Pictured: Hayley Christian, Aunty Millie Penny, Fiona Wood, and Hannah Moore.
Four outstanding members of The Kids Research Institute Australia family – three researchers and an Aboriginal Elder co-researcher – have been named in the Australia Day Honours List for their outstanding service to research and the community.
World-renowned burns expert
Burns specialist Professor Fiona Wood has been made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in recognition of her distinguished service to plastic and reconstructive surgery and medical research, and as a clinician scientist and mentor.
Professor Wood leads the Paediatric Burn Care team at The Kids Research Institute Australia and is Co-Program Head of the Perioperative Care Research Program. She is also Director of the Burns Service of Western Australia (BSWA); a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Fiona Stanley Hospital and Perth Children's Hospital; co-founder of the first skin cell laboratory in WA; Winthrop Professor in the School of Surgery at The University of Western Australia; and co-founder of the Fiona Wood Foundation (formerly The McComb Foundation).
Professor Wood, who has been a burns surgeon and researcher for more than 30 years, is world-renowned for creating spray-on skin to heal physical scars. She pioneered the technique alongside Marie Stoner, using it to treat survivors of the 2002 Bali bombings. This life-changing innovation is now used around the world.
In the years since, Professor Wood has continued to improve outcomes for burns survivors. At The Kids Research Institute Australia her team is working to understand more fully the experience of children and young people after a burn injury, including psychological outcomes.
Professor Wood was named Australian of the Year in 2005 and made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2003 – today’s honour elevates her in recognition of her ongoing and distinguished contribution to the Australian community.
The Kids Research Institute Australia Executive Director Professor Jonathan Carapetis AM said the Institute was fortunate to benefit from the expertise of a researcher of Professor Wood’s calibre.
“There would be few Australians who have not heard of Fiona’s stellar contributions to the world of medical research and burns care,” Professor Carapetis said. “Her work, straddling both clinical care and research, has changed the way we think about the impact and management of burns, directly benefiting countless patients here and across the world.”
Tireless advocate for the Aboriginal community and children
Longstanding Elder cultural advisor Aunty Millie Penny has been made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in recognition of her invaluable contributions to the Aboriginal community through a variety of roles.
Aunty Millie, a Noongar Yorga woman from the Pinjarra area south of Perth, is an Elder Co-Researcher at The Kids Research Institute Australia and a Founding Member and former Senior Counsellor with the Yorgum Aboriginal Corporation.
She has been an Elder cultural advisor to a range of Aboriginal research projects at The Kids since 2016, and in 2019 became an Honorary Research Associate with the Institute. She also undertakes cultural advisor roles with organisations including the Western Australian Council of Social Service and, as a talented Indigenous artist, guides young women in the Noongar Middar Yorga dance group.
Aunty Millie’s extensive involvement with The Kids reflects the Institute’s strong commitment to Aboriginal health, and has seen her not only provide highly valued advice, but actively take part in projects as a co-researcher.
“At The Kids Research Institute Australia we regard the health of Aboriginal children as everyone’s business and seek to embed Aboriginal research in all that we do,” Professor Carapetis said.
“As we pursue this vision we are fortunate to have access to a group of Aboriginal Elders, including Aunty Millie, to provide cultural governance and advice to ensure that all research involving Aboriginal people is undertaken in a way that prioritises partnerships with Aboriginal families and communities and addresses the needs and priorities of the Aboriginal community.
“This contribution is not taken lightly: it is fundamental to the way we undertake our mission and has, along with other measures including a formal Commitment to Aboriginal Children and Families, helped to transform our research ethos and practice to become more equitable and alive to the needs and priorities of Aboriginal people in Western Australia.”
Aunty Millie has provided cultural governance and direction to multiple projects including Ngulluk Koolunga Ngulluk Koort (NKNK; Our Children, Our Heart), a research project focused on Aboriginal early child development; and the Out-of-Home Care Project, Ngulluk Moort, Ngulluk Boodja, Ngulluk Wirin (Our Family, Our Country, Our Spirit).
“Aunty Millie has a deep personal commitment to the wellbeing of Aboriginal children and families,” Professor Carapetis said.
“She is a tireless advocate, a warm and familiar figure around the Institute, and a treasured mentor to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers.
“She generously shares her cultural wisdom and knowledge, guiding researchers towards culturally safe research practices and connecting them to the right people within her extensive community network to pave the way for culturally appropriate consultation and co-design.”
Finding ways to get kids to move more
Associate Professor Hayley Christian has been made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in recognition of her internationally respected research on the importance of physical activity in the early years. This honour is awarded for service in a particular locality or field of activity or to a particular group.
Associate Professor Christian is Head of the Child Physical Activity, Health and Development research team and Program Head of Health Behaviours and Environments at The Kids Research Institute Australia and The University of Western Australia, Co-Director of the WA Node of the ARC Centre for Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course, and a National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow.
Her pioneering and innovative work seeks to uncover the best environments, policies and programs to overcome sedentary lifestyles and boost the amount of physically active play children undertake every day.
Regular physical activity during the early years of life is critical to facilitate healthy development and build lifelong habits that can help to prevent chronic illness, but most Australian children aren’t meeting recommended daily levels.
Associate Professor Christian’s research program has included projects focused on how to provide more liveable neighbourhoods that encourage kids and families to move more, the development of novel interventions targeted at early childhood, and the health benefits of pets. She is currently leading the national roll-out of Play Active, a program which provides evidence-based resources to childcare educators to help them boost the physical activity levels of children in their care.
Professor Carapetis said Associate Professor Christian’s world-leading expertise was widely sought after and was changing policy and practice in Australia and internationally.
“Hayley’s outstanding research, which she consistently consolidates with practical solutions in partnership with families, children, decision-makers and practitioners, is a perfect fit for the Institute’s vision of happy, healthy kids,” he said.
“Her efforts are especially important in an era when we need to focus on active lifestyles for kids, because of concerns about sedentary behaviours, screen time, the epidemic of chronic diseases later in life, and the appalling prospect that children today may be the first generation in history to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.”
Putting RSV in the spotlight
Associate Professor Hannah Moore has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to epidemiology – particularly her efforts to understand and address the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza.
Associate Professor Moore is Program Head of Infections and Vaccines within the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases at The Kids Research Institute Australia, Co-lead of the Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Team, and an Associate Professor within the Curtin School of Population Health at Curtin University.
Her primary focus is using the power of population-based data to answer critical questions around the burden, risk factors and seasonal patterns of infectious diseases in specific populations, including children and vulnerable communities. Her research produces vital evidence for governments, clinicians and others, helping to guide effective vaccine policies and public health interventions.
Professor Carapetis said Associate Professor Moore’s work in relation to RSV – responsible for more than 100,000 deaths and 3.6 million child hospitalisations worldwide every year – and influenza had been especially valuable.
“Despite the deadly nature of RSV, until recently there has been no vaccine to prevent it, no medication to treat it, and very little knowledge about it in the community,” Professor Carapetis said.
“Hannah’s work over the past 20 years – always undertaken in close consultation with community members and other stakeholders – has done much to lift the profile of RSV and increase our understanding of its impact and the best ways to tackle it.
“Among other significant contributions, she has generated crucial knowledge to predict the impact of RSV vaccines, establishing the groundwork for new immunisation programs and preparing the community for their implementation.
“Now that an RSV vaccine is finally here – with the recent licensure of a vaccine for adults and the likelihood that immunisations for babies are not far away – her work is even more critical to help guide how we best implement these into programs that benefit children in Australia and around the world.”
Associate Professor Moore also led investigations into the burden of influenza across Australia and provided recommendations for a new seasonal flu vaccine policy after examining alternative vaccine scenarios and estimating their health impacts.
“These results informed the implementation of an Australian-first, state-wide seasonal flu vaccination program for primary school children in 2020,” Professor Carapetis said. “As a result, influenza vaccine coverage in this age group increased dramatically from historical levels of around 8 per cent to 38 per cent.”