The Women and Infants Research Foundation (WIRF) has awarded $500,000 in research funding to support 10 innovative projects tackling critical health challenges affecting women and babies.
The funding, awarded through WIRF’s Research Acceleration Awards, will support innovative projects spanning maternal and pregnancy health, newborn care, cancer research, precision medicine and intergenerational health, with research ranging from gestational diabetes and fetal development to ovarian cancer and neonatal care.
In addition, two PhD Student Travel Awards were awarded to provide early-career researchers with opportunities to present their work at national and international meetings, build professional networks, and gain exposure to leading research in their field.
The successful WIRF Research Acceleration Award recipients, each awarded between $45,000 and $50,000 to support their projects, are:
- Dr Dane Cheasley from The University of Western Australia for his project Mapping Tumour-Microenvironment Interactions to Identify New Therapeutic Targets in Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer.
- Dr Jonathan Davis from the Child and Adolescent Health Service for his project Tiny Infant Mobile Translational Animal Model (TIM TAM) Study / Translational animal model using technology to understand changes in the newborn during transport.
- Dr Kristjana Einarsdottir from Curtin University for her project Intergenerational Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences: The Feasibility of Antenatal Screening.
- Dr Julie Hibbert from Curtin University for her project Discovering GDM Protein Biomarkers for Healthier Mums and Babies (SWEET & PEA Study).
- Associate Professor Gayatri Jape from the Child and Adolescent Health Service for her project Probiotics in Infants of Mothers with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (PRIMD): A Randomised Controlled Trial.
- Professor Peter Leedman from The University of Western Australia for his project Precision RNA Therapy: A New Approach to Treating Ovarian Cancer.
- Dr Caitlin Liddelow from The University of Western Australia for her project Moving for Two: A GP-Led Brief Intervention to Promote Physical Activity in Pregnancy.
- Dr Weitao Lin from The University of Western Australia for his project Defining the Landscape of Antibody-Drug Conjugates for Maintenance Therapy in Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy-Treated Ovarian Cancer.
- Hannah Watson from the Women and Infants Research Foundation for her project Mechanisms of Variable Fetal Lung Response to Antenatal Glucocorticoids.
- Dr Alexander Wilson from the Child and Adolescent Health Service for his project Impact of the ECG (NeoBeat) on Neonatal Mask Ventilation and Visual Attention.
The successful WIRF PhD Student Travel Award recipients, each awarded $5,000, are:
- Hannah L. Moore from The Kids Research Institute for her project Effect of antenatal corticosteroids on childhood lung function in preterm-born children.
- Vismaya Gireesan Nair from The University of Notre Dame Australia for her project Pregnancy Care and Health Outcomes in Migrant and Non-Migrant Women in a Tertiary Hospital in Western Australia.
WIRF Chief Scientist Professor Matt Kemp congratulated all Award recipients on the strength, ambition and potential impact of their projects.
“Research has the power to change the trajectory of a person’s health, but promising ideas need investment to move from possibility to impact,” Professor Kemp said.
“Our 2026 Research Acceleration Awards are supporting researchers with bold ideas that address some of the most important challenges in women’s, maternal and newborn health.
“From pregnancy and newborn care to ovarian cancer and precision medicine, these projects reflect the breadth of research needed to improve health outcomes across the lifespan.
“We are proud to support these researchers as they pursue discoveries that could ultimately improve the lives of women, babies and families here in Western Australia and beyond.”
The Research Acceleration Awards, now in their fourth year, have been made possible with the generous support of the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation and the Bass Family Foundation. From 2026, this partnership will enable WIRF to award $500,000 annually in research grants to advance local research into the health of women, babies and families.
The Awards were presented at WIRF’s premier scientific event, the WIRF Scientific Dialogue, on 28 August 2026.
Pictured left to right are: Dr Gayatri Jape, Dr Weitao Lin, Dr Julie Hibbert, Hannah L. Moore, Dr Caitlin Liddelow, Rikki Bown (from Prof Peter Leedman’s research team), Dr Dane Cheasley, Hannah Watson, Dr Jonathan Davis, Diana Aguirre (from Dr Alexander Wilson’s research team), Jelica Gencel-Augusto (WIRF student researcher competition winner), Dr Kristjana Einarsdottir, and Vismaya Gireesan Nair.
