The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research is one of the largest, and most successful medical research institutes in Australia, comprising a dedicated and diverse team of more than 500 staff and students.
Established in 1990 by Founding Director Professor Fiona Stanley, the Telethon Institute was among the first to adopt a multidisciplinary approach to major health issues: clinical research, laboratory sciences and epidemiologists all under the one roof, to tackle complex diseases and issues in a number of ways.
Research at the Telethon Institute is based around the following key research areas:
- Aboriginal health
- Asthma, allergy and respiratory disorders
- Bioinformatics
- Children's cancer & leukaemia
- Child development and wellbeing
- Datasets and cohort studies
- Diabetes, obesity and related disorders
- Disability and developmental disorders
- Drug discovery (Phylogica)
- Environmental impacts on health
- Genetic impacts on health
- Impacts on policy and practice
- Infectious disease
- Mental health
- Pregnancy and maternal health
Located in Subiaco, Western Australia, the Telethon Institute has strong affiliations with Princess Margaret Hospital for Children and all the major Western Australian universities, particularly The University of Western Australia and Curtin University.
The Telethon Institute is independent and not-for-profit. The majority of funding comes from our success in winning competitive research grants from Federal Government bodies such as the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council. We have also received a number of grants from the US National Institutes of Health.
The Western Australian State Government provides valuable support through the Medical and Health Research Infrastructure Fund.
