospitalizations and associated length of stay in this cohort.
Research
Empowering quality education through sustainable and equitable electricity access in African schoolsAlthough most people born this century will be educated in African schools, these schools often lack basic infrastructure, such as electricity and/or lighting. In the face of a rapidly growing school-age population in Africa, the electrification of educational facilities is not just an infrastructural challenge but also a pivotal investment in the continent’s future workforce.
Research
The future of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in AustraliaGlobally, ARF and RHD cause more than a quarter of a million deaths and substantial disability each year.
Research
Genome-wide analysis of genetic risk factors for rheumatic heart disease in Australian Aboriginal populations from the Northern TerritoryRheumatic heart disease (RHD) following Group A Streptococcus (GAS) infections is heritable and prevalent in Indigenous populations.

News & Events
The Kids researchers granted $5 million to prevent RHD across PacificA team led by Dr Joseph Kado from the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, based at The Kids Research Institute Australia, and The University of Western Australia (UWA) has been awarded $5 million by the Federal Government in a major push to prevent rheumatic heart disease across the Pacific.

News & Events
Call for urgent funding boost for RHD in AustraliaThere are calls for a significant and urgent injection of $40 million in funding to tackle Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) following Monday night’s Four Corners episode.
Research
Excess Deaths Associated with Rheumatic Heart Disease, Australia, 2013-2017During 2013–2017, the mortality rate ratio for rheumatic heart disease among Indigenous versus non-Indigenous persons in Australia was 15.9, reflecting health inequity. Using excess mortality methods, we found that deaths associated with rheumatic heart disease among Indigenous Australians were probably substantially undercounted, affecting accuracy of calculations based solely on Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

News & Events
Visit from On Track Watch Community Researchers helps build a pathway of looking at two different culturesFor Aboriginal Community Researchers Minitja Marawili and Yunutju Gondarra, the work of the END RHD CRE is deeply personal.