ONE of the world's largest-ever birth and parent cohort studies has begun at Northeast Health Wangaratta and Albury Wodonga Health.
The opt-in GenV research project through the Murdoch Children's Research Institute 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.
Around 100 new jobs will be created in clinical settings across the state over the life of the GenV project.
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 up over a two-year period, no matter where they live.
Albury Wodonga Health and Northeast Health join other birthing hospitals across Victoria in offering local families the opportunity to take part in GenV.
Professor Melissa Wake, GenV scientific director and a paediatrician of 30 years, said that by 2035, GenV’s vision is 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 initiative, GenV 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,” she said.
Julie Wright, Albury Wodonga Health’s operational director of women's and children's services, said Albury Wodonga Health maternity services are delighted to be working alongside the GenV team.
“The project provides an opportunity to better help future generations, and address health concerns and complex conditions faced by children and parents," she said.
"In turn, we hope this will improve the health and well-being of children and parents in our community."
Professor Wake said that large whole-of-state research projects such as GenV could speed up answers to the major issues facing children and adults, today and for their futures.
“GenV truly is a collaborative study and a partnership of many," she said.
"We are profoundly grateful to the teams at Albury Wodonga Health and Northeast Health for partnering with us.
“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 (PRF), the Victorian Government and the Royal Children’s Hospital ...
