The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute’s (MCRI) innovative GenV research project will be launched at Central Gippsland Health (CGH) on 10 August 2021.

GenV is one of the world’s largest birth and parent cohort studies. The opt-in project will follow babies and their parents to help solve problems like asthma, food allergies, obesity and mental illness – mostly using data that is already routinely collected.

GenV is entering an important phase as it scales up through mid-2021 to be available to all newborns and their parents across Victoria. Every family with a newborn baby will be able to join the project over a two-year period, no matter where they live.

CGH will join other birthing hospitals across Victoria in offering local families the opportunity to take part in GenV.

GenV Scientific Director and a pediatrician of 30 years, Professor Melissa Wake, said that by 2035, GenV’s vision was to have helped create a happier and healthier future for many children and parents.

“By involving children and families in this once-in-a-generation initiativeGenV can help solve pressing problems like asthma, food allergies, obesity and mental illness.

“In addition, we are seeking to address the inequities that face so many children and families across Victoria. Because GenV will be in every community, it may be especially helpful to the most vulnerable individuals and communities in our state.”

CGH Executive Director Nursing, Mandy Pusmucans, said GenV would provide the invaluable opportunity to better treat and prevent common and complex conditions relevant to families within the Wellington community.

“Having the MCRI conduct this important research locally and hearing directly from local families could speed up answers to the major issues facing children and adults, today and for their futures,” she said.

“GenV truly is a collaborative study and a partnership of many that CGH is proud to partner with.”

Over the next two years, around 150,000 children born in Victoria and their parents will have the opportunity to participate in the project. Put simply, by signing up to be a part of the GenV generation, parents will help to create a healthier future for all children and their families.

 GenV is led by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, is supported by the Royal Children’s Hospital and University of Melbourne and is funded by the Paul Ramsay Foundation, the Victorian Government and the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Visit https://genv.org.au/ for more information.

 

About MCRI

The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) is the largest child health research institute in Australia committed to making discoveries and developing treatments to improve child and adolescent health in Australia and around the world. MCRI pioneers new treatments, trials better vaccines and improves ways of diagnosing and helping sick babies, children and adolescents. MCRI is one of the only research institutes in Australia to offer genetic testing to find answers for families of children with previously undiagnosed conditions. 

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