Rio Tinto Children's Diabetes Centre

The Rio Tinto Children's Diabetes Centre (The Centre), based at The Kids Research Institute Australia (The Kids) and Perth Children's Hospital (PCH), is a research centre that aims to improve the lives of children and young adults living with diabetes by bringing together research, education and clinical care. 

The Centre’s mission is to undertake research that is translated into effective clinical management, ensuring patients receive the best evidence-based care available.

Led by two of Australia’s foremost diabetes researchers and clinicians, Professors Liz Davis and Tim Jones, the Centre  includes researchers at the The Kids Diabetes Research Team and the qualified health professionals at the Diabetes Service at PCH.

The Centre conducts research into type 1 diabetes (T1D) and childhood onset type 2 diabetes (T2D). In WA, about 160 children are diagnosed with diabetes every year, and the number is increasing.

The Centre also encompasses the first JDRF Global Centre of Excellence outside of North America, which has a clinical and paediatric focus. Based at PCH, the Centre of Excellence is supported by five national and global institutions and hospitals driving a new research agenda for T1D in children. This Centre aims to deliver more effective models of care, close the gap in translating research into clinical care as well as closing the over 10-year gap in life expectancy for children with T1D.