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GenV celebrates one year anniversary with significant recruitment milestone

08 September 2022

News at a Glance:

  • Murdoch Children’s Research Institute world-first study tracking the health and wellbeing of Victorians, from birth to old age, has delivered a recruitment milestone of more than 22,000 babies since launching a year ago.
  • All up, almost 60,000 babies, mothers and fathers have joined Generation Victoria (GenV), the Australia’s largest-ever birth and parent cohort study, which is currently recruiting in every birthing hospital across the state. GenV aims to better understand and treat the causes of modern childhood health problems such as obesity. asthma, autism, food allergies and mental illness.
  • To mark the milestone, the State Government announced $685,000 in funding for a GenV Maternal Vaccine Study which will examine data on pregnancy and infant vaccine safety outcomes in the first-year old life for 20,000 mothers and their babies.
Pictured: Hon Jaala Pulford MLC, Hon Tim Pallas, Ms Virginia Bourke, ​MCRI Director, Professor Kathryn North AC​ and Associate Professor Margie Danchin. Photo Credit: Janusz Molinski

Murdoch Children’s Research Institute’s Generation Victoria, Australia’s largest-ever birth and parent cohort study, is celebrating its one-year anniversary of being available to families across Victoria. All up, almost 60,000 babies, mothers and fathers have joined the study, which is recruiting in every birthing hospital across the state.

The milestone was marked today at Werribee Mercy Hospital where State Medical Research Minister Jaala Pulford and Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas also announced a $685,000 grant for the GenV Maternal Vaccine Study. The study will examine data on pregnancy and infant vaccine safety outcomes in the first-year old life for 20,000 mothers and their babies.

GenV aims to better understand and treat the causes of modern childhood health problems such as obesity. asthma, autism, food allergies and mental illness.

Pictured: Reporter Nick McCallum with GenV Family, Emily and Gopen Raval with Baby Rowan. Photo credit: Janusz Molinski

Launching at Werribee Mercy Hospital in 2021, where more than 500 babies have since enrolled in GenV, was critical to the study’s success in Melbourne’s west and ensures that new and routinely collected data and blood and saliva samples reflect the diversity of Victorian families and positions GenV as a truly inclusive research project.

GenV’s recruitment team has recorded 65 languages (including Auslan) during the opt-in process. More than 4500 families in GenV do not primarily speak English at home.

The research potential of existing collected data and ongoing GenV sample collection is gaining local and international interest and recognition by external collaborators.

Families that sign up to GenV will make a difference to the future health of generations to come. Babies and their parents taking part in this once-in-a-generation research study can help to solve common child and adult health problems.

Every family with a newborn baby is invited to join over a two-year period from October 2021, no matter where they live or what language they speak. Participants can join the program in person during their hospital stay or any time after birth via a simple, guided online process.

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 Foundation.

This significant milestone of 60,000 participants brings GenV’s momentum into clear focus. 12 months ago, we invited our first families to join the program. Next month we celebrate 1 year since GenV state wide scale up and we are now the largest ever consented baby and parent cohort research study undertaken in Australia.
MCRI Chief Executive, Kathryn North
Professor Kathryn North AC
MCRI Director

“Research like GenV is important because it’s a way our family can help other babies and families across Australia and for those babies to help us too. GenV is creating a “research village” filled with parents we may never meet, but who will helped us protect and learn about our baby and future generations.” – GenV Mother Emily.

Thank you to Emily, Gopen and baby Rowan for being part of this media event, marking 60,000 families in GenV.

GenV Team
Article by GenV Team