REACH: Randomised Trial Of EArly Rehabilitation In Congenital Hemiplegia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$972,777.00
Summary
Infants with asymmetric brain lesions are at high risk of congenital hemiplegia. This study compares modified CIMT to an equal dose of bimanual training in 150 infants recruited at 3-6 months. Both therapies will be parent-delivered supported by experienced clinicians. Outcomes include use of the impaired hand in bimanual tasks, cognitive and motor development at 12 and 24 months c.a. with measures of neural structure and functional connectivity at 24 months. Early interventions that attenuate
A Pedagogy for Multiliteracies with Information and Communication Technologies in Early Childhood Education. The goal of this project is to determine the most effective pedagogy for the use of ICT in Australian early childhood education. The research is essential in order to plan for a world-class educational future for young Australians. A collaborative action-research program will be undertaken by three leading academics in association with a network of thirty-six teachers in three states. Thi ....A Pedagogy for Multiliteracies with Information and Communication Technologies in Early Childhood Education. The goal of this project is to determine the most effective pedagogy for the use of ICT in Australian early childhood education. The research is essential in order to plan for a world-class educational future for young Australians. A collaborative action-research program will be undertaken by three leading academics in association with a network of thirty-six teachers in three states. This innovative research approach is based on a multiliteracies framework. The project will investigate how ICT can best be used for enhancing children's learning and identify specific ways in which teachers can develop multiliteracies in early childhood education environments. Read moreRead less
EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING OF MALIGNANT BREAST CANCER
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$863,268.00
Summary
Poorly differentiated breast cancers are aggressive tumors, frequently resistant to chemotherapy and associated with high morbidity. Herein we propose the engineering of more selective therapeutic agents able to target the genes involved in cancer initiation and resistance to treatment. We aim to correct and reprogram the cancer cell genome in state that is similar to normal, not tumorigenic cells. This work will generate novel forms of treatment for cancers that are presently not curable.
Australasian Cerebral Palsy Clinical Trials Network (AusCP-CTN): Optimising Interventions And Effective Services For Children With Cerebral Palsy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,499,287.00
Summary
Cerebral Palsy (CP) is common and disability can be progressive so the heathcare burden is immense (0.14% GDP). Our Clinical trials network will improve early detection and develop new interventions to improve physical, cognitive and health outcomes for children with CP and their families. Recruitment from the national CP Register will address clinically important questions and test implementation of effective treatments. New Clinical Practice Guidelines will ensure translation internationally.
Regulation Of Neural Progenitor Cell Self-renewal By The RNA-binding Protein ZFP36L1 During Development And Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$345,401.00
Summary
The timely differentiation of neural stem cells is critical during development, and the unrestrained proliferation of neural stem cells in the adult can lead to deadly brain cancers such as glioma. At present our understanding of the key molecules that regulate neural stem cell behaviour during these processes remains limited. In this proposal we will investigate the molecular determinants underpinning neural stem cell biology, both within the developing brain, and within glioma.
Cost effective smart identification of early attentional problems associated with literacy and numeracy indicators in preschool children. The benefits of this project are improved early identification of children at-risk of failure, and initiation of a significant longitudinal Australian educational database. Identifying children with emergent learning problems will promote interventions to improve achievement leading to a more productive adult life. The development and administration of screeni ....Cost effective smart identification of early attentional problems associated with literacy and numeracy indicators in preschool children. The benefits of this project are improved early identification of children at-risk of failure, and initiation of a significant longitudinal Australian educational database. Identifying children with emergent learning problems will promote interventions to improve achievement leading to a more productive adult life. The development and administration of screening procedures with software distributed to schools and analysed with increasing power as the database expands, will enable the predictive validity of the process to be examined re-iteratively. The generated longitudinal student databases will have the potential to track both detection and intervention effectiveness, and become a national research asset.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100731
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$361,744.00
Summary
Contextual supports for the early development of self-regulated learning. How do young children develop critical learning behaviours that are the key for their future academic success? What kinds of environments support this development? This project aims to answer these questions by investigating the development of regulatory behaviours (with a specific focus on self-regulated learning) during the first two years of schooling, and identifying critical contextual variables at home and at school ....Contextual supports for the early development of self-regulated learning. How do young children develop critical learning behaviours that are the key for their future academic success? What kinds of environments support this development? This project aims to answer these questions by investigating the development of regulatory behaviours (with a specific focus on self-regulated learning) during the first two years of schooling, and identifying critical contextual variables at home and at school impacting on this development. Findings from this research will provide crucial information for the design of family and practitioner-based interventions helping to improve the educational outcomes of young Australians.Read moreRead less
Parents as Partners: Getting children off to a healthy start in literacy. Our nation is best served by children getting off to a healthy start in literacy. However, almost one in six children fails to do so. This group has reduced academic and vocational options, increased social, emotional and mental health problems, higher youth unemployment, and is significantly over-represented among offenders. The nation bears the costs of these problems through reduced productivity and expenditure on unemp ....Parents as Partners: Getting children off to a healthy start in literacy. Our nation is best served by children getting off to a healthy start in literacy. However, almost one in six children fails to do so. This group has reduced academic and vocational options, increased social, emotional and mental health problems, higher youth unemployment, and is significantly over-represented among offenders. The nation bears the costs of these problems through reduced productivity and expenditure on unemployment benefits, social programs, mental health services, and incarceration. This project targets both these sources of loss to the nation by utilising a hitherto untapped community resource: Training parents of preschoolers to develop critical pre-literacy skills in their children at home before they begin to fail. Read moreRead less
Enhancing the content and experience of Interactive Childrens Television. Interactive television (iTV) as a participatory, on-demand communication provides a unique opportunity to significantly engage, entertain and educate preschool children. Through considerable industry partner collaboration and participation, this project will evaluate three distinct interactive options produced from selected children's television programs with proven success in Australia. Usability studies employing a vari ....Enhancing the content and experience of Interactive Childrens Television. Interactive television (iTV) as a participatory, on-demand communication provides a unique opportunity to significantly engage, entertain and educate preschool children. Through considerable industry partner collaboration and participation, this project will evaluate three distinct interactive options produced from selected children's television programs with proven success in Australia. Usability studies employing a variety of surveillance techniques will evaluate content design and user response. Children's viewing habits will be evaluated within a social context (the home) and a mobile lab setting using qualitative and quantitative assessment. The results will identify effective ways to produce meaningful interactivity and will encourage future industry based research.Read moreRead less
Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. This project aims to inform strategies to better attract, prepare, recognise, support and retain a high quality workforce, by investigating the complexity of early childhood educators’ work. Seemingly entrenched workforce shortages threaten the objectives that governments and families seek through investment in early childhood education. Popular imag ....Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. This project aims to inform strategies to better attract, prepare, recognise, support and retain a high quality workforce, by investigating the complexity of early childhood educators’ work. Seemingly entrenched workforce shortages threaten the objectives that governments and families seek through investment in early childhood education. Popular images of work with young children as easy and instinctual, or of teaching as only school based, mislead potential workforce entrants and erode the status of educators, leading to attrition. This project’s audit and description of exemplary educators’ work, across each level of mandated qualification, will inform strategies to sustain a high quality early childhood workforce into the future.Read moreRead less