Fellowship funds major Queensland research on cerebral palsy
One of Australia’s foremost authorities on cerebral palsy is set to call Queensland home, thanks to the Queensland Government.
Queensland Minister for State Development John Mickel said Associate Professor Roslyn Boyd from Victoria’s prestigious Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the Brain Research Institute had received a $150,000 Smart State Fellowship under Round 2 of the Government’s Smart State Innovation Funds to carry out major research in Queensland.
“Dr Boyd will take up an appointment at the University of Queensland’s School of Medicine,” Mr Mickel said.
In 2004, Dr Boyd, a paediatric physiotherapist, received a Victorian Premier’s Commendation for her breakthrough research demonstrating that Botox injections, combined with physiotherapy, dramatically reduced spasticity in the arms and legs of children with cerebral palsy.
Dr Boyd’s research combined her expertise in movement training with cutting edge MRI technology to look at brain function, unlocking the secrets of movement dysfunction in children with the condition.
Dr Boyd’s research in Queensland will involve a population-based study of three groups of young children, adolescents and adults with cerebral palsy, so as to increase our understanding of this very complex and costly condition
‘We’ll measure the development of the condition over time – how it affects people and their families, both in terms of comprehensive health outcomes, such as activity, participation and health related quality of life as well as medical costs and consequences,” Dr Boyd said.
“We’ll also measure the effectiveness of current spasticity treatments, preventative surgery and rehabilitation, as well as new ways of treating the condition, such as Constrain Induced Movement Therapy.”
Cerebral palsy is a life-long condition and affects about one in 500 young Australians.
The cost of management of the condition is estimated at about $1.5 million per person during their lifetime.
Management often involves parents, therapists, doctors, nurses and teachers working together to care and improve outcomes for the person with the condition and their families.
It involves a range of treatments including physiotherapy and occupational therapy to encourage motor development to improve upper limb skills, braces to support lower limbs, plaster casts, oral medications, and orthopaedic and neurosurgery.
Dr Boyd hopes her research will lead to improvements in managing the condition and help to increase the opportunities for people with cerebral palsy to be contributing members of society.
“Queensland’s new State-wide interdisciplinary Cerebral Palsy Health Service, an initiative of the Queensland Government, and the State’s rapidly growing population, coupled with the research facilities at the University of Queensland in neuroscience, neonatal, nutrition and genetics offer a unique opportunity to establish a cutting-edge centre for Cerebral Palsy Research at the Royal Children’s Hospital,” Dr Boyd said.
The Smart State Fellowships are part of the Queensland Government’s $200 million Smart State Innovation Funding Program, which aims to build world-class research facilities, attract top-quality scientists to Queensland and stimulate cutting-edge research projects.
Round Two of the Smart State Innovation Funds set out about $18.5 million in assistance, including project funding, research fellowships and university internships
Mr Mickel is hosting a special reception at 3pm today for the latest recipients of the Smart State Fellowship and Queensland Clinical Research Fellowship programs at the Queensland Room, the Executive Building, 100 George Street, Brisbane.
“The Queensland Government has invested more than $3 billion in innovation, science and research since 1998. I think this demonstrates our deep and ongoing commitment to maintaining Queensland’s reputation as the Smart State,” Mr Mickel said.
source: http://presszoom.com/story_136416.html
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Fellowship funds major Queensland research on cerebral palsy
