Earlier this week ten emerging researchers took to the stage to pitch their projects to a room full of excited and engaged philanthropists who share our vision of happy, healthy kids.
The Illuminate PitchFest event is designed to connect researchers with our passionate community of supporters.
For the second year running, Illuminate PitchFest shines a light on the innovative, world-class research at The Kids Research Institute Australia, providing early to mid-career researchers an opportunity to launch their careers to new heights, thanks to funding support of an Illuminate Award.
Inspired and moved by the energy in the room on the night, several generous guests shocked everyone by unexpectedly supporting three additional awards! A total of $235,000 worth of Awards, all made through philanthropic gifts, were presented.
We are excited to announce the eight winners, a big congratulations to:
- Dr Yuliya Karpievitch - Illuminate Visionary Award supported by Gubgub & Wallace Family for ‘Using AI to fight ‘superbugs’.
- Dr Jess Reynolds - Illuminate Award supported by Woods Family for ‘Early interventions for autistic children with motor difficulties’.
- Dr Pamela Laird - Illuminate Award supported by The Giorgetta Charity Fund for ‘Saving Young Lungs: A Game Changer for Aboriginal Kids’.
- Dr Jacinta Saldaris - Illuminate Award supported by Peers & Partners for ‘Mental health matters for children with intellectual disabilities’.
- Dr Jane Choi - Illuminate Award supported by Helping Little Hands for ‘It’s about time! The role of body clocks in improving lung health of premature babies’.
- Dr Ben Wylie - Illuminate Award supported by Sue Fletcher & Kerimi Family Foundation for ‘Developing new immunotherapies for kids with sarcoma’.
- Dr Katherine Landwehr - People's Choice Illuminate Award for ‘Clearing the air from vapes’.
- Dr Penelope Strauss - People's Choice Illuminate Award for ‘Making social media a mentally healthy place’.
Well done to everyone involved, including our finalists - Dr Jess Reynolds, Dr Jane Choi, Dr Penelope Strauss, Dr Patricia Agudelo-Romero, Dr Katherine Landwehr, Dr Jacinta Saldaris, Dr Pam Laird, Dr Ben Wylie, Dr Hamsini Sivaramakrishnan and Dr Yuliya Karpievitch.
At The Kids our greatest asset is our people. We are strongly invested in the future of child medical research welcoming, nurturing, and encouraging the best Australian and international researchers.
However, our best and brightest researchers face an increasingly competitive environment in securing research funding. This means substantial delays in research and even career insecurity, particularly for early and mid-career researchers.
Through the power of philanthropy, our community plays a pivotal role in equipping brilliant researchers with the funding they need to transform their vision into ground-breaking advancements.
A big thank you to everyone who attended and generously supported Illuminate ‘Pitchfest’ including some of our own generous staff who support the Institute through own own workplace giving program, Peers and Partners – an generous award supported by our staff, for our staff.
We invite you to join and learn more about Illuminate or how you can support an award. Please contact Manager, Philanthropy Major Gifts, Simmone Sharp on +61 8 6319 1822 or via email who is happy to introduce you to this exciting and game changing program for our early to mid-career researchers.