The Rio Tinto Children’s Diabetes Centre; a JDRF Global Centre of Excellence at The Kids Research Institute Australia and Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH), is a global hub for research into type 1 diabetes (T1D) in children.
Based in Perth, Western Australia, the Centre is the first JDRF Global Centre of Excellence in Australia, joining other locations as one of just five Centres worldwide. The Perth based Centre of Excellence is the only paediatric and clinically focused one in the world.
What is a JDRF Centre of Excellence?
Around the world, scientists and researchers are working to improve the lives of children with T1D and to reduce the burden on their families, the health system and the community.
A Centre of Excellence is a cost-effective innovation hub that leverages existing research facilities, talent and infrastructure, which allows dollars to be funnelled to research rather than overhead, and provides the framework to move type 1 diabetes research to that next frontier.
JDRF facilitates and funds this research, helping to get solutions to people with T1D as quickly as possible with Global Centres of Excellence – research hubs set up in locations where intensive T1D research is already underway.
The Centre of Excellence model allows scientists to focus on collaborative approaches to research, and gives them the ability to quickly pivot to pursue the most promising directions.
Why a JDRF centre of excellence in Australia?
Australia is already home to world-leading experts working on paediatric type 1 diabetes research. Supported by five national and global institutions and hospitals, it integrates clinical practice and research, accelerating access to world-first studies, trials and the latest research results from around the globe.
The Centre is building on the excellent team, experience, and connections already in place at The Kids and the partner sites in Australia; Macquarie University, Monash University, Women’s and Children’s Health Network South Australia, Children’s Health Queensland, and internationally; Harvard University in Boston, USA.
The vision of the Perth based JDRF Global Centre of Excellence is to close the 10-year gap in life expectancy for children with T1D by improving health outcomes and reducing the burden of disease. As well as accelerating world-class research by reducing the 15–20-year lag for new research to be put into clinical practice. The
Our research is made possible thanks to the patients, families, diabetes community and funders.
To find out more about the Centre, read the Media Release here.
Other media: The West article and the Channel 7 news report.
Goals of the Centre
- To implement and evaluate models of care that lead to improved health for young people and families living with T1D.
- To promote the translation of research into clinical care and policy.
- To develop health economic frameworks to capture the broad true cost of T1D.
- Talent and capacity building - to increase T1D research capacity through training and supporting emerging talent.
- To increase Consumer and Community Involvement in T1D research at all levels.
Our Leadership and the Team
The JDRF Global Centre of Excellence is being driven by two of Australia’s leading diabetes researchers and clinicians, Professors Liz Davis and Tim Jones based at The Kids and Perth Children’s Hospital.
The Centre is a world-leading initiative building on the excellent team, experience, and connections already in place at The Kids and the partner sites in Australia; Macquarie University, Monash University, Women’s and Children’s Health Network South Australia, Children’s Health Queensland, and internationally; Harvard University in Boston, USA.
An international scientific advisory group comprising of world-renowned leaders in T1D has also been assembled to ensure the global relevance and connectedness of the Centre.
Principal Investigators
- Professor Tim Jones - The Kids Research Institute Australia, Australia
- Professor Liz Davis - The Kids Research Institute Australia, Australia
- Professor David Bloom - Harvard University, USA
- Professor Sophia Zoungas - Monash University, Australia
- A/Prof Yvonne Zurynski - Macquarie University, Australia
- Prof Jeffrey Braithwaite - Macquarie University, Australia
- Dr Tony Huynh - Queensland Health, Australia
- Professor Jenny Couper - Adelaide University, Australia
Individual collaborators and stakeholders
University of Adelaide, Australia
Prof Jenny Couper (PI)
Barbara Davis Centre, University of Colorado, USA
Dr Laurel Messer
University of Basel, Switzerland
Dr Marie-Anne Burckhardt
University of Otago, New Zealand
Dr Martin de Bock
Fiona Stanley Hospital, Australia
Dr Gerry Fegan
University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Prof Peter Adolfsson
Harvard University, USA
Prof David Bloom (PI)
Dr Jeffrey Cannon
Dr Maddalena Ferranna
Daniel Cadarette
Macquarie University, Australia
A/Prof Yvonne Zurynski (PI)
Prof Jeffrey Braithwaite (PI)
University of Melbourne, Australia
Prof David O'Neal
Monash University
Prof Sophia Zoungas (PI)
Dr Anthony Pease
Dr Ella Zomer
Dr Emily Callander
Monash Children's Hospital, Australia
A/Prof Phil Bergman
NHS Lothian, Scotland
Dr Tarini Chetty
North Adelaide Local Health Network, Australia
Dr Anthony Zimmermann
Queensland Health, Australia
Dr Tony Huynh
Dr Anthony Russell
Stanford University, USA
Prof David Maahs
Dr Dessi Zaharieva
The Kids Research Institute Australia, Australia
Prof Elizabeth Davis (Co-Director)
Prof Tim Jones (Co-Director)
Ms Anne McKenzie
Dr Mary Abraham
Dr Vinutha Shetty
Dr Aveni Haynes
Dr Amelia Harray
Dr Keely Bebbington
Dr Craif Taplin
Dr Rad Aniba
The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Australia
Prof Ann Maguire
Sydney Children's Hospital Network, Australia
Dr Kristen Neville
Dr Helen Woodhead
University of Sydney, Australia
Dr Alicia Jenkins
University of Western Australia, Australia
Prof Paul Fournier
Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, Australia
Prof Jan Fairchild
York University, Canada
Prof Mike Riddelll
