Barwon Health Research - Child Health Research Unit at Barwon Health (CHeRUB)

Child Health Research Unit at Barwon Health (CHeRUB)

It is well recognised that most non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, allergy, asthma, autism, ADHD, anxiety and depression have their origins in pregnancy and early childhood; a period described as ‘the crucial first 1,000 days of life’.

At the Child Health Research Unit at Barwon Health (CHeRUB) we study the origins of disease in the first 1,000 days and design strategies to provide our children with a healthy start. Our research brings together community effort and some of our best research minds; combining people-power with cutting-edge science. CHeRUB is leading paediatric research in Australia, if not the world.

Research Areas

The Barwon Infant Study (BIS)

The Barwon Infant Study (BIS) is a birth cohort study being led by CHeRUB in collaboration with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and Deakin University.

BIS is internationally recognised and truly unique. The study closely follows over 1,000 Geelong mothers and their children, collecting samples and taking measurements all designed to unlock the early life secrets of disease and health.

Throughout the project we have been awarded more than 10 separate NHMRC grants, including three further project grants to undertake the BIS Primary School Review.

The resource that has been built is formidable, with a collection of over 500,000 biological samples which is now arguably the most complete early life ‘biobank’ in the world. Some of the key findings arising from BIS data are:

Presence of the bacteria Prevotella in the mother gut during pregnancy is strongly associated with protection against allergic disease in the offspring (Vuillermin et al, Nat Comms, 2020).
children with the bacteria Prevotella in their gut at 12 months of age had a lower prevalence of anxiety-like behaviours, including shyness, sadness and an internal focus, an indicator they may be at higher risk of going on to develop childhood anxiety. (Loughman et al, EBioMed, 2020)
Lead levels in the blood of pre-school children have dropped overall, but those living in houses 50 years or more old, or those living in proximity to a lead-producing source have higher levels. (Symeonides et al, Med J Aust, 2020)

For more information visit www.barwoninfantstudy.org.au

The Environmental Determinants of Islet Autoimmunity (ENDIA) Study

CHeRUB participates in the ENDIA Study, an NHMRC-funded longitudinal observational study of 1500 babies Australia-wide who have a first degree relative with type 1 diabetes. Participants include:

Pregnant women with type 1 diabetes
Men with type 1 diabetes whose partner is pregnant
Children with type 1 diabetes whose mother is pregnant
Babies under 6 months of age with a first degree relative (mum, dad, brother or sister) who has type 1 diabetes.

ENDIA researchers are investigating factors that may contribute to the development of islet autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes in children, such as:

The genes of the participating child and their family member with type 1 diabetes
The method of delivery (natural birth versus caesarean section)
The mother’s nutrition during pregnancy and breast feeding
Exposure to viruses during pregnancy and early life

Identifying the factors that initiate islet autoimmunity in early life could lead to a means of preventing type 1 diabetes before it begins.

For more information visit http://www.endia.org.au/

The OM85 Trial of childhood asthma treatment

CHeRUB will be leading a multicentre clinical trial to investigate whether the immune modulator OM85 can prevent hospital admission due to asthma among preschool aged children.

Over 30 hospitals in the Children’s Inpatient Research Collaboration of Australia and New Zealand (CIRCAN) are participating. The study was awarded $1.6 million by the National Health and Medical Research Council in 2019 (only 1 in every 20 applications were successful).

The Pregnancy Research and Translation Ecosystem (PRT-E)

The Barwon Health Child Health Research Unit, in collaboration with Ballarat Health Services, East Grampians Health Service, Colac Area Health, Western District Health Service, Deakin University, Gen V (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute) and Federation University, leads the Pregnancy Research and Translation Ecosystem (PTR-E). PRT-E aims to generate and implement best evidence to improve maternal and infant health.

To achieve this, PRT-E will collect data on pregnancy care and collaborate with the GenV initiative, which aims to recruit and follow 80% of all infants born in Victoria over the coming 2 years. This data will create a world-leading and unique resource for future research.

In parallel, PRT-E will establish a Pregnancy Stakeholder Working Group of consumers and health professionals that will be trained and supported by the established systems of Deakin University’s Institute of Health Transformation. The Working Group will then co-design and co-produce the research program.

A starting priority is to design a clinical trial and translation plan with the aim of safely reducing the caesarean section rate in the region, which has risen to around 40%. It is a complex problem requiring design of a multifaceted intervention.

PRT-E will create a research, co-design and translation ecosystem that will drive continual improvements in mother and baby care. The program will be an exercise in people power meets cutting edge research methodology. We can’t wait to get the PRT-E started!

Collaborating Organisations

Deakin University	University of Auckland	Murdoch Children’s Research Institute	The University of Melbourne	The University of Sydney
The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health	Technical University of Denmark	Mater Research Institute	Griffith University	Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
University of California	Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)	Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics	Beijing Genomics Institute	The University of Queensland
Children’s Inpatient research collaboration of Australia and New Zealand	University of Copenhagen	Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute	Australian National Phenomes Centre

Research Team

Research Staff

Professor Peter Vuillermin, Director
Nicola Cooley, Executive Assistant
Nakita Clements, Project Coordinator
Dr Martin O'Hely, Bioinformatician
Kate Hardiman, Team Leader
Samantha Kernaghan, Research Assistant
Georgie Thompson, Research Assistant
Mikayla Hoffman, Research Assistant
Pip Walsh, Research Assistant
Emily Carpenter, Research Assistant

Research Students

Yuan Gao, PhD
Lawrence Gray, PhD
Samantha Dawson, PhD
Liz Senn, PhD
Lisa Bell, PhD

Research News

Gut bacteria linked to anxiety-like behaviours in children

The Barwon Infant Study (BIS) – a collaboration between the Barwon Health Child Health Research Unit, Deakin University and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute – is the first to show that children with a lower amount of Prevotella at age one are more likely to have anxiety-like behaviours at two.

The research team examined data from 201 children, analysing faecal samples at one, six and 12 months of age, then measuring behavioural outcomes at two years.

They found children with a lower abundance of the bacteria Prevotella in their poo at 12 months of age had a higher prevalence of anxiety-like behaviours, including shyness, sadness and an internal focus, an indicator they may be at higher risk of going on to develop childhood anxiety.

Dr Amy Loughman said the study also added to the growing evidence supporting the role of the infant gut microbiota for neurodevelopment and mental health in later life. In previous cross-sectional studies Prevotella abundance has been associated with both autism and Parkinson’s disease.

The research team now hope to build further evidence to consider Prevotella as a gut bacteria key to both identifying health risk, and potentially, as an intervention to improve health outcomes.

The full publication can be read here.

Barwon Health and Deakin University leading the fight against asthma

The Barwon Health and Deakin Partnership has won a $1.6 million NHMRC grant to lead a new multicentre trial of a bacterial lysate (OM-85) for prevention of hospital admissions.

Acute wheezing illnesses pose a large health and economic burden and are the most common reason that pre-school aged children are admitted to hospital in Australia. There is a recognised need for novel approaches. Emerging evidence suggests OM-85 may also be effective in preventing wheeze episodes in young children, but larger studies are urgently required to replicate this important finding and evaluate whether OM-85 reduces wheeze-related hospital admissions.

To undertake this study, a highly experienced transdisciplinary research team has been assembled that leverages the newly established Children’s Inpatient Research Collaborative of Australia and New Zealand (CIRCAN). This novel and feasible strategy aims to address a gap in current knowledge of critical significance and generate health and economic findings that are clearly implementable.

The BIS Bus hits the road

Barwon Health welcomes CHILD Study Research Leader

We were honoured to hear from Associate Professor Padmaja (PJ) Subbarao at a Barwon Health Deakin University weekly Research Seminar in early 2020.

A/Prof Subbarao, from The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, is Deputy Director & Co-Principal Investigator of the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) Study. The CHILD Study is one of the most important birth cohort studies in the world, and A/Prof Subbarao’s team are at the forefront of research into the early life origins of atopy and asthma.

A/Prof Subbarao provided a fascinating insight into this cohort of over 3800 infants. Of great interest was the association between a child’s unique microbiome and their development of atopy and wheeze, and the successful application of this finding in an animal model.

Research Grants

NHMRC - Prevention of wheeze-associated hospitalisation in preschoolers with the immunomodulator OM85: a multi-centre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial: 2021-2025
NHMRC - Maternal carriage of Prevotella during pregnancy influences offspring innate immune responses and asthma at age 7: 2018-2021
NHMRC - Investigating early life exposure to plastic products in Australia and subsequent neurodevelopmental effects: 2018-2020
NHMRC - Identifying Novel Lipid and Genetic Signatures of Metabolic Disease in Early Childhood: 2017-2020
NHMRC - A longitudinal population-based study of the development of Cardiovascular risk in early childhood: 2019-2024

Featured Publications

Maternal carriage of prevotella during pregnancy associates with protection against food allergy in the offspring. Vuillermin PJ, O’Hely M, Collier F, Allen KJ, Tang MLK, Harrison LC, Carlin JB, Saffery R, Ranganathan S, Sly PD, et al. Nature Communications. 2020;11: 1452.

Cited By

Vitamin D insufficiency in the first 6 months of infancy and challenge-proven IgE-mediated food allergy at 1 year of age: A case-cohort study. [NOTE - Full text for Barwon Health staff; public can view abstract]. Molloy J, Koplin JJ, Allen KJ, Tang MLK, Collier F, Carlin JB, Saffery R, Burgner D, Ranganathan S, Dwyer T, et al. Allergy. 2017;72: 1222-1231.

Cited By Citation in Context

Cord blood monocyte–derived inflammatory cytokines suppress IL-2 and induce nonclassic “T H 2-type” immunity associated with development of food allergy. [NOTE – Abstract only. Barwon Health staff can request full text from Library). Zhang Y, Collier F, Naselli G, Saffery R, Tang ML, Allen KJ, Ponsonby A, Harrison LC, Vuillermin P. Science Translational Medicine. 2016;8: 321.

Cited By Citation in Context

Perinatal microbial exposure may influence aortic intima-media thickness in early infancy. McCloskey K, Vuillermin P, Carlin JB, Cheung M, Skilton MR, Tang ML, Allen K, Gilbert GL, Ranganathan S, Collier F, et al. Int J Epidemiol. 2016;46: 209-218.

Cited By Citation in Context

The association between higher maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index and increased birth weight, adiposity and inflammation in the newborn. [NOTE - Full text for Barwon Health staff; public can view abstract]. McCloskey K, Ponsonby A, Collier F, Allen K, Tang MLK, Carlin JB, Saffery R, Skilton MR, Cheung M, Ranganathan S, et al. Pediatric Obesity. 2016;13: 46-53.

Cited By Citation in Context

Cohort profile: The Barwon Infant Study. Vuillermin P, Saffery R, Allen KJ, Carlin JB, Tang ML, Ranganathan S, Burgner D, Dwyer T, Collier F, Jachno K, et al. Int J Epidemiol. 2015;44: 1148-1160.

Cited By Citation in Context

Support Our Research

Participate in a Clinical Trial

To find out about clinical trials currently underway at Barwon Health, click here.

Donate

Clinical trials require ongoing investment and there are several ways to support this amazing work.

You can make a donation today and contribute to an item on our research wish list, consider a bequest in your will, or establish a lasting legacy fund in your name. No matter what size, your philanthropic support with deliver an immediate impact.

To donate now or for more information and further discuss your support, please contact the Barwon Health Foundation.

Wish List

$15,000 would fund of the Vivid –IQ a portable ultrasound machine to use on the BIS bus to assess cardiac function.
$36,000 would fund the spirometry equipment and consumables to complete the lung function assessment in the primary school review.
Funding for PhD student and early-career researchers is urgently required. The productivity of the BIS team is dependent on recruiting the highest quality research students and early-career researchers. Young researchers form the ‘engine room’ of any large-scale project, and represent a highly cost-effective investment not only in BIS, but in Australian research more broadly. Funding a PhD student and early career researcher for three years costs approximately $500,000. Given the quality of the data and biological samples assembled in BIS, with this level of investment the team will be able recruit and develop the best emerging research talent in the country.

All Publications

2020

Vicki McWilliam, Rachel Peters, Katrina Allen, Shyamali Dharmage, Anne-Louise Ponsonby, Mimi Tang, Joanne Smart, Kirsten Perrett, Dean Tey, Marnie Robinson, Mark Taranto, Jennifer J. Koplin, Lyle C. Gurrin. Skin Prick Test Predictive Values for the Outcome of Cashew Challenges in Children. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, 2020-01-01, Volume 8, Issue 1, Pages 141-148.e2
Susan Ellul, Wolfgang Marx, Fiona Collier, Richard Saffery, Mimi Tang, David Burgner, John Carlin, Peter Vuillermin, Anne-Louise Ponsonby. Plasma metabolomic profiles associated with infant food allergy with further consideration of other early life factors. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids, 2020-08-01, Volume 159, Article 102099
Zimmermann P, Perrett KP, Ritz N, Flanagan KL, Robins-Browne R, van der Klis FRM, et al. Biological sex influences antibody responses to routine vaccinations in the first year of life. Acta Paediatrica. 2020;109(1):147-57.
Ponsonby AL, Symeonides C, Saffery R, Mueller JF, O'Hely M, Sly PD, Wardrop N, Pezic A, Mansell T, Collier F, Burgner D, Thompson K, Vijayasarathy S, Sugeng EJ, Dwyer T, Ranganathan S, Anderson PJ, Anderson V, Vuillermin P; BIS Investigator Group. Prenatal phthalate exposure, oxidative stress-related genetic vulnerability and early life neurodevelopment: a birth cohort study Neurotoxicology. 2020 May 29:S0161-813X(20)30086-3.
Penno MA, Oakey H, Augustine P, Taranto M, Barry SC, Colman PG, Craig ME, Davis EA, Giles LC, Harris M, Haynes A, McGorm K, Morahan G, Morbey C, Rawlinson WD, Sinnott RO, Soldatos G, Thomson RL, Vuillermin PJ, Wentworth JM, Harrison LC, Couper JJ; ENDIA Study Group. Changes in pancreatic exocrine function in young at-risk children followed to islet autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes in the ENDIA study Pediatr Diabetes. 2020 May 20.
Sugeng EJ, Symeonides C, O'Hely M, Vuillermin P, Sly PD, Vijayasarathy S, Thompson K, Pezic A, Mueller JF, Ponsonby AL; Barwon Infant Study Investigator Group. Predictors with regard to ingestion, inhalation and dermal absorption of estimated phthalate daily intakes in pregnant women: The Barwon infant study Environ Int. 2020 Apr 28;139:105700.
Vuillermin PJ, O'Hely M, Collier F, Allen KJ, Tang MLK, Harrison LC, Carlin JB, Saffery R, Ranganathan S, Sly PD, Gray L, Molloy J, Pezic A, Conlon M, Topping D, Nelson K, Mackay CR, Macia L, Koplin J, Dawson SL, Moreno-Betancur M, Ponsonby AL; J. Craig Venter Institute; BIS Investigator Group. Maternal carriage of Prevotella during pregnancy associates with protection against food allergy in the offspring Nat Commun. 2020 Mar 24;11(1):1452.
Mansell T, Ponsonby AL, Collier F, Burgner D, Pezic A, Vuillermin P, Ryan J, Saffery R; Barwon Infant Study Investigator Team. Methylation of the LEP gene promoter in blood at 12 months and BMI at 4 years of age-a population-based cohort study Int J Obes (Lond). 2020 Apr;44(4):842-847.
Loughman A, Ponsonby AL, O'Hely M, Symeonides C, Collier F, Tang MLK, Carlin J, Ranganathan S, Allen K, Pezic A, Saffery R, Jacka F, Harrison LC, Sly PD, Vuillermin P; BIS Investigator Group. Gut microbiota composition during infancy and subsequent behavioural outcomes EBioMedicine. 2020 Feb;52:102640.
Ellul S, Ponsonby AL, Carlin JB, Collier F, Mansell T, Vuillermin P, Burgner D, Saffery R; Barwon Infant Study Investigator Team. Sex differences in infant blood metabolite profile in association with weight and adiposity measures Pediatr Res. 2020 Jan 17.
Leseva MN, Binder AM, Ponsonby AL, Vuillermin P, Saffery R, Michels KB; Barwon Infant Study Investigator Group. Differential gene expression and limited epigenetic dysregulation at the materno-fetal interface in preeclampsia Hum Mol Genet. 2020 Jan 15;29(2):335-350.
Gray LEK, Ponsonby AL, Collier F, O'Hely M, Sly PD, Ranganathan S, Tang MLK, Carlin JB, Saffery R, Vuillermin PJ; BIS Investigator Group. Deserters on the atopic march: Risk factors, immune profile and clinical outcomes of food sensitized-tolerant infants Allergy. 2020 Jun;75(6):1404-1413.
Gray L, Hasebe K, O'Hely M, Ponsonby AL, Vuillermin P, Collier F; BIS Investigator Group. Rapid PCR identification of Prevotella copri in an Australian cohort of pregnant women J Dev Orig Health Dis. 2020 Jun;11(3):228-234.
Kim KW, Allen DW, Briese T, Couper JJ, Barry SC, Colman PG, Cotterill AM, Davis EA, Giles LC, Harrison LC, Harris M, Haynes A, Horton JL, Isaacs SR, Jain K, Lipkin WI, McGorm K, Morahan G, Morbey C, Pang ICN, Papenfuss AT, Penno MAS, Sinnott RO, Soldatos G, Thomson RL, Vuillermin P, Wentworth JM, Wilkins MR, Rawlinson WD, Craig ME; ENDIA STUDY GROUP. Higher frequency of vertebrate-infecting viruses in the gut of infants born to mothers with type 1 diabetes Pediatr Diabetes. 2020 Mar;21(2):271-279.
Senn E, Symeonides C, Vuillermin P, Ponsonby AL; Barwon Infant Study Investigator Group. Early life microbial exposure, child neurocognition and behaviour at 2 years of age: A birth cohort study J Paediatr Child Health. 2020 Apr;56(4):590-599.
Symeonides C, Vuillermin P, Sly PD, Collier F, Lynch V, Falconer S, Pezic A, Wardrop N, Dwyer T, Ranganathan S, Ponsonby AB. Pre-school child blood lead levels in a population-derived Australian birth cohort: the Barwon Infant Study Med J Aust. 2020 Mar;212(4):169-174.
Mansell T, Ponsonby AL, Collier F, Burgner D, Vuillermin P, Lange K, Ryan J, Saffery R; Barwon Infant Study Investigator Team. Genetic variation, intrauterine growth, and adverse pregnancy conditions predict leptin gene DNA methylation in blood at birth and 12 months of age Int J Obes (Lond). 2020 Jan;44(1):45-56.
Molloy J, Collier F, Saffery R, Allen KJ, Koplin JJ, Louise Ponsonby A, Tang MLK, Ward AC, Martino D, Burgner D, Carlin JB, Ranganathan S, Symeonedies C, Dwyer T; BIS Investigator Group, Vuillermin P. Folate levels in pregnancy and offspring food allergy and eczema Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2020 Jan;31(1):38-46.

2019

Chamings A, Liew KC, Reid E, Athan E, Raditsis A, Vuillermin P, Yoga Y, Caly L, Druce J, Alexandersen S. An Emerging Human Parechovirus Type 5 Causing Sepsis-Like Illness in Infants in Australia Viruses. 2019 Oct 3;11(10):913.
Loughman A, O'Hely M, Vuillermin P. Letter to the Editor: "Gut microbiota composition is associated with temperament traits in infants" Brain Behav Immun. 2019 Oct;81:670.
Hu M, Eviston D, Hsu P, MariÃ±o E, Chidgey A, Santner-Nanan B, Wong K, Richards JL, Yap YA, Collier F, Quinton A, Joung S, Peek M, Benzie R, Macia L, Wilson D, Ponsonby AL, Tang MLK, O'Hely M, Daly NL, Mackay CR, Dahlstrom JE; BIS Investigator Group, Vuillermin P, Nanan R. Decreased maternal serum acetate and impaired fetal thymic and regulatory T cell development in preeclampsia Nat Commun. 2019 Jul 10;10(1):3031.
Mansell T, Ponsonby AL, Januar V, Novakovic B, Collier F, Burgner D, Vuillermin P, Ryan J, Saffery R; Barwon Infant Study Investigator Team. Early-life determinants of hypoxia-inducible factor 3A geneÂ (HIF3A) methylation: a birth cohort study Clin Epigenetics. 2019 Jul 1;11(1):96. .
Gray LEK, Ponsonby AL, Lin TX, O'Hely M, Collier F, Ranganathan S, Sly PD, Pezic A, Tang MLK, Burgner D, Vuillermin P. High incidence of respiratory disease in Australian infants despite low rate of maternal cigarette smoking J Paediatr Child Health. 2019 Dec;55(12):1437-1444.
Collier F, Ponsonby AL, O'Hely M, Tang MLK, Saffery R, Molloy J, Gray LE, Ranganathan S, Burgner D, Allen KJ, Brix S, Vuillermin PJ; BIS Investigator Group. Naive regulatory T cells in infancy: Associations with perinatal factors and development of food allergy Allergy. 2019 Sep;74(9):1760-1768.
Frederick R, Vuillermin P, Tang MLK, Ponsonby AL, Webster E, Saffery R, Collier F; Barwon Infant Study Investigator Group. A child with Klinefelter syndrome and both IgE-mediated food allergy and low proportion of naive Treg Clin Case Rep. 2019 Jan 7;7(2):302-303.
Wook Kim K, Allen DW, Briese T, Couper JJ, Barry SC, Colman PG, Cotterill AM, Davis EA, Giles LC, Harrison LC, Harris M, Haynes A, Horton JL, Isaacs SR, Jain K, Lipkin WI, Morahan G, Morbey C, Pang ICN, Papenfuss AT, Penno MAS, Sinnott RO, Soldatos G, Thomson RL, Vuillermin PJ, Wentworth JM, Wilkins MR, Rawlinson WD, Craig ME; ENDIA Study Group. Distinct Gut Virome Profile of Pregnant Women With Type 1 Diabetes in the ENDIA Study Open Forum Infect Dis. 2019 Jan 16;6(2):ofz025.
Collier F, Ellul S, Juonala M, Ponsonby AL, Vuillermin P, Saffery R, Burgner D; Barwon Infant Study Investigator Group. Glycoprotein acetyls (GlycA) at 12 months are associated with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and early life inflammatory immune measures Pediatr Res. 2019 Apr;85(5):584-585.
Bell LA, Fletcher EA, Timperio A, Vuillermin P, Hesketh K. Preschool children's physical activity and cardiovascular disease risk: A systematic review J Sci Med Sport. 2019 May;22(5):568-573.
Hardy A, Fuller DG, Forrester M, Anderson KP, Cooper C, Jenner B, Marshall I, Sanderson C, Standish J, Worth J, Vuillermin P, McCloskey K. Survey of procedural and resuscitation requirements for paediatricians working in a non-tertiary centre: Implications for training J Paediatr Child Health. 2019 Apr;55(4):441-445.
Robinson M, Koplin JJ, Field MJ, Sasaki M, Peters RL, McWilliam V, Sawyer SM, Patton GC, Vuillermin PJ, Douglass J, Gurrin LC, Tang MLK, Dharmage SC, Allen KJ; SchoolNuts Investigators. Patterns of Carriage of Prescribed Adrenaline Autoinjectors in 10- to 14-Year-Old Food-Allergic Students: A Population-Based Study J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2019 Feb;7(2):437-443.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 18 May 2022

Research Lead

Professor Peter Vuillermin MBBS BMedSci FRACP PhD

NHMRC Career Development Fellow
Chair in Medicine | Director of Research
Deakin University | Barwon Health
Level 2, Health Education & Research Building (HERB), Barwon Health
Rear, Kitchener House, 299 Ryrie St, Geelong 3220

Related Links

Barwon Infant Study